The Great Depression

DAY 1


Hello Students,

We are about to embark on a great adventure! We will be exploring the causes and effects of The Great Depression. During the beginning stages of the unit, you and your group will pick a specific topic concerning The Great Depression and explore it in more detail. The group will create a project through technology and then present it to the class. YOU and YOUR GROUP will be teaching the class about these specific topics regarding The Great Depression!


To start off the learning, below is a podcast that you will listen to that explains the causes and the impacts of The Great Depression.


1. Please print out two copies of the graphic organizer below and one copy of the questions to the left by clicking on the title "Questions to answer about The Great Depression from the podcast. "
2. Label the graphic organizers--one with the main idea as "Causes of The Great Depression" and one with the main idea as "Effects (Impact) of The Great Depression."
3. Take notes on the graphic organizers.
4. Each student will receive two questions that he or she is responsible for answering. I will assign the specific numbered questions to you before you listen to the podcast.
5. After everyone listens to the podcast, you will break up into groups of four and discuss the questions.
6. Finally, we will have a class share-out.
7. Please turn in your two graphic organizers and questions. These items will count as class participation for the day.


Graphic Organizer Link


http://www.edhelperclipart.com/clipart/teachers/org-topic-4ideas.pdf




Podcast Link



http://web.mac.com/gileshill/iWeb/history%20at%20hand/GCSE%20Podcasts/ED7BF06C-1E5D-4B1A-9861-4EB9D3AFDD8B.html








DAY 2


Today, we will break into groups of four to start creating our projects. Below are topics connected to The Great Depression to choose from and find out more detailed information to share with the class. Your group will teach the class about your topic, using your technology-based project. Also included below are are links to two sites that will allow you to choose from a multitude of ways to display your group's information to the class. Among the different ways are creating a newspaper, booklet, or magazine. A rubric will explain the guidelines and expectations of the project and presentation. Remember, you and your group will be the teachers, so make sure you display enough information in your final project to get the important facts to the other students.


Below are topics to choose from about The Great Depression that you and your group will explore in greater depth and teach the class. Below the topics will be links, videos, or podcasts that will offer you more information about your topic. During this process your group will be required to turn in certain graphic organizers that will help you along in your search and gathering of information. Just look over the topics in Day 3 and explore some of the sites or videos. Also, look at the options for your group project in the links below.



1. At the end of class today, please blog your group's topic choice and one interesting fact that you are excited to learn more about your topic.





Project links
Newspaper or Booklet Creator Website


http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title




Magazine Creator Website


http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php




DAY 3


At the end of class, each person in the group is responsible to blog me at least four new items you learned about your topic. Group that is researching unemployment is exempt from this assignment because the group is required to make a chart using powerpoint.


Also, please note by the end of day 4, that each person in the group will turn in 8 vocabulary graphic organizer worksheets found at the left of the blog.


1. 1929 Stock Market Crash

*Items to know about this topic!
Causes of the Stock Market Crash
Overproduction
Stocks
Shares
Consumer Credit
Banks reactions to the crash
Effect on big businesses
Effect on small businesses


After viewing this video and exploring the links below, please blog four new ideas that you learned about the 1929 Wall Street Stock Market Crash.





Learn more about the stock market crash in the readings on the links below.


http://www.mce.k12tn.net/1920/crash.htm

http://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/estockmktcrash.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/retro/lisawebworld/crash.html



Learn more about the stock market and how it works on the links below. It will be important to understand the basic order of the stock market, so you will be able to explain how it crashed to the other students.



http://www.investopedia.com/university/stocks/
http://www.free-financial-advice.net/stock-market.html

http://www.ehow.com/about_4681946_explaining-stock-market-kids.html



2. Unemployment and Local Charity Efforts

*Items to know about this topic!
Unemployment rates
Effects unemployment had on family
Hobos
Hooverville
Shanti Towns
Effects on the human spirit
Local Charity Efforts
Soup Kitchens
Effect on housing
Homelessness

Year	Unemployment Rate
1929	3.2%
1930	8.7%
1931	15.9%
1932	23.6%
1933	24.9%
1934	21.7%
1935	20.1%
1936	16.9%

These are the unemployment rates during The Great Depression. Compare them to the unemployment rates of today and the past eight years and chart them in a graph to count as your class participation today. Graph these using powerpoint. To find the unemployment rates of today, go to google and type in unemployment rate of the past 8 years.


