Year 2: Unit 7 – Booms and Busts – The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression (1920 – 1940): Lessons

Central Question: How “roaring” were the 1920s?

Historical Background

The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society.” People from coast to coast bought the same goods (thanks to nationwide advertising and the spread of chain stores), listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used the same slang! The reform movements of the Progressive Era further transformed American society: Women’s role evolved enormously following the right to vote, although Americans clashed over prohibition. Many Americans were uncomfortable with this new, urban, sometimes racy “mass culture”; in fact, for many people in the United States, the 1920s brought more conflict than celebration.

For more background, read “F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Age of Excess” and “Prohibition and its Effects” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required), and “The Scopes Trial” on the University of Houston Digital History website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Terms:

• Business cycle
• Flappers
• Prohibition
• Fundamentalism

Scholars understand the key features of society during the 1920s and can explain how “roaring” American society was during this era.

Preparation

• Display the Unit 7 Essential Question on the wall in your classroom for scholars to reference throughout the unit.
• Create a word wall in your classroom with the Unit 7 Key Terms for scholars to reference during class discussion. Hold scholars accountable for using these Key Terms throughout the unit.
• Post a timeline in your classroom or create a digital one to track key events from this unit and previous units.
• Prior to teaching Lesson 1, assign “Kid’s Economic Glossary” on the Scholastic website, as well as “A Consumer Economy” on Independence Hall’s USHistory.org website so scholars are prepared to discuss in the Context portion of the lesson.
• Also, to complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
  • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
  • Ensure each scholar has the Lesson 1 Note-taking Template in the Unit 7 Workbook accessible so that notes are purposeful and that scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 7 Lesson 1 Do Now in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Introduce the Essential Question for Unit 7: How did economic booms and busts reshape American society between 1920 and 1940?
• Explain that, each day, scholars will gather more evidence to answer this question.
• Remind scholars that this unit builds upon past content and that they must constantly make connections to previous periods of history to help them answer this Essential Question.
• Then pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in launching their study of the emergence of a “modern” society during the Roaring Twenties.
  • Ask scholars: Why do you think historians call this decade the “Roaring Twenties”? What does it mean to be “roaring”?

Read (5 minutes)

• Scholars read the essay “The Roaring Twenties” on pages 3–5 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook.
• Scholars should read and annotate the source, writing a main idea next to the title.

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the text and their homework.
  • How does the business cycle affect the American economy?
  • Why was the American economy strong in the 1920s?
  • How did a booming economy affect society during the “Roaring Twenties”?
  • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did the reforms and ideals of the Progressive Era continue to affect American society in the 1920s?

Investigate — 15 minutes

• Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars must be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
• Divide scholars into groups, and assign each group one of the following four topics: Economic Instability (pages 6–8 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Flappers (pages 9–10 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Fundamentalism (page 11 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), or Prohibition (pages 12– 14 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.

Circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.

• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. Ask: What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

• Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 1 Note-taking Template in the Unit 7 Workbook during each presentation.
• Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 2 minutes or less.
• As scholars share, chart the major takeaways from each group, and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How did American society change in the 1920s?
  • Who benefited as a result of these changes? Who did not benefit? Why?
  • Why were some Americans concerned by these changes?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did the economic “booms” of the 1920s transform American society?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Lesson 1 Exit Ticket independently in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Homework

• Scholars read “The Great Migration” on the History Channel website and examine the graph on page 16 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: To what extent did Northern cities provide opportunities for African Americans during the Great Migration?

Historical Background

Amidst the economic boom of the 1920s, more than six million African Americans moved from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest, and West from 1916 to 1970. Known as the Great Migration, this mass relocation of millions of Americans had a huge impact on urban life in the United States. Driven from their homes by unsatisfactory economic opportunities and harsh segregation laws, many black Americans headed North, where they took advantage of the thriving economies and the need for industrial workers that first arose during the First World War. As Chicago, New York, and other cities saw their black populations expand exponentially, migrants were forced to deal with poor working conditions and competition for living space as well as widespread racism and prejudice.
For more background, read (or listen to) “Great Migration: The African-American Exodus North” on the NPR website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Term:

• Great Migration

Scholars can apply their knowledge of United States history to interpret original sources and use these sources to write clear, concise, and compelling claims about the Great Migration.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 7 Lesson 2 Do Now in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Review the big ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Build excitement for today’s DBQ by showing scholars selected images from Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series on pages 17–23 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the emergence of a “modern” society during the Roaring Twenties. Tell scholars they will apply all their knowledge as historians to answer a question using new sources that they have not seen before.
• Scholars read the Lessons 2–4 DBQ Historical Context and Task in the Unit 7 Workbook to frame their thinking.
• Ask: What is the DBQ Task asking us to do?
• Pairs of scholars interpret the Task. Call on pairs to share out.

