Centro de Estudios de Postgrado Máster en Educación Secundaria Centro de Estudios de Postgrado UNIVERSIDAD DE JAÉN Trabajo Fin de Máster THE GREAT DEPRESSION Alumno/a: Castillo García, David Tutor/a: Paula García Ramírez Dpto.: Filología Inglesa 1 1. Summary ............................................................................................................................... 3 2. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4 3. Theoretical Framework: ....................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Using CLIL in the classroom: .......................................................................................... 5 3.2. Socio-cultural approach ..................................................................................................... 9 3.3. A literary approach ........................................................................................................... 11 3.4. A journey throughout the writers of the period .............................................................. 12 3.5. The Great Depression in other media .............................................................................. 17 3.6. The end of the Great Depression ..................................................................................... 21 3.7. Similarities and differences between The Great Depression and the current economic crisis:........................................................................................................................................ 23 4. Teaching Approach ................................................................................................................. 25 4.1. Justification ...................................................................................................................... 25 4.2. Stage, cycle and educational level ................................................................................... 25 4.3. Didactic Unit ..................................................................................................................... 25 4.3.1. Learning objectives.................................................................................................... 25 4.3.3. Basic competences .................................................................................................... 27 4.3.4. Contents .................................................................................................................... 29 4.3.4.1. Interdisciplinary and cross curricular issues........................................................... 31 4.3.5. Timing ........................................................................................................................ 32 4.3.6. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 32 4.3.7. Attention to diversity and specific needs .................................................................. 33 4.3.8. Activities .................................................................................................................... 33 4.3.9. Materials and Resources: .......................................................................................... 33 4.3.10. Evaluation tools ....................................................................................................... 35 4.3.11. Evaluation criteria ................................................................................................... 35 5. Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 56 5.1. Legislation ........................................................................................................................ 56 6. Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 57 6.1 For the epistemological framework .................................................................................. 57 6.2 For the Didactic unit .......................................................................................................... 59 2 1. Summary The reason for the study of the Great Depression during the development of this work should extend to the search for knowledge on a black period in the history of the United States, which began with the global stock market crash, the crash of 29. The topic will deepen into the causes of this movement, its beginning and its influence, economic, social and cultural, reflected in the literature by various authors, films, music, etc. It seeks to encourage the student’s interest when analyzing the different prominent literary authors of this movement, promoting the enjoyment of literary reading, in this case, especially American literature and encouraging the expansion of knowledge. The teaching methodology is based on a CLIL program combining the study of history with learning and improving the level of English of the students. Keywords: Great Depression, American Literature, crash of ’29, economic, social, cultural, CLIL. El motivo del estudio de la Gran Depresión en esta unidad didáctica se debe a la búsqueda de ampliar conocimientos sobre un periodo negro en la historia de los Estados Unidos, el cual comenzó con el colapso mundial de la bolsa, el crack del 29. La temática ahondará las causas de este movimiento, su inicio y su influencia, tanto económica, como socioculturalmente, reflejado en la literatura de varios autores, en el cine, en la música, etc. Se busca fomentar el interés del alumno a la hora de estudiar a los diferentes autores literarios destacados de este movimiento, promover el disfrute de la lectura literaria, en este caso, muy especial la literatura norteamericana e incitar a la ampliación de conocimientos. La metodología de enseñanza se basará en un programa CLIL combinando el estudio de la historia con el aprendizaje y mejora del nivel del inglés del alumnado. Palabras clave: La Gran Depresión, Literatura Americana, crac del ’29, economía, sociedad, cultura, CLIL. 3 2. Introduction Due to a recession by the 1929 stock market crash, that event generally marks the beginning of the United States economy's collapse into the Great Depression, an unprecedented period of high unemployment, low productivity, bankruptcy, farm foreclosures, bank