What’s the Deal with the New Deal?
Investigating the Great Depression
and Analyzing Propaganda Posters of the New Deal
Aimee Cottingham
Kathy Nelson
Lynn Parker
Heyworth Junior High School
resource table. Resize the image to fit within this frame.
Summer 2012
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC2-5191)
Purpose: This unit will allow students to examine the Great Depression and the New Deal through primary sources that include photos and New Deal propaganda posters. Students will practice their analysis and evaluation skills and ultimately create their own book mark and New Deal poster. This is in preparation for reading A Long Way from Chicago, which is set during the Great Depression.
Overview/ Materials/LOC Resources/Standards/ Procedures/Evaluation/Rubric/Handouts/Extension
Overview Back to Navigation BarObjectives / Students will:
· Locate photos and propaganda posters on the Library of Congress website
· Analyze photographs and propaganda posters using primary source analysis tools
· Determine cause/effect relationships of the Great Depression
· Design and create a book mark demonstrating knowledge of the Great Depression
· Evaluate propaganda and its effectiveness
· Determine point of view or bias
· Design and create a propaganda poster for a New Deal Program
· Connect content to a current event
Recommended time frame / 1 week
Grade level / 7th/8th grade
Curriculum fit / Social Studies, Integrated Studies, Language Arts
Materials / · Primary Source analysis tools
· Connection Reflection handout
· Computer with internet access
· New Deal Teacher’s Guide pdf http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/new-deal/
· Library of Congress website:
· http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/
· http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/themes/great-depression/
· Microsoft Word
Common Core Standards / History/Social Studies:
· CC.6-8.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions
· CC.6-8.RH.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose
· CC.6-8.RH.7 Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital text
Reading: Literature:
· CC.7.RL.9 Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.
Speaking and Listening
· CC.7.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
· Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
· Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
NETS technology standards:
NETS 1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
NETS 2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
NETS 3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
Procedures Back to Navigation Bar
Day One: 2 class periods, Reading and Writing
· In Language Arts, students will locate photographs of the Great Depression from the Library of Congress. With a partner, they will try to determine what time in American history all of the photos relate to without looking at the captions. Partners will then choose one of the pictures to analyze, using the primary source analysis tool.
· Hold a class discussion to share what students have learned, and assess knowledge of the Great Depression, using a K-W-L chart on Smartboard.
· Partners or small groups will read the background information from either the link provided or a handout of the information.
· Hold a class discussion to help students with content and summarization of material, and complete the K-W-L chart.
· Students will create a book mark that lists important points about this historical period.
See rubric.
Day Two:
· In Integrated Studies, locate different propaganda posters from provided links on Library of Congress website. Student groups should select a poster, print it out, and provide the proper copyright information.
Day Three:
· In Social Studies, students will use the primary source analysis tool to analyze their selected poster.
· Students will discuss and evaluate the poster’s effectiveness.
Day Four:
· In Integrated Studies, students will design and create their own propaganda poster from one of the New Deal Programs listed in the background information. See rubric for grading.
Day Five:
· In Social Studies, students will present their posters to the class and their classmates will evaluate the poster’s effectiveness.
Evaluation Back to Navigation Bar
Student understanding will be assessed informally through peer and instructor discussions within daily activities. Formal assessment of the book mark will use a rubric. Formal assessment of the propaganda poster will use a rubric and peer evaluations.
Extension Back to Navigation Bar
Instruct students to research further a New Deal Program that still exists today. Locate a news story that discusses the program and connect it to this learning experience
This unit may be expanded to include Science and Math. Have students view the LOC webcast Food Thrift: Scraps from the Past @ http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5176
Students would bring in their favorite recipe. In Math, they could research the prices for the various ingredients in the 1930’s and the current prices to determine the % of increase of each ingredient as well as the recipe as a whole (and even per serving). In Science, students could experiment with substituting for ingredients that were cost-prohibitive in the 1930’s.