Below are links that give details about the unemployment and the charity efforts during The Great Depression.


http://www.mce.k12tn.net/1920/crash.htm

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/great_depression_1930s/index.html


Below is a live video of the time and a link to a video that will give fact about unemployment during The Great Depression. Pay close attention to vocabulary words--shanti towns, Hooverville, and hobos.








http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/25523-the-great-depression-poverty-and-unemployment-video.htm





3. Family Structure

*Items to know about this topic!
Womens' roles
Mens' roles
Birth Rates
Divorce Rates
Changes in the workplace


After viewing the video and exploring the links below, blog at least four effects that The Great Depression had on the family structure.






http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snprelief1.htm

http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/lmtm/docs/families/script.pdf



DAY 4 and DAY 5


Now groups will create your projects and work on your presentation. Again the links to access projects are below. To the left of the blog is the rubric for the project and the presentation.






Newspaper or Booklet Creator Website


http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title




Magazine Creator Website


http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php

*Students need not to worry about the items below this point, but if you want to peak at Ms. Shockley's lesson plan, please feel free to do so!!!

Lesson Plan

Class: Advanced 8^th grade ESL students

Population: 20 students coming from diverse backgrounds—Dominicans, Colombians, Haitians, and Southeast Asians

Topic/Aim: How can we learn about the causes and the effects of The Great Depression?

Curriculum/Academic Areas Involved: Social Studies & English Language Arts—Humanities, ESL

Standards:

• Content Standards
• Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 4: Economics

use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

• ELA

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.




Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression


Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation


Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.




Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction


Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

• ESL Standards
• ESL

Standard 1: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for information and understanding.

Students learning English as a second language will use English to

acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information for content area

learning and personal use. They will develop and use skills and strategies

appropriate to their level of English proficiency to collect data, facts, and

ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use

knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts.

Standard 2: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for literary response, enjoyment, and expression.

Students learning English as a second language will use English for self-expression, artistic creation, and participation in popular culture. They will

develop and use skills and strategies appropriate to their level of English

proficiency to listen to, read, and respond to oral, written, and

electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives and other works, and develop an

understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent.

Standard 3: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for critical analysis and evaluation.

Students learning English as a second language will use English to express their opinions and judgments on experiences, messages, ideas, information, and issues from a variety of perspectives. They will develop and use skills and strategies appropriate to their level of English proficiency to reflect on and analyze experiences, messages, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria.

Standard 4: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for classroom and social interaction.

Students learning English as a second language will use English to interact with others in social and classroom situations. They will develop and use skills and strategies appropriate to their level of English proficiency to communicate effectively with regard to audience, purpose, and setting.

Standard 5: Students will demonstrate cross-cultural knowledge and understanding.

Students will demonstrate cross-cultural knowledge and sensitivity in communicating with others of varied social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. They will develop and use culturally appropriate behaviors, and a knowledge of local and U.S. cultures and practices, in their interactions with others in their new cultural environment.

Objectives:

• Content Objectives
• Social Studies—Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the causes and effects of The Great Depression through a project of their choosing.
• ELA—Students will be able to analyze reading material and create a project based on their understanding of The Great Depression.
• ESL Objectives
• ESL—Students will be able to use all modalities to explore The Great Depression.
• Students will be able to read, listen, write, and speak about the causes and effects of The Great Depression.
• Students will be able to display understanding using many language modalities in a project-based assessment.