failures, and homelessness. In 1933 the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S. was only 60 percent of 1929 values, the value of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange was less than a fifth of its 1929 value, and the unemployment rate had risen to almost 25 percent. While the numbers are startling, they hardly convey the depth of hardship experienced by the average family. The period of the Great Depression is one of the most analyzed epochs in American history, which is unsurprising since much of the federal government's current role was put in place during that period. Despite decades of historical and economic analysis, there remains little consensus over the cause of the Depression. The historian Paul Johnson calls the period "mysterious." Even ideologues, progressive or free market, disagree amongst themselves. However, while disagreeing on the specifics, the progressives generally agree the root cause was unregulated capitalism and the free marketers generally agree the root cause was the Federal Reserve's mismanagement of the money supply, the over-expansion of credit, and the regulations, such as wage and price controls, enacted by Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt. Beyond left and right, there are a number of other less ideologically committed theories, and most economists, regardless of ideology, agree the Depression was a complex event caused by some combination of these theories. If there is one thing scholars agree on, it is that the Great Depression caused a dramatic change in the role and perception of government in America. Through the course of a decade, government quickly shifted from a laissez-faire, hands-off role in the economy to a highly regulated, hands-on role. New Deal programs gave birth to the welfare state, making the federal government much more responsible than ever before for the well-being of the people. Whether this change was good or bad is at the heart of the debate of The Great Depression. This thesis is part of an interdisciplinary project, a joint action plan in which a history lesson unfolds as students learn English as a foreign language. I will start with a brief resume of what I’m going to talk about during my thesis: First, I’m going to introduce a few key points about the use of CLIL for the development of this didactic unit, definition and some characteristics this system has, especially, its double aims, the learning of a subject and the learning of a foreign language, that’s the interest of CLIL method. 4 After that, it will be necessary to develop a socio-cultural approach of the period to be studied, remarking the cause of The Great Depression, its consequences and some economic policies developed during the crisis period. Then, we will introduce into the world of literature with the brief study of some of the most important writers of The Great Depression such as Steinbeck, Dos Passos or Hemingway, for example. Not only literature was important, some other cultural manifestations took place with a greater importance such as the radio, cinema, magazines and comic strips. Finally, we will close with the end of The Great Depression and the similitudes and differences between The Great Depression and nowadays economic crisis. 3. Theoretical Framework 3.1 Using CLIL in the classroom CLIL is an acronym, and as such it tends to attract people’s attention. If we were to ask the question ‘What is subject teaching?’ or ‘What is language teaching?’ we would probably be expecting more than four short articles in response. But CLIL has been bold enough to encapsulate itself within an acronym, implying that it is an approach, a philosophy – an educational paradigm with frontiers that can be defined. We can define CLIL by means of the following five maxims: 1. CLIL is a member of the curriculum club. The first one it’s a very simple definition: Students learn a new subject thanks to a foreign language; CLIL is referred as a construction – as a member of the curricular club. However, it could be uncontroversial because we do not know the extension or levels in whichpupils ‘learn a subject’ by the use of a foreign language, and we are being left unawared of any reasons for using CLIL. 2. CLIL has a dual focus. Here we got a more detailed description: CLIL is used in situations where subjects are taught through a foreign language with two main objectives: first, namely the learning of content, and then, the simultaneous learning of a foreign language. 5 This highlights some of the educational intention inherent to the CLIL paradigm. By means of CLIL, the student learns the subject content whilst at the same time is learning a foreign language too. That’s called the ‘dual-focused’ objective, which implies that CLIL has two aims. 3. CLIL buys us time. CLIL provides exposure to the language and never requires extra time in the curriculum. This could be seen as a good reason to promote an approach with two objectives in mind. First objective is clearly educational (students learn a subject content and a foreign language) and the other one is administrative. The problem lies in the difficulty in finding timetable spaces; so, CLIL promotes the study of subjects in foreign languages, for instance, instead of studying Geography in the majority language, and do it in a foreign language. This method is effective, so, pupils learn the same subject concepts and skills, increasing the time they are in contact with the foreign language – crucial consideration in the improvement of attainment levels. 