Guided Document Study — 20 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars must tackle Documents A through D today by writing a main idea next to the title and using the text and their main idea annotations to concisely answer each short-answer question with a clear claim.

Read and Write (8 minutes)

• Read Document C* on page 25 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook with scholars. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title and use their understanding of the text to write a claim for the accompanying short-answer question in the Unit 7 Workbook.
  • *Note: Document C contains complex and difficult ideas. If you anticipate that scholars will struggle more with documents A, B, or D, read one of those documents instead.

Discuss (10 minutes)

• Have a scholar with a strong main idea annotation and/or claim share out. Have scholars discuss 1) how the main idea annotation reflects a full understanding of the document and/or 2) why the claim effectively answers this short-answer question.
• Share non-exemplar work. Have the class discuss why the main idea annotation does not reflect full understanding of the document and/or why the claim does not answer the short- answer question.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work and know what they must do to improve.

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main ideas or claims based on the discussion.

Read and Write — 20 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate the remaining documents on pages 24–25 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook and write a clear and concise answer to each short-answer question in the Unit 7 Workbook. Hold scholars accountable for the clarity and strength of their claims!
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their thinking. Can their main idea annotations be made stronger? Are their claims simple and clear? Are they revising their writing?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ short answers and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make both to improve the strength of their claims as well as of their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: To what extent did Northern cities provide opportunities for African Americans during the Great Migration?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars can plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer a historical question with strong theses and evidence that supports or proves their theses.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their short answers from the previous lesson based on the feedback you gave them.

Plan — 15 minutes

• With partners or in small groups, scholars discuss possible answers to the DBQ Task. Ensure that scholars explain why Northern cities did or did not provide opportunities and consider the counterargument.
• Lead a whole-class discussion on possible ideas to answer this question. Remind scholars that there is not a single right answer to this question, but they must have evidence to defend their answers!
  • Call on pairs to share out their answers and defend them with evidence from Documents A through D.
  • Have scholars evaluate one another’s answers. Scholars should consider whether each answer is compelling and based on accurate evidence from the text.
  • Give scholars feedback on the clarity and quality of their answers.
• During the discussion, chart strong vs. weak answers. Ensure that scholars can explain what makes a particular answer strong or weak.
• Tell scholars that their answers to this question will become their theses in their final DBQ essays. All of the evidence in an essay must prove this thesis.
• After the discussion, give scholars 2 minutes to determine their own theses on the planning page of the DBQ in the Unit 7 Workbook. Ensure that scholars are not just copying an answer that was discussed but are actually formulating their own answers based on the discussion.

Outline and Draft — 30 minutes

Outline (15 minutes)

• Scholars create an outline for their DBQ essays on the planning page of the DBQ by finalizing their theses and determining the three strongest pieces of evidence from Documents A through D that support their theses, based on their work in the previous lesson and the class discussion.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar explain his or her thesis. Does that thesis answer the Central Question? Is it compelling? Does the evidence selected actually prove this thesis?
  • If scholars are struggling to choose strong evidence, have them write how each document helps answer the DBQ Task on each document or in their outlines.

Draft (15 minutes)

• Scholars use their outlines to draft their DBQ essays. As scholars draft, they must focus on proving their theses with strong evidence from at least three different documents.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their writing. Can their writing be made stronger?
  • Ensure that scholars are using relevant evidence to prove their theses in their DBQ essays.
  • Ensure that scholars are revising their writing to make sure it is simple and clear.
  • Hold scholars accountable for rereading their writing and eliminating any typos and errors in basic conventions.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make both to improve the strength of their theses and supporting evidence in this essay as well as in their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: To what extent did Northern cities provide opportunities for African Americans during the Great Migration?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their essays based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

• To complete this revision, before class you must:
  • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar draft essay from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-lesson. If there is no strong exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their DBQ essays and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

• The launch is your opportunity to provide a whole-class model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
  • Reread the DBQ Task with scholars: To what extent did Northern cities provide opportunities for African Americans during the Great Migration?
  • Then share an exemplar draft from the previous lesson. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s thesis compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this thesis. Be sure to highlight the connection between a strong outline and an exemplar essay!
  • Have scholars articulate how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Mini-lesson — 10 minutes

• Choose an anonymous scholar’s draft essay that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholar work from the previous lesson, and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the DBQ essay. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
• Set your expectations for how scholars will apply their individualized feedback to revise their work today.

