ALEX Learning Activity

  

Challenged Children of the 1930s

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Heather Harden
System:Dothan City
School:Dothan City Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2938
Title:
Challenged Children of the 1930s
Digital Tool/Resource:
Children of the Great Depression Video
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

Students will watch a short video clip about how children were affected by the Great Depression. They will compare and contrast their lives to the lives of children in the 1930s. Students will pay close attention to how children's lives changed at school, at home, and in the workforce due to the high poverty and economic failure of the times. 

This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 6
United States Studies: The Industrial Revolution to the Present
5 ) Explain causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the United States.

Examples: economic failure, loss of farms, rising unemployment, building of Hoovervilles

•  Identifying patterns of migration during the Great Depression
•  Locating on a map the area of the United States known as the Dust Bowl
•  Describing the importance of the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States, including the New Deal alphabet agencies
•  Locating on a map the river systems utilized by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Alabama)
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography, History, Civics and Government
Course Title: United States Studies: The Industrial Revolution to the Present
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Explain the cause and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the United States.
  • Identify patterns of migration.
  • Locate on a map the area known as the Dust Bowl, as well as the river systems utilized by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
  • Describe the importance of the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • Compare and contrast the policies of Harding, Hoover, and Roosevelt.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • depression
  • economic failure
  • Hoovervilles
  • migration
  • Dust Bowl
  • New Deal
  • Tennessee Valley Authority
  • river systems
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • What caused the Great Depression and the effect it had on the people of the United States.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Examine cause and effect to see relationships between people, places, ideas, and events.
  • Use map skills to locate places of historical significance.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There were many causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the U.S.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.6.5- Define economic depression; identify the general factors of the Great Depression including stock market crash of 1929, Dust Bowl, Hoovervilles, and FDR.
SS.AAS.6.5a - Describe the purpose of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and its location.
Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to list and explain in detail at least three ways children's lives were affected and changed by the Great Depression.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
Before/Engage
Activity:

Before the students begin the video, the teacher will pass out a main idea and details graphic organizer so they can record their learning as they watch the video. The students will watch the first 4 minutes of the video focusing on how the children were affected during the Great Depression.  After the video, the teacher will use his/her document camera to project the graphic organizer on the interactive whiteboard. The students will share what they wrote on their graphic organizer and the teacher will write their answers on his/her graphic organizer.  As the students give their responses, the teacher will add comments or interject questions to help the students relate to the children of the 1930s. For example, if a student mentioned some kids had to go to work at age 8, ask the students how old they are. Have them think back to when they were that age or if they have a sibling that age.  Ask your students to pretend they are a child from the 1930s and contemplate how they would feel about having to stop school and go to work full-time. Ask them what might could be some positive or negative effects. What emotions might they feel?
Assessment Strategies:

Assessments include:

  • Completed graphic organizer

  • Participation in classroom discussion
Advanced Preparation:

The teacher should make copies of the graphic organizer. The teacher should watch the video ahead of time to become familiar with the content.
Variation Tips (optional):

For struggling students, the teacher could give sentence starters on the graphic organizer so they can fill in the blanks while watching the video instead of writing the whole sentence on their own.

Advanced students could create a skit based on their learning from the video and class discussions.  After writing the skit, the students could take turns performing it for the class.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This activity will provide students with the background knowledge that will be needed for future lessons with this course of study objective.  The during and after activities will build on what was learned about the children of the Great Depression.

Here is a link to a digital main idea and detail graphic organizer for students who need accommodations for handwriting.  Once the student has entered his/her text, a copy of the child's work can be emailed to the teacher.

Here is a link to another video about the Great Depression to give the students more information about the time period.

Links to Related Activities: 

During Activity-The Scoop on the 1930's

After Activity-That's a Wrap About the Great Depression!
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: children of the 1930s, economic crisis, economic failure, Great Depression, Hoovervilles, poverty, Stock Market Crash