4. CLIL produces change – let’s notice it! Let’s establish at a different type of definition on CLIL: “…an approach to bilingual education in which both curriculum content (such as science or geography) and English are taught together. It differs from simple Englishmedium education in that the learner is not necessarily expected to have the English proficiency required to cope with the subject before beginning study”. (Graddol, D. 2006) A powerful element of CLIL is its role in the improvement of language skills, students don’t need to have a high level of knowledge. Why don’t? Teachers have to establish adjusts for their methodology; students must be able to understand the content of that subject. Teachers are responsible not only for the transmission of the content, assuming that their audience understood, they also have to think of other processes (group work, tasks, etc) which help to increase the student’s skills. Textbooks have to reflect this maxim. Students are learning a language more related to, the subject matter that they are going to study. CLIL is used both, for students with a higher level and students in a less advanced level; there is no restriction about that. 6 5. CLIL motivates CLIL considers language just as a ‘vehicle’, not as an entity, the central component of the CLIL content. This is a crucial observation, and it lies at the heart of the educational and social change since the development of the Internet and the parallel growth in globalization. English becomes an essential add-on to any curricular programme around the world; it is a subject that pupils learn in order to acquire knowledge. CLIL has dual focusaims;it entails perfectly this post-modern, utilitarian view of the English language. Liberal educationalists may not agree with it, but for the time being it is here to stay. In its defence, CLIL also seems to contribute to the buzz-concept of our times – namely ‘motivation’. Teachers’ forums talk about it endlessly, as do the blurbs on the back of scholastic textbooks and the opening lines of ministerial declarations. Does CLIL install a necessity to learn? If this is true, then we need to know exactly why. We can examine this in subsequent articles, but now, why should CLIL motivate more than other conventional approaches? It could be because: It gives reasons for learning and helps improving the foreign language level. It focuses on and assesses the subject content, so the learner is not being assessed on his/her mastery of the Past Simple (for example) but rather his/her ability to use it in the appropriate places? It produces in students the sensation of real achievement. They are dealing with, and talking and writing about, complex material in the foreign language. They are not being asked to discuss ‘vox-pop’ content as in standard language learning textbooks (Pop Stars, Global Warming, My Favourite Auntie) – where the content is used as a slave to illustrate a certain language structure – but because the content is important in itself. In CLIL there is a chance that they are being asked their opinions because the expression of opinions (for example) is a key competence in the syllabus content. The use of CLILhelps to use language appropriately at the same time we use language to learn efficiently. We have to follow these principles: 1. Content is important, butthis is not just for acquiring knowledge and skills, students have to create their own knowledge, it’s necessary for the understanding and development of skills (adjusted learning). 2. Content is deeply relatedwith learning and thinking processes (cognition). Learners create their own interpretation of the content, which is important for its linguistic demands. 3. An analysis is completely necessary for thinking processes (cognition) for linguistic demands. 7 4. It is necessary to learn language; this is related to the learning context, learning throughout language, we must reconstruct this content and relate it to cognitive processes. Language must be transparent and accessible. 5. Interaction for learning context is essential to learn. Learning context acts thanks to the medium of a foreign language. 6. Interculturality is fundamental to CLIL, located at the core of CLIL. Retrieved from: http://www.onestopenglish.com/Pictures/web/l/c/e/-OSE-CLIL-landing62_620.jpg 8 3.2 Socio-cultural approach1 First World War affected some European regions while the economic crisis erupted at the end and affected the entire planet questioning the capitalist system. It was originated in the United States and it was spread worldwide. BACKGROUND. The First World War had placed the US in a privileged position in comparison to the rest of the world, making it the biggest supplier of raw materials, food and industrial products. Industrial growth was extraordinary, based on the theories of Taylor and Ford on work organization and production. Conversely, agriculture did not have a parallel growth; agricultural prices were much lower than the industry, so many farmers sold their land cheaply and went to the cities. There were happy times of high consumerism and the United States was seen as the “promised land”, a rich and affluent society. This confidence made that much of the population bought shares of industrial companies, being Wall Street the center of the global economy where money came from all over the world. The world was not in the same situation that the US economic boom, so, the country could not put all its industrial production. This caused stocks to grow and, therefore, falling prices of accumulated products. Until the end of 1929, the purchase of shares grew nearly 90%. Financial speculation to make money quickly and the shares were overvalued. People came to borrow from banks to buy on the stock market, since the benefits paid bank interest easily. He had spent a prosperity based on industrial development to rely on speculation. In 1928 begin to be felt symptoms of an economy in danger: the incomes do not allow further increase consumption, stores are full of goods that can not be sold and increased layoffs. Oblivious to this reality, the stock continues to grow. There is no relationship between the value of a stock and the company status; the great demand from speculators made the value of the shares continued rising. THE CRASH OF NEW YORK. On Thursday October 24, 1929 known as Black Thursday, there was the crack of the New York Stock Exchange. Over 16,000,000 of securities trading at the low could not find a buyer and this caused the ruin of thousands of investors, many of whom had bought those titles with credits that can no longer afford. Many people panic and run to try to withdraw money from their bank accounts. Banks are overwhelmed by bad debt, stop new loans and no existing debt is refinanced. About 600 banks were broken. 1 The information found in this section has been retrieved from O’Callagham, 2012;; Clark, 2009; Zinn, 2003. 9 HOME OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION. The Crash of the ’29 opened a period of global economic reccesion that lasted during thedecade of the '30s and had a strong impact on economic, social and political, this is called The Great Depression. In the United States, the consumption was frozen, increased stocks, investments were paralyzed and many companies broke. Unemployment reached all social strata, prices of agricultural markets fell down and farmers got ruined and sold their lands and emigrated. The workers were not able to find any kind of job and this affected even to professionals and businessmen who got ruined too. It is estimated to have reached 14 million unemployed. The crisis did not stop on American soil;it was due to the dependence of the European economy had with the United States economy, a country that was a major slump in world production and generated great tensions in the labor market, so it became a good breeding ground for ultranacionalismos and fascist authoritarianism. SOLUTIONS: THE NEW DEAL. In 1933 Roosevelt became President, whose main objective would be the rebuilding of the country's economy. He developed a plan called New Deal based on the ideas of the economist John Keynes; although he was in favor of liberalism, he proposed the intervention of the state in certain situations. This plan was aimed at promoting investments, credits and consumption, which would reduce unemployment. Aid to banks and subsidies offered to farmers, increased wages and reduced working hours; places were created in the Administration. Health care plans and a new pension system are also designed. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRISIS. The most visible consequence of the crisis of 29’ was probably the increasing unemployment worldwide. Those who managed to save his job did with significant wage cuts. The economic boom became poverty that swept the field and cities. Increased mortality and population growth stopped. In the United States appeared marginal nearby villages to cities made of sheet metal and cardboard Hoovervilles were called (by President Hoover). Dollar devalued, governments all over the world were taking protectionist measures and international trade was reduced. The economic recovery was very slow and it did not start until 1933, although the effects of the crisis extendeduntil the beginning of World War II. 10 3.3 A literary approach During the 1920s the United States was able to rapid economic development and great prosperity. It was a time of profound changes in the economy by the growth of industries, technological advances, progress in aviation and automotive industry, the growth of urban population, the development of mass culture, the arrival of the unwritten media like radio and cinema and became a major market. This wave of prosperity was reflected in literature; Scott Fitzgerald published "The Great Gatsby" in 1925, a story about the easy money that seemed to be everywhere. The arrival of the crisis in 1929 began one of the most difficult periods in American history, and no clutch, one of the most important literatures ever written. Between 1900 and 1940 it took place in Europe modernism, avant-garde literary movement influenced by the avant-garde experimentalism and was looking for a break with Victorian heritage, realistic rendering and employed new literary techniques like interior monologue. Many American writers moved to London or Paris, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, Hemingway, Faulkner and Steinbeck are part of a group known as the "Lost Generation," a name given to Gertrude Stein who lived in Europe in the period since the end of World War until the Great Depression. Some of them were directly involved in the war, Dos Passos within the body of the Red Cross as an ambulance driver as the same as Ernest Hemingway. William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald joined the Canadian Air Force and the US military respectively. It was at this time that the best American writers emerged, dedicated to leave a written record of the life of the poor and the working class. Some disappointed by the new way of life, capitalism, greed, speculation and the loss of traditional values, began to literary essays and wrote about poverty, politics and society. They acquired a social responsibility and attempted to define its work in political and social terms. At that time the Communist Party appeared to many as the best option to make drastic changes in its capitalist environment and that was how in 1932, about fifty intellectuals formed The League of Professional Groups Foster and Ford, thinking that The crisis demanded a revolution and published a brochure entitled "Culture and Crisis" support the Communist candidate for president. Not all writers were devoted to this type of literature, but it is worth insisting that although the historical romance was already popular in the 20s, was also influenced directly by the crisis. The success of these novels does not have to look very far [...] in a period of confusion and uncertainty, was an avid market consolation of nostalgia and sedative action. 11 3.4 A journey throughout the writers of the period 2 John Steinbeck: Pulitzer Prize Nobel Prize in literature in 1940 and 1962. He is considered the American writer with the greatest social commitment of this period. As the same Hemingway and other writers did, he chose journalism and observation. He leaned on own experiences, what it is shown in the realism of the characters and the events narrated. California, his hometown, was used as the place of his stories, when it became the destination for thousands of migrants, where he portrayed the suffering, injustice, police abuses, inequality, etc. Steinbeck was a critic of capitalism and defender of New Deal of Roosevelt, in his novels measures including the president, as the FSA (Farm Security Administration), in The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck (1902-1968) Retrieved from: http://www.katakrak.net/sites/default/files/events/john-steinbeck.jpg 2 Information retrieved from Byam 1989; Lenthal, 2007; Rohbard, 2008. 