History-Social Science Content Standards
11.6 Students analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government.
- Describe the monetary issues of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that gave rise to the establishment of the Federal Reserve and the weaknesses in key sectors of the economy in the late 1920s.
- Understand the explanations of the principal causes of the Great Depression and the steps taken by the Federal Reserve, Congress, and Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat the economic crisis.
- Discuss the human toll of the Depression, natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practices and their effects on the depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left and right, with particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees and their social and economic impacts in California.
- Analyze the effects of and the controversies arising from New Deal economic policies and the expanded role of the federal government in society and the economy since the 1930s (e.g., Works Progress Administration, Social Security, National Labor Relations Board, farm programs, regional development policies, and energy development projects such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, California Central Valley Project, and Bonneville Dam).
- Trace the advances and retreats of organized labor, from the creation of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations to current issues of a postindustrial, multinational economy, including the United Farm Workers in California.
Common Core Literacy Standards
CCSS_H/SS_RH Grade 11-12
1- Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
3- Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
7- Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS_H/SS_WHST Grade 11-12
1c- Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
1d- Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
2b- Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
6- Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
1- Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
3- Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
7- Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS_H/SS_WHST Grade 11-12
1c- Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
1d- Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
2b- Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
6- Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
Big Ideas
- Economic problems affecting industries, farmers, and consumers led to the Great Depression.
- The Great Depression brought suffering all across the nation.
- As a means to remedy the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve, Congress, Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt took different steps to combat the economic crisis.
- President Roosevelt took many actions to combat the Great Depression; more specifically, the Second New Deal established new programs to extend federal aid and stimulate the nation’s economy.
- The Democratic Party formed a new political coalition.
- The media industry, such as motion pictures, radio, art, and literature, blossomed during the New Deal.
- The New Deal had lasting effects for decades to follow.
Essential Historical Questions
- What would happen if you spent more money than you actually had?
- Imagine if you had no home to live in, no money to get food or clothing, and no government programs to assist you. What would you do? What would your priorities be?
- What role should the government play in public and personal life?
- Should the government be involved in ensuring that people have opportunities for employment?
- Why were movies so popular during the Great Depression?
Assessment Plan
The following assessments target some of the specific student learning objectives and big ideas:
- Students will work in groups to evaluate the major issues threatening the U.S. economy in the 1920s (use of primary and secondary sources).
- Students will engage in an individual reflective writing assignment focusing on Americans' struggle to survive during the Great Depression.
- Students will construct an in-class/individual project on FDR's New Deal reforms and programs.
- Students will collaborate on a group project (brochure assignment) focusing on the significance of motion pictures and radio, as well as significant artists and writers, during the Depression.
- Students will take an end of the unit quiz.