Instructional Materials/Resources

• Computers
• Head phones
• Pencils
• Compare and Contrast Venn Diagram
• Graphic Organizers
• Printer—preferably colored printer
• Glue

Activities to Prepare Students for the Lesson

• Students will be assigned individual computers and headphones—the process of which to receive and return their computers will be modeled and practiced in order to implement the unit most effectively.
• Students will understand what a blog is and how to navigate one before the unit begins. This will be modeled by using a smart board and student volunteers to demonstrate navigation.
• This is the first lesson dealing with The Great Depression, so they do not have any background information on the topic

Motivation

• Computers will be used to motivate students to investigate The Great Depression.
• Accountability will also be used to motivate the students. Groups will be responsible for teaching the students about different aspects of The Great Depression.
• Students are the teachers and they will assess their “pupils” through questioning to verify comprehension.

Teaching Procedures

Day 1

This unit takes place after learning about WWI and the early 1920’s. The teacher will explicitly go over the directions. Then the students will listen to a podcast and complete the two graphic organizers, while trying to answer two question that were assigned to them. Once they complete this task, students will break into groups and go over all ten questions. At the end of class, we will have a share-out and teacher will assess for understanding.

Day 2

Today will be all about exploring the project. Students will be placed in groups of four. The groups will investigate the different topics and choose one to teach to the class. Also, the students will explore the project options to display their own understanding and guide them in their teaching of the chosen topic. Each student is responsible to blog the teacher about their group’s topic choice and one interesting fact that he or she is excited to learn more about.

Day 3

Groups will investigate their topic in detail, writing notes and filling out vocabulary graphic organizers. By the end of the period, each student is required to blog about four interesting facts that he or she learned about the topic. The group that is working on unemployment will create a graph using powerpoint to show the unemployment rates of The Great Depression and today.

Day 4

Groups will be creating projects and will be responsible for turning in their vocabulary graphic organizers, so teacher can check for understanding.

Day 5

Groups work on project and presentation. They will also develop questions to assess student understanding of their lessons.

Day 6

• Depending on group progress, the presentations will begin.

Summary/Closure of Lesson (checking for understanding)

Groups will assess students’ comprehension of their lessons by asking high-leveled questions that the teacher will guide them with during the course of the unit.

Assessment and Evaluation

The rubric that will be used to assess groups project and presentation is below and on the left side of the blog for the students to view and be aware of the requirements.

Rubric for Project and Presentation

	4	3	2	1	Points Earned
Image on Project	Image accurately displays the topic and the ideas in the text.	Image is accurate for the topic, but only slightly links with the text as other images might have dealing with this topic.	Image is accurate, but does not link with the text at all.	Image is inaccurate and has no link to the text.
Text	Text is thorough and relevant to the topic. All 8 vocabulary words were depicted correctly in the text.	Text is relevant, but lacks sufficient detail to display full meaning to the audience. Only 6-7 vocabulary words were included.	Text is somewhat unclear and ideas are not expanded on enough for the audience to understand. 3-5 vocabulary words were included.	Text is unclear. Group did not display understanding of the topic. Less than 3 vocabulary words were used.
Creativity	Group displayed an obvious effort in creativity.	Group displayed somewhat of an effort in creativity.	Group struggled with creativity, but tried.	Group did not try to be creative.
Presentation	All group members were included in the presentation. All 8 vocabulary words were used.	Most group members participated in the presentation. Most of the vocabulary words were used.	Several group members participated. However, some did not and some vocabulary was missing.	One or two group members did most of the presentation and key vocabulary was missing.
Group Working Together	Group tried hard to work together and share the work.	Group tried to work together.	Some group members worked harder than others. Teamwork was lacking.	It was obvious that people did not work together or share the work.
Questions asked to assess students’ understanding of group topic.	Relevant questions about the topic that could be answered after the lesson.	Relevant questions, but they were hard to answer because the lesson was not clear.	Simple questions that did not challenge the students enough.	Irrelevant questions that are either too hard to answer after the presentation or inaccurate.

Homework or Follow-up

There has not been homework because some students might not have computers at home and the teacher has included guided assignments throughout the unit.