12 Some books by John Steinbeck. Retrieved from: http://dolblog.sites.usa.gov/files/2014/02/Steinbeck-collage.jpg Grapes of Wrath was written in 1939; it is considered as his masterpiece, and also considered one of the most important, controversial and transgressive novels of the decade, with a large social content. He was harshly attacked by his language and his harshness, and defended by Eleanor Roosevelt. It was denounced in the Senate and in the pulpits of the Midwest, reviled as a parody offended by Oklahomans and banned in dozens of libraries. Tells the story of the Joads, a humble family like many others suffered the Dust Bowl and the intervention of bankers, was forced to leave their land and move to California. In a country of landowners, these migrants known as 'Okies' were forced to live in poor conditions and were brutalized by the police. 13 William Faulkner: Nobel Prize for Literature 1949 and twice Pulitzer Prize. He belonged to a traditional Southern family, marked by memories of the Civil War, and the figure of his grandfather, Col. William Clark Falkner. In their stories the south is always present; it was almost an inexhaustible source of literary inspiration, always incorporating issues such as decay, crime, cruelty and devastation. He is Known for its innovative use of literary techniques such as interior monologue, the inclusion of multiple narrators or points of view and jumps in time within the narrative. Their influence is evident in the generation of South American writers of the late twentieth century; GarcíaMárquez and Vargas Llosa allowed its influence on narrative. His most important in this period novels are The Sound and the Fury (1929), Light in August (1932) and Absalom, Absalom (1936). The Sound and the Fury is considered among the hundred best books of all time. It is a work full of moving images, written experimentally, narrated by four different voices, four brothers, including a mentally handicapped, which make a direct presentation of his thoughts before they are rational. Besides the stories revolve around facts related but are presented in a nonlinear way, some separated by several years. It is the story of the decline of the Compson family in an imaginary territory as Yoknapatwpha baptized by Faulkner; it is a sign of the deterioration of traditional morality which is replaced by the isolation of modernity. William Faulkner (1897-1962) Retrieved from: https://misiglo.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/escritores-4nnb-william-faulkner1.jpg 14 Ernest Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and in 1954 won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He lived violence and death first-hand as an ambulance driver during World War I and he also was present during the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He had worked as a journalist for a newspaper in Kansas, which had a great influence on his style, full of direct, short and harsh sentences. It is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century; important writers continued its tragic elements and the representation of their own experiences in writing. Fighting the fear that fills his stories and novels with an anxious tension is perhaps his most characteristic theme, and his description of the lost moments of challenge and remains its most authentic and lasting achievement. Hemingway participated in the Spanish Civil War as a journalist and wrote this based on For Whom the Bell Tolls. Described the violence and cruelty, presenting extreme situations, it tells in great detail the places, feelings, people, smells. Feelings are always present, describes the values, reactions and fears in the conflict. The story begins when Robert Jordan, comes to the war with the Lincoln Brigade, as responsible for destroying a strategic bridge, where he meets Mary, with whom he lives a love story. Robert keeps his fighting spirit to the end and then dies as a hero, helping your friends to escape. Here plasma which are recurring themes in his novels, the pursuit of truth and reason and the struggle between good and evil. Ernest Hemingway (1891-1961) Retrieved from: http://cdc-s3-ejece-main.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/05/Hemingway.jpg 15 John Dos Passos: Disillusioned with capitalism, he was part of the group of intellectuals and writers, including Ernest Hemingway, who formed directly and indirectly loyalties to the Communist Party. During the first half of the decade of the 30, it was the most recognized figure on the left, but eventually ended up breaking with this ideology. His novels are sad; they attack the materialism of the United States and show their dissatisfaction with society. He had a profound influence on several generations of European and American novelists. Dos Passos was devoted to studying the present through the past and was the most prominent historian among novelists of the decade of depression. In the last book of Trilogy USA published in 1936 speaks about money, that is what everyone in the 1920s are looking for and many are, however, what is created is a world out of control where the dignity of society is sacrificed. One of his most famous stories is dedicated Sacco and Vanzetti, the two Italian immigrant anarchists who were convicted of robbery and murder even though the arguments against them were sufficient, many think it was his ideology that led to a trial and one unjust execution coincided with the Red Scare. The case had a huge international impact and sparked protests and strikes in cities around the world. Dos Passos was imprisoned for protesting these killings Edmund Wilson: During the 1920s, he had become a renowned literary critic and thanks to him, many writers had come to be recognized in Europe. Wilson wrote prolifically in almost all genres, including fiction, social criticism, nonfiction, memoir, history and