Revise 1 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their DBQ essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will be productive only if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
• Ensure that all scholars are focused and that the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or jazz music to ensure a calm and focused environment. Positively narrate scholars who are effectively applying your feedback.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

• Share an essay that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
  • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to their partner how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to continue revising their essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their essays.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Help scholars to focus on what is most important: a strong thesis and supporting evidence.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Homework

• Scholars read the articles “What Is Jazz?” on the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website and the overview of music on the 1920s page of the University of Houston Digital History website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: Why were the 1920s called the “Jazz Age”?

Historical Background

Jazz is a music genre that originated among African Americans in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Great Migration, large numbers of jazz musicians migrated from New Orleans to major Northern cities such as Chicago and New York, leading to a wider dispersal of jazz as different styles developed in different cities. As the 1920s progressed, jazz rose in popularity and helped to generate a cultural shift. Because of its popularity in speakeasies and its proliferation because of the emergence of more advanced recording devices, jazz became very popular in a short time.

Americans from all backgrounds listened and danced to jazz music. The music’s upbeat, unpredictable melodies came to embody the cultural fervor and excitement of the era. This, along with the music’s mass appeal, led author F. Scott Fitzgerald to characterize the 1920s as the Jazz Age.

For more background, read “A New Orleans Jazz History, 1895–1927” on the National Park Service website, and browse PBS’s website about Ken Burns’ film Jazz.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Term:

• Jazz

Scholars understand the rise of jazz music and can explain why it became an essential part of American society by the 1920s.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 7 Lesson 5 Do Now in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Watch and Discuss, 1 — 20 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the emergence of a “modern” society during the Roaring Twenties.

Watch (12 minutes)

• Watch the documentary Jazz, Episode 1 “Gumbo,” directed by Ken Burns, available on Amazon Prime Video.
  • To access Amazon Prime Video, you must first make an Amazon Prime account.
  • Begin the episode at the beginning and pause the episode at 5:00; resume the episode at 8:00 and pause the episode at 9:25; resume the episode at 40:58 and pause the episode at 44:30 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following questions as they watch the video:
  • Why did jazz music develop in New Orleans?
  • How is jazz music distinct from previous genres of music?

Discuss (6 minutes)

• Scholars, in pairs, discuss the questions posed before the video. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with claims supported by evidence from the video.
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: Why is jazz considered the first “true” American music?

Watch and Discuss, 2 — 20 minutes

Watch (16 minutes)

• Continue to watch the documentary Jazz, Episode 2 “The Gift,” Episode 3 “Our Language,” and Episode 4 “The True Welcome,” directed by Ken Burns, available on Amazon Prime Video.
  • Begin Episode 2 at the beginning and pause the episode at 6:38; begin the Episode 3 at the beginning and pause the episode at 5:22; begin Episode 4 at 17:55 and pause the episode at 22:43 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following questions as they watch the video:
  • Why did jazz music spread across the country?
  • Why did jazz music become so popular?

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the questions posed before the video. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with claims supported by evidence from the video.
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: To what extent did jazz blur racial boundaries during the “Roaring Twenties”?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • Why were the 1920s called the “Jazz Age”? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Homework

• Scholars read “The New Negro Renaissance” by Maryemma Graham on the New York Public Library website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How did the Harlem Renaissance transform American arts and culture?

Historical Background

Jazz was just one of the many cultural contributions spearheaded by African Americans as a result of the Great Migration. During the Great Migration, many African Americans moved to Harlem, and together, formed a new movement, called the Harlem Renaissance. Spanning the 1920s and 1930s, the Harlem Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity that ultimately spread far beyond its origins in Harlem. Its essence was summed up by critic and teacher Alain Locke in 1926 when he declared that through art, “Negro life is seizing its first chances for group expression and self determination.” The movement celebrated African American culture — and confronted its hardships — in American society.

For more background, browse the Harlem Renaissance Teacher’s Guide on the Library of Congress website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Terms:

• The Harlem Renaissance
• The New Negro

Scholars understand the key movements of the Harlem Renaissance and can explain how these movements transformed American arts and culture.

Preparation

• To complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
  • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
  • Ensure each scholar has the Lesson 6 Note-Taking Template in the Unit 7 Workbook so that notes are purposeful and that scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the emergence of a “modern” society during the Roaring Twenties.

Read (5 minutes)

• Scholars read “Alain Locke: The New Negro” on page 29 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook.
• Scholars should read and annotate the source, writing a main idea next to the title.

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video as well as the questions below. Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the homework and the text.
  • What did it mean to be the “New Negro”?
  • Why did this idea of a “New Negro” emerge during the Harlem Renaissance?
  • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How was Locke’s “New Negro” different from African Americans in earlier eras of American history?

Investigate — 15 minutes

• Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars must be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
• Divide scholars into groups, and assign each group one of the following four topics: Literature (pages 30–31 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Music (pages 32–33 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Theater and Dance (page 34 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), or Visual Arts (pages 35–38 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• Circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. Ask: What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

• Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 6 Note-taking Template in the Unit 7 Workbook during each presentation.
• Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 2 minutes or less.
• As scholars share, chart the main takeaways from each group, and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How did the Harlem Renaissance reflect African American culture and lived experiences?
  • Compare the different artists and movements of the era. To what extent were their messages similar?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did African American culture during the Harlem Renaissance reshape American society during the “Roaring Twenties”?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Lesson 6 Exit Ticket independently in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Homework

• Scholars read “The Great Depression” on Independence Hall’s USHistory.org and “Bank Run” on the History Channel website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: Why did the banks fail in 1929?

Historical Background

On October 29, 1929, the booms of the 1920s came to a halting stop. Black Tuesday hit Wall Street, as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, the United States and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression, the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world up to that time. The stock market crash caused banks across the country to fail, as they had lost all their clients’ money in investments that had gone bankrupt. Americans rushed to these banks in hoards, trying to recover their money, only to find that it was gone.

For more background, read “Banking Panics of 1930–31” on the Federal Reserve History website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Terms:

• The Stock Market
• Interest
• President Herbert Hoover
• Bank Run
• The Crash of 1929

Scholars understand why the banks failed in 1929 and successfully simulate how and why bank runs contributed to this bank failure.

Preparation

• To complete this simulation, before class you must:
  • Provide scholars with envelopes, fake money (enough $100 bills to give all scholars
    — except for three — $200), and cards depicting miniature cars (5) and houses (1) in the Unit 7 Workbook.
  • Put three chairs at the front of the room to be used as banks. Label the chairs Bank 1, Bank 2, and Bank 3.
  • In advance, choose three scholars who will be assigned as the “bankers” in the simulation, or determine a system for scholars to choose these roles.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 7 Lesson 7 Do Now in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Context — 5 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in beginning their study of the causes and consequences of the Great Depression by simulating the bank failures in 1929.
• Ensure that scholars are familiar with some of the Key Terms of this unit to truly access this lesson, most importantly Stock Market, Interest, and Bank Run.

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the homework and previous lessons.
  • Recall the previous lessons in this unit. Why was the economy booming in the 1920s?
  • Why did the stock market crash in 1929?

Simulation — 15 minutes

• Divide the three “bankers” from the rest of the class, and have them sit in the chairs in the front of the room.
• Give the remaining scholars $200 each in fake $100 bills, and tell these scholars that they are “Depositors.” Briefly explain to scholars that a Depositor is a person who puts his or her money in a bank.
• Announce that each Depositor has earned or saved $200 and will now deposit this money in his or her bank of choice.
• After scholars choose their banks and deposit their money, announce that Bank 1 is investing $500 in the stock market because the banker thinks that he or she will make 10% on the money in a month, so that original $500 will become $550. Take $500 from Banker 1, and put it into an envelope labeled “Stock Market.”
• Announce that Bank 2 is loaning five scholars $300 each to purchase a Ford Model B, a car that was very popular. They sell for between $450 and $700. Take $1,500 from Banker 2, put it into an envelope labeled “Car Loans,” and give five scholars a car card. Explain that, because the loans were at 20% interest, Banker 2 can expect to make $300 when loans are repaid.
• Ask scholars who would like to purchase a house. Select one scholar and tell him or her that her house will cost $7,000. He or she already has $6,000 but must borrow the other $1,000 from Banker 3. That scholar will have 30 years to pay it back but must pay 20% interest on the loan each month. The teacher should then take $1,000 from Banker 3, put it in an envelope labeled “Mortgage,” and give the scholar buying the house a house card.
• Ask the bankers to count their money and then tell the class how much they have in their hands.
• Announce to the class that the stock market has crashed and what this means. Have scholars imagine that this is happening today.
• Tell the class that you heard in the market that Bank 1 lost a lot of money in the crash and might fail as a result.
• Ask Depositors who used Bank 1 what they are going to do. Have them raise their hands to discuss their options. Allow scholars who want to withdraw their $200 from the bank to do so.
• Ask Depositors who used Banks 2 and 3 how they feel and what they will do. Allow scholars to withdraw money if they wish until a bank fails and can no longer give scholars back their money.
• Explain to scholars that this is what happened to many Americans after the stock market crash of 1929. Show scholars the images in Document A to illustrate the chaos caused by the bank runs.
  • Ask: To what extent do these images reflect what happened in our simulation today?

Investigate — 15 minutes

Listen (12 minutes)

• Listen to President Roosevelt’s March 12, 1933, Fireside Chat, “On the Banking Crisis,” on the Miller Center website.
• Scholars should follow along with the transcript in on pages 42–44 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they listen:
  • How did President Roosevelt respond to the stock market crash?

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the recordings. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with claims supported by evidence from the simulation and the recording.

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • Why did the banks fail in 1929? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Homework

• Scholars read the articles “The Great Depression” and the “Dust Bowl” on the History Channel website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How did the Great Depression affect the quality of life for Americans across the country?

Historical Background

The failure of the banks and the stock market crash sparked the Great Depression, the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its nadir, some 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed, and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. Although the relief and reform measures put into place by President Roosevelt helped lessen the worst effects of the Depression, the economy would not fully turn around until after 1939, when World War II jump-started American industry.

For more background, read “Dorothea Lange and the Great Depression” and “Women and the Great Depression” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Terms:

• Recession and Depression
• The Great Depression
• The Dust Bowl

Scholars understand the national extent of the Great Depression and can explain how the Great Depression affected various regions in different ways.

Preparation

• To complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
  • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
  • Ensure each scholar has the Lesson 8 Note-taking Template in the Unit 7 Workbook accessible that notes are purposeful and that scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the causes and consequences of the Great Depression.
• Have scholars discuss in pairs the meaning of the word “depression” as defined in their Homework reading from the beginning of the unit. Call on scholars to share out to ensure that scholars can access today’s lesson.

Listen (3 minutes)

• Listen to the song “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” on YouTube.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they listen to the song:
  • How did life as described in the song compare with life during the “Roaring Twenties”?

Discuss (5 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video as well as the question below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the homework and the video.
  • Why did the stock market crash?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas: To what extent were the “booms” of the 1920s responsible for the stock market crash?

Investigate — 15 minutes

• Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts at one topic so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars must be prepared to clearly and concisely share about their assigned topic at the end of their group work time.
• Divide scholars into groups, and assign each group one of the following two topics: the Great Depression in the Cities (pages 47–48 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook) or the Great Depression in the Rural United States (pages 49–52 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• Circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. Ask: What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

• Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and must take notes in their Lesson 8 Note-taking Template in the Unit 7 Workbook during each presentation.
• Have scholars from each group present about their topic to the class in 2 minutes or less.
• As scholars share, chart the main takeaways from each group, and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • Compare the impact of the Great Depression in both urban and rural America. To what extent was the impact similar?
  • How did the Dust Bowl worsen the impact of the Great Depression?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did the “busts” of the Great Depression reshape American society?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Lesson 8 Exit Ticket independently in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Homework

• Scholars read “The New Deal” on pages 54–55 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: To what extent was the New Deal a success?

Historical Background

Although President Herbert Hoover urged patience and self-reliance, by 1932, one of the bleakest years of the Great Depression, at least one-quarter of the American workforce was unemployed. When President Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted swiftly to try and stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief to those who were suffering. Over the next eight years, the government instituted a series of experimental projects and programs, known collectively as the New Deal, which aimed to restore some measure of dignity and prosperity to many Americans. More than that, Roosevelt’s New Deal permanently changed the federal government’s relationship to the U.S. populace.

For more background, read “What Did the New Deal Accomplish?” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Terms:

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• The New Deal
• Social Security

Scholars can apply their knowledge of U. S. history to interpret original sources and use these sources to write clear, concise, and compelling claims that evaluates the success of the New Deal.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 7 Lesson 9 Do Now in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Build excitement for today’s DBQ, and invest scholars in beginning their study of the New Deal and its lasting impact on American society. Tell scholars they will apply all their knowledge as historians to answer a question using new sources that they have not seen before.
• Scholars read the Lessons 9–11 DBQ Historical Context and Task in the Unit 7 Workbook to frame their thinking.
• Ask: What is the DBQ Task asking us to do?
• Scholars, in pairs, interpret the Task. Call on pairs to share out.

Guided Document Study — 20 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars must tackle Documents A through D today by writing a main idea next to the title and using the text and their main idea annotations to concisely answer each short-answer question with a clear claim.

Read and Write (8 minutes)

• Read Document D* on page 57 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook with scholars. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title and use their understanding of the text to write a claim for the accompanying short-answer question in the Unit 7 Workbook.
  • *Note: Document D contains complex and difficult ideas. If you anticipate that scholars will struggle more with documents A, B, or C, read one of those documents instead.

Discuss (10 minutes)

• Have a scholar with a strong main idea annotation and/or claim share out. Have scholars discuss 1) how the main idea annotation reflects a full understanding of the document and/or 2) why the claim effectively answers this short-answer question.
• Share non-exemplar work. Have the class discuss why the main idea annotation does not reflect full understanding of the document and/or why the claim does not answer the short- answer question.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work and know what they must do to improve.

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main ideas or claims based on the discussion.

Read and Write — 20 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate the remaining documents on pages 55–57 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook and write a clear and concise answer to each short-answer question in the Unit 7 Workbook. Hold scholars accountable for the clarity and strength of their claims!
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their thinking. Can their main idea annotations be made stronger? Are their claims simple and clear? Are they revising their writing?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ short answers and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make both to improve the strength of their claims as well as of their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in their writing.

Central Question: To what extent was the New Deal a success?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars can plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer a historical question with strong theses and evidence that supports or proves their theses.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their short answers from the previous lesson based on the feedback you gave them.

Plan — 15 minutes

• With partners or in small groups, scholars discuss possible answers to the DBQ Task. Ensure that scholars explain why the New Deal was or was not a success and consider the counterargument.
• Lead a whole-class discussion on possible ideas to answer this question. Remind scholars that there is not a single right answer to this question, but they must have evidence to defend their answers!
  • Call on pairs to share out their answers and defend them with evidence from Documents A through D.
  • Have scholars evaluate one another’s answers. Scholars should consider whether each answer is compelling and based on accurate evidence from the text.
  • Give scholars feedback on the clarity and quality of their answers.
• During the discussion, chart strong vs. weak answers. Ensure that scholars can explain what makes a particular answer strong or weak.
• Tell scholars that their answers to this question will become their theses in their final DBQ essays. All of the evidence in an essay must prove this thesis.
• After the discussion, give scholars 2 minutes to determine their own theses on the planning page of the DBQ in the Unit 7 Workbook. Ensure that scholars are not just copying an answer that was discussed but are actually formulating their own answers based on the discussion.

Outline and Draft — 30 minutes

Outline (15 minutes)

• Scholars create an outline for their DBQ essays on the planning page of the DBQ by finalizing their theses and determining the three strongest pieces of evidence from Documents A through D that support their theses, based on their work in the previous lesson and the class discussion.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar explain his or her thesis. Does the thesis answer the Central Question? Is it compelling? Does the evidence selected actually prove this thesis?
  • If scholars are struggling to choose strong evidence, have them write how each document helps answer the DBQ Task on each document or in their outlines.

Draft (15 minutes)

• Scholars use their outlines to draft their DBQ essays. As scholars draft, they must focus on proving their theses with strong evidence from at least three different documents.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their writing. Can their writing be made stronger?
  • Ensure that scholars are using relevant evidence to prove their theses in their DBQ essays.
  • Ensure that scholars are revising their writing to make sure it is simple and clear.
  • Hold scholars accountable for rereading their writing and eliminating any typos and errors in basic conventions.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make both to improve the strength of their theses and supporting evidence in this essay as well as in their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: To what extent was the New Deal a success?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their essays based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Lesson 11: The New Deal

Preparation

• To complete this revision, before class you must:
  • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar draft essay from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-lesson. If there is no strong exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their DBQ essays and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

• The launch is your opportunity to provide a whole-class model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
  • Reread the DBQ Task with scholars:To what extent was the New Deal a success?
  • Then share an exemplar draft from the previous lesson. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s thesis compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this thesis. Be sure to highlight the connection between a strong outline and an exemplar essay!
  • Have scholars articulate how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Mini-lesson — 10 minutes

• Choose an anonymous scholar’s draft essay that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholar work from the previous lesson, and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the DBQ essay. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
• Set your expectations for how scholars will apply their individualized feedback to revise their work today.

Revise 1 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their DBQ essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will be productive only if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
• Ensure that all scholars are focused and that the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or jazz music to ensure a calm and focused environment. Positively narrate scholars who are effectively applying your feedback.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

• Share an essay that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
  • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to their partner how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to continue revising their essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their essays.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Help scholars to focus on what is most important: a strong thesis and supporting evidence.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Homework

• Scholars read “The New Deal’s Legacy” on the America’s Great Depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal page of the Digital Public Library of America website, and “Conclusion: The Legacy of the New Deal” on the Lumen Learning website in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, give scholars a final grade on their revised essays, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Central Question: How did the New Deal affect American society over time?

Historical Background

The New Deal did not end the Depression nor did it significantly redistribute income. It did, however, provide Americans with economic security that they had never known before. The New Deal legacies include unemployment insurance, old age insurance, and insured bank deposits. The Securities and Exchange Commission protected stock market investments of millions of small investors. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) created environmental and infrastructural projects that still stand today. The Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae enabled a majority of Americans to become homeowners. The New Deal’s greatest legacy was a shift in government philosophy. As a result of the New Deal, Americans came to believe that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure the health of the nation’s economy and the welfare of its citizens.

For more background, read “The New Deal: Then and Now” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 7 Key Term:

• Alphabet Soup Agencies

Scholars understand the impact of the New Deal and can explain how it affected American society over time.

Preparation

• To complete this gallery walk, before class you must:
  • Print all texts and images on cardstock and distribute at each respective station.
  • Determine how you will present video or audio content, if necessary.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 7 Lesson 12 Do Now in the Unit 7 Workbook.

Context — 5 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the New Deal and its lasting impact on American society.

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with strong ideas and back up their ideas with evidence from the homework.
• Why do historians disagree on the legacy of the New Deal?
• Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did the Progressive Era influence the programs and ideologies of the New Deal?

Investigate — 30 minutes

• Divide scholars into six groups. Assign each group one of these stations to begin the gallery walk: Banking (page 60 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Housing (page 61 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Infrastructure (page 62 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), Social Security (page 63 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), the Arts (page 64 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook), and Social Safety Net (page 65 of the Unit 7 Sourcebook).
• Explain that each group will examine the images, watch the videos, or read the text at their assigned station for 5 minutes before switching to the next station.
• After examining the sources, scholars should record their observations and inferences.
• Circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work, and conference with groups of scholars as they rotate between stations.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • Compare the impact of the New Deal on these six different aspects of American society.
  • In which aspect of American society did the New Deal have the largest impact? Why?
  • How did the New Deal change the role of the U.S. government?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did the New Deal reshape American society?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • How did the New Deal affect American society over time? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from different stations.

Prompts: Scholars may choose one of the following prompts about big ideas in American history.

• Which name better describes American culture and society during the 1920s: The Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age? Why?
• How did the economy affect American society during the 1920s and 1930s?
• How did the role of government evolve during the 1920s and 1930s?

Project Menu: Scholars may then choose to respond to the prompt chosen above with one of the formats outlined below. If scholars choose to propose their own project format, they must submit a proposal to you for approval before beginning the assignment.

• Thematic Essay: Scholars write a thematic essay that answers one of the extra credit prompts, drawing on evidence both from the unit and from their own independent research.
• Podcast: Scholars create an original podcast that answers one of the prompts above. The podcast should be 5–8 minutes long. Podcasts must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• “Docudrama”: Scholars create a “docudrama” that answers one of the prompts above. A docudrama is a dramatized video that tells the story of historic events. The docudrama should be 5–8 minutes long. Docudramas must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• Interview: Scholars record (video or podcast) an interview with a “historian” or a historical figure in order to answer one of the prompts above. The historian or historical figure must be the scholar. A parent, a classmate, or a teacher should be the interviewer. Interviews should be 5–8 minutes long. Interviews must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• Propose your own project: Scholars may propose to do their own project. These projects must still answer one of the extra credit prompts, and any project proposal must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.