Primary Resources from the Library of Congress
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Image / Description / Citation / URL/ Poster for Federal Writers' Project advertising "American Guide Series" volume on Illinois, showing outline of map of the state. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC2-5191) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98507272/
/ W.P.A. poster showing view of Grand Canyon / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
(reproduction number LC-DIG-ppmsca-13397) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007676131
/ W.P.A. poster advertising the Workers Service Program / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
(reproduction number LC-USZC2-5209) / http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3f05209
/ Poster announcing vaudeville show to raise funds for the needy through New York City Mayor Edwards' milk fund, showing a large bottle of milk. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC2-5331) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/94502853/
/ Visit the Brookfield Zoo by the "L", text with panda. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC4-3396) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95514304/
/ Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother (of 7 children) photo
Destitute pea pickers of CA (1936) / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b29516/
/ Breadline under the Brooklyn Bridge, NY / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 USA / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1998018760/PP/
/ Hungry children / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 USA / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b06165/
/ School at Pie Town, NM is held at the Farm Bureau building / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 USA / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000353/PP/resource/fsac.1a34104/
/ Farm foreclosure sale / Picture from the FDR Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. / http://0.tqn.com/d/history1900s/1/0/k/gd10.gif
/ Christmas dinner IA in 1935 / Picture from the FDR Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. / http://0.tqn.com/d/history1900s/1/0/Z/1/gd50.gif
/ Family who traveled by freight train / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 USA / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b34311/
/ Poster for the annual farm and home week at the College of Agriculture, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, January 6-10, 1941, showing a snow-covered barn, silo, and mailbox. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC2-3742) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92500875/
/ Poster for exhibition of WPA welfare services; text in red, white and blue. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC2-5193) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98510089/
/ Poster for the WPA Statewide Library Project, showing a boy reading a book, surrounded by a bat, ghost, witch, and other images of Halloween. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction numberLC-USZC2-854) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98509532/
/ Poster showing an outhouse in a picturesque, small town setting. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction numberLC-USZC2-1594) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98508956/
/ Poster for the Chicago Department of Health, showing a flying disc "Toxoid" preventing a lightning bolt from striking a child. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction numberLC-USZC2-5171) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98508392/
/ Poster shows a young woman holding books and a young man holding machine parts, with factories and city skyline below. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction numberLC-USZC2-5219) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98509768/
/ Poster encouraging planting trees as a method of soil conservation. / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (reproduction number LC-USZC2-815) / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98517930/
Rubric
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NEW DEAL PROGRAM
PROPAGANDA POSTER
(30 points)
Design a propaganda poster in MS Word for your New Deal Program. You can use color, pictures, borders, font, font size, bold, italics, underline, and/or capital letters to emphasize the important parts of the poster.
· Poster should be mostly visual.
· Keep text brief and to the point, use words and/or phrases only, no sentences (10 – 15 words maximum). Remember to proofread and View – One Page before printing.
Self Evaluation: (5 points possible for each item on list)
Poster is mostly visual
Message is clear
Important information is emphasized
Page Layout – made good use of the whole page
Creativity is evident
Peer Evaluation (average score)
Teacher Evaluation: (5 points possible for each item on list)
Poster is mostly visual
Message is clear
Important information is emphasized
Page Layout – made good use of the whole page
Creativity is evident
Peer Evaluation (average score)
Peer Evaluation:
Poster is mostly visual (2 pts)
Message is clear (3 pts)
Handouts
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SUMMARIZE:Briefly describe what the text was about.
______
CONNECTION: How is this article related to the content we are learning about? Give specific examples.
______
Rubric for Great Depression Book Mark
(20 points total)
One of the featured photographs
is included, with proper citation _____/5 points
Important information about the
Great Depression is included _____/10 points
The book mark shows creativity and
neatness, and uses proper mechanics _____/5 points
Total/grade _____/20 points
Rubric for Great Depression Book Mark
(20 points total)
One of the featured photographs
is included, with proper citation _____/5 points
Important information about the
Great Depression is included _____/10 points
The book mark shows creativity and
neatness, and uses proper mechanics _____/5 points
Total/grade _____/20 points
Historical Background
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20th Century History
Top of Form
The Great Depression
By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com Guide
Destitute pea pickers in California.Mother of seven children. (Circa February 1936)
(Photo courtesy the National Archives and Records Administration.)
Historical Importance of the Great Depression: The Great Depression, an immense tragedy that placed millions of Americans out of work, was the beginning of government involvement in the economy and in society as a whole.
Dates: 1929 -- early 1940s
Overview of the Great Depression:
The Stock Market Crash
After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, the United States was thrown into despair on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed and the official beginning of the Great Depression. As stock prices plummeted with no hope of recovery, panic struck. Masses and masses of people tried to sell their stock, but no one was buying. The stock market, which had appeared to be the surest way to become rich, quickly became the path to bankruptcy.
And yet, the Stock Market Crash was just the beginning. Since many banks had also invested large portions of their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks were forced to close when the stock market crashed. Seeing a few banks close caused another panic across the country. Afraid they would lose their own savings, people rushed to banks that were still open to withdraw their money. This massive withdrawal of cash caused additional banks to close. Since there was no way for a bank's clients to recover any of their savings once the bank had closed, those who didn't reach the bank in time also became bankrupt.
Businesses and industry were also affected. Having lost much of their own capital in either the Stock Market Crash or the bank closures, many businesses started cutting back their workers' hours or wages. In turn, consumers began to curb their spending, refraining from purchasing such things as luxury goods. This lack of consumer spending caused additional businesses to cut back wages or, more drastically, to lay off some of their workers. Some businesses couldn't stay open even with these cuts and soon closed their doors, leaving all their workers unemployed.