Causes of the Great Depression

801 & 802

Stephanie Verdino

INTRODUCTION

Quickly scan each photo. What do you notice first?

List the people, objects, and activities you see.

Write one sentence summarizing each photo.

The American economy went from unprecedented prosperity in the 1920s to unprecedented hardships in the 1930s. Why did it occur? You are a journalist for the New York Times in the year 2022. You are going back in time to investigate the causes of the Great Depression.

The United States and many parts of the world felt the blows of a strong economic depression during the years of 1929 to 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression recorded in United States history. You will work with a partner to investigate and decide who or what was to blame for the Depression. You will use evidence from your research to support your conclusion.

TASK

At the end of this WebQuest, you and your partner must write an article explaining who or what was to blame for the Depression. You will use the evidence from your investigation to support your response.

You and your partner will create a digital presentation. You will share your findings, explain the solutions that ended the Depression and make a connection to today.

PROCESS/RESOURCES

Follow these steps:

DAY 1: CONDUCT RESEARCH AND COLLECT DATA

● Skim Chapter 18, familiarize yourself with the general information in these sections. This will provide an overview of the Great Depression, before you begin your investigation.

● Watch this video: FDRLibrary - Take notes and apply them to your Organizer.

● Reading 1 Why did the Stock Market Crash? Apply it to your Organizer.

● Reading 2 List the economic causes of the Great Depression. Apply it to your Organizer.

● Reading 3 What programs were created to help the country recover from the economic problems of the Great Depression?

● Reading 4 How can we connect a problem from the Great Depression to a problem that exists today?

DAY 2: WRITE YOUR NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

● Use Newspaper Generator to create your headline. Add your headline to your document. Who or what was to blame for the Depression? Your article should be at least one page. Use evidence from your Organizer to support your conclusion. Use a bibliography to show where you found the essential information.

DAY 3: CREATE A DIGITAL PRESENTATION

● Using the 4 step process outlined by the AHPPA, you will create a digital presentation to answer the following steps.

● Define the problems during the Great Depression

● Gather evidence that these problems existed

● Identify the causes of the Great Depression

● Evaluate the actual public policy that was created to deal with each problem

● Choose one problem that existed in the 1930s and currently exists today. Compare public policies of both time periods. Was the problem solved?

DAY 4: PRESENT AND REFLECT

● You will present your digital presentation to the class.

● Reflection - google form

EVALUATION

Newspaper Article Rubric

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.	Most of the grammar, punctuation, and spelling are correct.	Some of the grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct.	Little grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct.
Creativity	The article contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his/her imagination.	The article contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his/her imagination.	The article contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the flow of the article. The author has tried to use his/her imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the article. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.
Organization	The article is very well organized.	The article is organized with few errors.	The article is a little hard to follow. Ideas lack continuity.	Critical errors in form.
Article - Interest	The article contains many facts, figures, and/or word choices that make the article exceptionally interesting to readers.	The article contains few facts, figures, and/or word choices that make the articles interesting to readers.	The article contains very little facts or figures but is marginally interesting to read.	The article does not contain facts or figures that might make it interesting to read.

Social Studies Presentation Rubric

CATEGORY	(4)	(3)	(2)	(1)
Format	Format of Google Slides presentation is clear, legible and easy to follow. No spelling or grammatical errors. Title page with Student Name & class.	Format of Google Slides presentation is mostly clear, legible and easy to follow. Few spelling or grammatical errors. Title page with Student Name & class.	Format of Google Slides presentation is mostly clear, legible and easy to follow. Several spelling or grammatical errors. Title page with Student Name & class.	Format of Google Slides presentation is not clear, legible nor easy to follow. Many spelling or grammatical errors. No Title Page.
Content	Shows complete understanding of the topic.	Mostly shows understanding of the topic. Has a few inconsistencies.	Shows basic understanding of the topic. Unclear on parts of the topic.	Has little to no understanding of the topic. Does not demonstrate comprehension of the topic.
Presentation Skills	Speaks with consistent eye contact with the audience, posture is excellent, the voice of the speaker is loud enough for the entire class to hear, and clearly pronounces words. Uses presentation as a “memory tool”.	Speaker frequently has eye contact with the audience, posture is mostly consistent, the voice of the speaker is loud enough for most of the class to hear, and clearly pronounces most words. Occasionally reads from presentation.	Speaker occasionally has eye contact with the audience, posture needs improvement, and the voice of the speaker is not loud enough for most of the class to hear, inconsistent with most words. Occasionally reads from presentation.	Speaker has no eye contact with the audience, poor posture, low speaking voice, and mispronounces many words. Long pauses that interrupt speech and mostly reads from the presentation.
Technology Skills	No missing slide information. Transition from slide to slide effortlessly.	Little missing slide information. Transition from slide to slide with minor issues.	Many missing slide information pieces. Transition from slide to slide with issues.	Missing major pieces of slide information. Transition from slide to slide with major issues.
Digital Media Usage	Has 5+ images, videos, graphics. Font size 20+, font choice and color to background allow for easy reading.	Has 5+ images, videos, graphics. Font size 20+, font choice and color to background allow for labored reading.	Has 2-4 images, videos, graphics. Font size 20+, font choice and color to background allow for labored reading.	Has no images, videos, graphics. Font size 20+, font choice and color to background allow for labored reading.
Teaching of Topic	Speaker defines the topic, gives several examples of the topic, presents major research points of the topic, clearly explains why this topic is important to our world.	Speaker defines the topic, gives some examples of the topic, presents some research points of the topic, explains why this topic is important to our world.	Speaker defines the topic, gives few examples of the topic, presents few research points of the topic, and does not explain why this topic is important to our world.	Speaker does not define topic, gives few examples of topic, presents few research points of topic, and does not explain why this topic is important to our world.
Citations	Cites all sources of information.	Cites most sources of information.	Cites some sources of information.	Cites no sources of information.

CONCLUSION

During the 1930s the United States went through one of the worst economic declines in world history. Many believed it was because of the stock market crash, however other factors played a significant role in causing the Great Depression to occur. Big business (overproduction), concentration of wealth, unwise stock market investors (e.g. buying on margin), consumers buying on credit, government actions (e.g. tariffs, farm subsidies) all played a critical factor in influencing its economic depression within the United States.

As we step back into our own lives, take a few minutes to think about life today vs. life during The Great Depression. What are the differences? What are the similarities?

STANDARDS

Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-8

RH1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

RH4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including content-specific vocabulary related to history/social studies.

RH5: Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally, visually, and graphically).

RH6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view, stance, or purpose (e.g. rhetorical language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts, images, visuals, etc.).

RH7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

RH8: Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. Identify and distinguish between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

RH9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Literacy 6-12 Standards for Writing

STANDARD 1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

STANDARD 2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

STANDARD 5: Conduct short as well as more sustained research based on focused questions to demonstrate understanding of the subject under investigation.

STANDARD 6: Gather relevant information from multiple sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

STANDARD 7: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.