I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Survival

Essential Question:

What benefits do we have in place as a result of the New Deal policies?

Bridge:

Responsibility

Content:

The New Deal

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Students will experience a situation in which the basic materials for survival are not available and relate their experience to that of Depression Era Americans.

Activity: A day or two before you intend to begin this unit divide the note cards into five different stacks. Three of the stacks should contain significantly fewer cards than the total number of students in your class and two of the stacks should contain more cards than the total number of students in your class. The total number of cards should be at least five times greater than the total number of students in your class. Write “Food and Water,” “Clothing,” and “Shelter” on the cards in the small stacks so that there is one stack of each. Write “Radio” and “Bicycle” (or two other non-essentials) on the cards in the larger stacks so that there is a stack of each. Before your students come to class place the note cards in the box and mix them together.
As your students come into class tell them to draw four cards from the box and take their seats. When all the students have drawn four cards remove the remaining cards from the box. Give your class an opportunity to look at their cards and the cards of their neighbors. Do not prevent them from trading cards. After a few minutes, explain to your class that they will be participating in an activity about survival and that their goal is to obtain the necessities of life. Tell them that the activity is pass/fail and that to pass they must each obtain a “Food and Water” card, a “Clothing” card and a “Shelter” card. This should be impossible for all students to do. Sooner or later your students will figure out that there are not enough of these cards to go around. At this point they will begin to come to you and ask for more essential cards. Refuse to give them the cards and tell them that they just aren’t trying hard enough. Carefully monitor the tension level in the room. Try to preserve the integrity of the activity as long as possible. When students begin to demand more essentials cards, give out any remaining essentials cards, but pretend to be disappointed in your students. When you feel they’ve had enough, explain the point of the activity and its connection to the Great Depression

Assessment: Student involvement and engagement in the activity.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students will participate in a discussion about the “survival activity” and write an essay explaining their reaction to the activity.

Activity: Lead your students in a discussion of the survival activity. Ask them for their reaction to their unique situation
How did those who got the three essential cards feel?
How did those who had to ask for help from others feel?
How did those who couldn’t get the three essential cards feel?
What was their reaction to your refusal to help?
After the discussion, have your students complete an individual writing assignment in which they share their personal experiences and feelings about the activity. This assignment could take the form of a journal entry, an essay, or a letter of protest. The assignment should be original, formally written and show the influence of the class discussion.

Assessment: Student letters should demonstrate good letter writing skills: proper format, good grammar, etc and meet the guidelines of the assignment

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective:Students will identify with the plight of the millions of Americans whose lives were affected by the Great Depression.

Activity: Make copies of Student Handout #1 and cut them into strips so that there is one person per strip. When class begins give one strip to each student. Form groups so that there is a student with each person in each group.
When students are in groups tell them that they are going to participate in a discussion about the problems faced by people during the Great Depression. Encourage them to contribute to the discussion from the point of view of the persona they have been assigned. Each group should appoint a scribe and one member to be a moderator to bring up each topic and keep the group on task.
The group should address the following:
1) Survey the group to create a list of the situations faced by each of the members.
2) Determine who is responsible for the problems of the people in the group
3) Suggest solutions to the problems of the people in the group.
While student groups are meeting walk around the room monitoring the groups to make sure they are on task and staying in character. When the groups have completed their tasks conduct a class discussion to get a sampling of who each group felt were responsible for peoples problems and their proposed solutions

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: Students will be able to explain the goals of the New Deal and the accomplishments of the First Hundred Days.

Activity: Briefly go over the background of the Depression up to the Roosevelt Administration including causes, its effect on people (the Bonus Army, the Dust Bowl, bread lines, Hoovervilles, etc.) and the reaction of the Hoover Administration.
Deliver a lecture over the goals of the New Deal: relief, recovery, and reform. List and discuss the accomplishments of the First Hundred Days of the Roosevelt administration. Be careful in your lecture not to associate the accomplishments with specific acts and agencies. This would compromise later portions of the lesson

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students will gather information about specific New Deal agencies and acts and share that information with their classmates.

Activity: Before class begins write the name of one New Deal agency or piece of legislation on a note card until you have one card for everyt two students in your class. It may be necessary to repeat agencies or acts. At the beginning of class have your students choose a partner and have one person from each pair come forward and draw a card form the stack. Give each pair of students three New Deal Agency Fact Sheets (Student Handout 2) and tell them that they will be researching the agency or act on their card to fill in the blanks on one of their fact sheets. You will need provide class time and access to the library or library materials.
When research is completed, have student pairs move around the room sharing their information with others and filling out two other fact sheets (Student Handout 2) using the information they gather from their classmates. Do not allow students to merely copy the Fact Sheets of others. Make sure they explain their agencies orally. Students should feel free to ask their classmates questions to clear up any confusing aspects of a particular agency.

Assessment: Successful and accurate completion of the New Deal Fact sheet.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Students will think of problems that exist in their school or community, create an agency to solve that problem and plan a poster advertising their agency.

Activity: Have student pairs meet and brainstorm a list of problems in the community or the school. Tell them to choose one problem and create an agency to deal with that problem. They should create a plan for how their agency would work and who it would help. Once students have come up with the basic idea and outline for their agency have them plan a poster advertising their agency. Tell your students to make a preliminary sketch of a poster advertising the agency they have created. The poster should meet the following criteria:
1) Clearly state the agency or act being advertised.
2) Contain images that reflect the goals and activities of the act or agency.
3) Is original and creative

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Students will share their ideas with others and review the ideas of classmates.

Activity: When they have completed their plans and preliminary sketch have pairs combine to make groups of four for the purpose of fine tuning their poster projects. When reviewing the work of their classmates students should keep in mind the criteria for the assignment.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students will complete their posters and present them to the class.

Activity: Have student pairs complete their posters. When all posters are completed display them in the room and have student pairs explain their work to the class.

Assessment: Posters should be original, neatly done and meet all the criteria outlined during Step Six.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: