The Impact of the Depression

GRADE LEVEL: 7th GRADE

SUBJECT: TEXAS HISTORY

TOPIC:

Documentary Photography of the Great Depression

TEKS:

7.7

OBJECTIVE:

Discuss the impact of the Great Depression on the people of Texas and the United States.

MATERIALS:

See Photographs Below
Texas, Our Texas- Text book: page 525, Weslaco, Migrant Workers
page 527, Robertson, Cotton Pickers

Ben Shahn, The Wife and Child of a Sharecropper, 1935

Russell Lee, Clients at Home,1939

FOCUS:

Show students the images of the photos and paintings. All four depict families in the 1930's. Encourage comments and questions about the photos.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Which of the families do you think is the most affluent? Why?

Which do you think is the least affluent? Why?

(Pick two of the photos ) What do the families have in common?  How are they different?

(Pick photos that show the inside of a home)Based on what you see in the images, what do you think the rest of the homes are like?

Compare the clothing of the people in the various photos.

What do you think their daily lives are like?

What would the children in these photos have in common with children today? What would be different? (Look at the picture Annual Move on page 527,  in Texas, Our Texas)

What does the title tell you about this picture?

What do you think happened to this family?

Where will they be moving to?

FOCUS ACTIVITY:

Imagine that your family had to move across the county and you could only take one car. What possessions would you have to take with you? What would you leave behind? Remember all possessions must fit in or on the car and all family members must have room to ride (no, you can not leave annoying siblings behind!)

RESEARCH ACTIVITY:

Students may research individually or in small groups.

In the Depression the price of food dropped very low. Hamburgers were $.05 and bread was $.04 a loaf. That was really cheap, even back then. But low prices on food actually hurt many people in Texas. Why would this be so?

Even though the Depression was very hard on many Texans, fewer Texans per capita were on "relief" as compared to other states. What two industries in Texas allowed this to occur?

What did the government do to help families in crisis during the Depression?

EXTENSION ACTIVITY:

Watch exerts of the movie Grapes of Wrath, or a similar movie based on the Great Depression.

CULMINATING PROJECT:

Students will create a mural showing the lives of both rural and urban Texas families in the 1930's.