especially literature. With the collapse of the prosperous twenties, Wilson, like many literary writers, began to ask questions about the social consciousness that writers should take to suffering and what the real story of what was happening. Like many intellectuals of his time he was convinced that communism was the key to a better future, although he continued to be critical of the Communist Party. In October 1930, he undertook a tour of the country as a reporter for the New Republic, the articles produced were collected in a book called America loses nerve (1932) about social problems in the United States occurred after the crash, which it is still considered the best snapshot of the country in its most desperate hour. Shows what depression mean in everyday life of Americans, in a chapter called, A bad day in Brooklyn, describes three people who attempted suicide on the same day by the lack of work. He speaks very violent episodes as a fight between communists’ protesters and police in New York and the miners' strike in West Virginia. 16 As George Packer says in his article Do not Look Down in The New Yorker, "More than mere idealism or ideology, the intensity of feeling that was what moved some of the country's leading writers to turn literature into a form of activism. They were social pursuing the muse. Marxism and an awareness of class conflict gave them -a powerful afflatus-, a ready dose of inspiration and a new language That Could Be Both gritty and prophetic.” (Packer, G. 2013) 3.5 The Great Depression in other media Cinema The reaction of the film to the economic depression was generally what has been called evasion. The film with the other media, enhanced mass consumption and great entertainment market, producers promoted an environment in which citizens were seeking a distraction from their problems. At the beginning of the decade, there were very popular gangster movies including Public Enemy and Scarface, there were humorous cinema with hit comedies as Modern Times by Charles Chaplin, in 1936, and a fantasy and adventure tale with King Kong in 1933 and The Wizard of Ozin 1939, a romantic historical novel and the famous Gone with the Windin 1939, and the first animated film produced by Walt Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that was made in this era. They related to the industry success too, because they could not remain indifferent to the climate of concern and uncertainty created by the crisis and unemployment changes needed to be grantedfor the survival films were commercial successes, it had begun the great mass entertainment market. The first film completed in completely spoken color was released in 1929 and that same year, the Oscars were created. You can also locate in this decade the beginning of the practice of selling popcorn; evidence of those bad economic times which forced the owners of theaters to seek extra resources. There are also those who say that happy endings of movies become common to generate a climate of optimism. Well, a happy ending' negates all their harsh experiences, having on the New Deal a note of optimism. 17 The film also had another perspective that kept him tied to the realities of depression, some films expressed the moral crisis of a country that lived in the prosperity of the twenties, in the case of the adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath by John Ford in 1940, social problems there became a form of entertainment. There were films loaded with symbolism as seen in The Three Little Pigs; Walt Disney’s wolf represents the economic crisis and wants to devour all the three little pigs who were ordinary citizens struggling to survive, to take an example quite used. In conclusion, the choice of films did nothing but contribute to that film became a real hobby;more than 75 million viewers flocked to the movies every week in the United States in the thirties. Modern Times is considered as an example of social criticism; the work mixes fiction with reality to take it with some humor. Portrays the closed factories, strikes, clashes with police, men who steal to feed their families, the man who would rather be in jail where at least has food and protection. It is considered the last silent film, although it is a mixture of silent and sound films, and that some effects such as music, sound machines, etc. were used. This film is, as in the other arts, a reflection of the current circumstances and Charles Chaplin had the ability to describe the realities of his time and take them to the screen. Radio By the end of the 1930s, twenty-eight million households boasted at least one radio set, with most tuned-in to a network or local station for an average of five hours a day. Reaching over 80 per cent of the population, and far more Depression proof than the movies, radio dominated America’s entertainment habits. Listening to the radio became a source of distraction for millions of Americans so much that the 1930 is often called the Golden Age of Radio. The stations had a bit of everything for all ages, young and old. It was a way of finding out what was happening and a means of propaganda and advertising. The audience doubled in the years of the Great Depression and was used by Roosevelt as a way to approach the people, to communicate its plans and explain his political vision. Its talks beside the fireplace meant direct communication with citizens and soon managed to be one of the most appreciated media, plus it allowed hiding the symptoms of polio in that period. It can be considered a legacy of Roosevelt's approach to the media, which was repeated with the next great communications tool, television. This practice was later adopted by Reagan; to this day it is customary that the 18 President is directed to people in regular transmissions. At the same time, the president's role had begun to change, it was essential to be a good speaker. Magazine Life magazine was first published in 1883 and in 1936 was bought by Henry Luce, founder of Time, and acquired the rights to his name and turned it into a publication with an emphasis in photojournalism dedicated to transmit images of spectacular scenes and large personalities. When the first edition of Life appeared, America was in the middle of the Great Depression and in Europe a climate of tension that made think of a new world war could be possible, but its director ignored the whole situation and the first cover was the image Fort Peck dam in Montana. The launch of Life magazine in November 1936, devoted to using photography to represent news, politics and the social world, also demonstrated the growing appetite for the photodocument, boasting a weekly circulation of one million copies within just three months since its launch. Comic strips The cultural production of this first part of the 30’s was escapist. It was the period of emergence of heroes that could do everything; Superman, Dick Tracy and the Lone Ranger are just a sampling of the need to escape from everyday reality through desire the arrival of rescuers heroes. During the Great Depression, Americans found in comics a distraction, cheap entertainment and could be done anywhere. Besides, heroes gave them a new way of looking at the problems and the real world. Superman was first published in 1933, followed by Batman, Captain America and many more. Superman phenomenon reflects the challenges facing the US in the 1930’s; he was a man who faced real life situations, giving readers another perspective on issues such as corruption and social injustice. People began to look at their local leaders associating with the superhero and comparing the New Deal with their struggle. Another interesting development from this period was Wonder Woman, its creator was a Harvard psychologist and inventor of the polygraph, he understood the power of comic books in American culture and used as a means of disseminating their own view of women. 19 Higher sales of a comic strip had been averaging around 200,000-400,000 copies per issue, but if Superman had his own publication, each bimonthly number sold about 1,300,000 copies and these numbers do not even reflect the actual number because comics readers in the 1930s and 40s were not kept as collectibles but is passed from one another. Comic books were the release of this young generation of modern television. Photograph The crisis was also cause for reflection and artistic creation. Photographers hired by the Farm Security Administration, toured farms photographing rural poverty during the years of the crisis and awakening the consciences of their fellow citizens. Since its inception in the last decade of the nineteenth century, photojournalism was used by the tabloids and magazines to broadcast stories were illustrated with stunning images, especially in political conflicts or photographic documentary as did Jacob Riis in The other half lives. The period between 1930 and 1950 is known as the Golden Age of photojournalism. President Roosevelt was commissioned to document photographically the consequences of the Great Depression, and then from there get the authorities the necessary funds. Roy Stryker directed to this group of photographers who for eight years produced more than 270,000 photographs. The extensive photographic material collected allowed giving a glimpse of the harsh conditions in which most of the American rural population lived, especially in the south. The success of the documentary work resided in the visual strength of a harsh reality, based on a simple, direct and highly significant representation morally. Without any technical manipulations, away from all pictorial content and non-denaturing any instant, we were able to show the wretched America. Dorothea Lange: Humanistic photographs of Lange on the terrible consequences of the Great Depression made her one of the most important journalists of world photojournalism. The Migrant Mother is a milestone in reportage photography, puts society face to face with the suffering of others; their goal was to sensitize public opinion of misery living in the streets. The photograph was published in the San 20 Francisco News for the first time to illustrate an article about the plight of agricultural gatherers, later aired in newspapers across the country, generating a reaction to show the consequences of poverty. The federal government sent immediately twenty thousand pounds of food to California migrant workers. 3.6 The end of the Great Depression What did finally end the Great Depression? That question may be the most important in economic history. If we can answer it, we can better grasp what perpetuates economic stagnation and what cures it. The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. From 1931 to 1940 unemployment was always in double digits. In April 1939, almost ten years after the crisis began, more than one in five Americans still could not find work. On the surface World War II seems to mark the end of the Great Depression. During the war more than 12 million Americans were sent into the military, and a similar number toiled in defense-related jobs. Those war jobs seemingly took care of the 17 million unemployed in 1939. Most historians have therefore cited the massive spending during wartime as the event that ended the Great Depression. Some economists—especially Robert Higgs—have wisely challenged that conclusion. Let’s be blunt. If the recipe for economic recovery is putting tens of millions of people in defense plants or military marches, then having them make or drop bombs on our enemies overseas, the value of world peace is called into question. In truth, building tanks and feeding soldiers—necessary as it was to winning the war—became a crushing financial burden. We merely traded debt for unemployment. The expense of funding World War II hiked the national debt from $49 billion in 1941 to almost $260 billion in 1945. In other words, the war had only postponed the issue of recovery. Even President Roosevelt and his New Dealers sensed that war spending was not the ultimate solution; they feared that the Great Depression—with more unemployment than ever—would resume after Hitler and Hirohito surrendered. Yet Roosevelt’s team was blindly wedded to the federal spending that (as I argue inNew Deal or Raw Deal?) had perpetuated the Great Depression during the 1930s. Roosevelt had halted many of his New Deal programs during the war—and he allowed Congress to kill the Works Progress Administration, the CivilizanConservartorCorps, the National Youth Administration, and others—because winning the war came first. In 1944, however, as it became apparent that the Allies would prevail, he and his New Dealers prepared the country for his New Deal revival by promising a second bill of rights. Included in the President’s package of new entitlements was the right to 21 adequate medical care, a decent home, and a useful and remunerative job. These rights (unlike free speech and freedom of religion) imposed obligations on other Americans to pay taxes for eyeglasses, decent houses, and useful jobs, but President Roosevelt believed his second bill of rights was an advance in thinking from what the Founders had conceived. Roosevelt’s death in the last year of the war prevented him from unveiling his New Deal revival. But President Harry Truman was on board for most of the new reforms. In the months after the end of the war Truman gave major speeches showcasing a full employment bill—with jobs and spending to be triggered if people failed to find work in the private sector. He also endorsed a national health care program and a federal housing program. But 1946 was very different from 1933. In 1933 large Democratic majorities in Congress and public support gave Roosevelt his New Deal, but stagnation and unemployment persisted. By contrast, Truman had only a small Democratic majority— and no majority at all if you subtract the more conservative southern Democrats. Plus, the failure of Roosevelt’s New Deal left fewer Americans cheering for an encore. In short the Republicans and southern Democrats refused to give Truman his New Deal revival. Sometimes they emasculated his bills; other times they just killed them. Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, one of the leaders of the Republican-southern Democrat coalition, explained why he voted against much of the program: “The problem now is to get production and employment. If we can get production, prices will come down by themselves to the lowest point justified by increased costs. If we hold prices at a point where no one can make a profit, there will be no expansion of existing industry and no new industry in that field.” (Taft, R.) Robert Wason, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, simply said, “The problem of our domestic economy is the recovery of our freedom.” (Wason, R.) Alfred Sloan, the chairman of General Motors, framed the question this way: “Is American business in the future as in the past to be conducted as a competitive system? He answered: “General Motors . . . will not participate voluntarily in what stands out crystal clear at the end of the road—a regimented economy.” (Sloan, A) Taft, Wason, and Sloan reflected the views of most congressmen, who proceeded to squelch the New Deal revival. Instead they cut tax rates to encourage entrepreneurs to create jobs for the returning veterans. After many years of confiscatory taxes, businessmen desperately needed incentives to expand. By 1945 the top marginal income tax rate was 94 percent on all income over $200,000. We also had a high excess-profits tax that had absorbed more than onethird of all corporate profits since 1943—and another corporate tax that reached as high as 40 percent on other profits. 22 In 1945 and 1946 Congress repealed the excess-profits tax, cut the corporate tax to a maximum 38 percent, and cut the top income tax rate to 86 percent. In 1948 Congress sliced the top marginal rate further, to 82 percent. Those rates were still high, but they were the first cuts since the 1920s and sent the message that businesses could keep much of what they earned. The year 1946 was not without ups and downs in employment, occasional strikes, and rising prices. But the regime certainty of the 1920s had largely returned, and entrepreneurs believed they could invest again and be allowed to make money. As Sears, Roebuck and Company Chairman Robert E. Wood observed, after the war we were warned by private sources that a serious recession was impending…. I have never believed that any depression was in store for us. With freer markets, balanced budgets, and lower taxes, Wood was right. Unemployment was only 3.9 percent in 1946, and it remained at roughly that level during most of the next decade. The Great Depression was over. 3.7 Similarities and differences between The Great Depression and the current economic crisis: Many are the similarities and differences between the two crises. The Great Depression lasted over 15 years, with very high rates of poverty (unemployment, deflation...), while the duration of the current crisis is yet to be discovered and poverty rates are not as high: Nowadays, 9% unemployment... Possibly, the Great Depression was a much more global crisis accentuated by the radical capitalism that was practiced at the time, without social or medical coverage and with very weakened unions. At present, we cannot say that the American system has improved radically on issues of social and medical coverage, but there are many more social measures than before and the capitalist system has evolved to better defend the rights of workers. In both situations, the causes of the crisis have been similar: The absolute freedom that has been under the market and malpractice of some speculators. Both in 1929 and 2008, it created a speculative bubble that inevitably ends up exploding. Although the main cause of the Great Depression was not just the stock market crash, this was another element that joined the mismanagement of monetary policy with his radically liberal policies led the US into a recession unprecedented in its history. Although globalization in the 20s did not reach the levels of today, the crisis also affected the world globally, being one of the first major economic recessions worldwide. The current crisis is much more linked to the world market, because through real estate 23 speculation and a series of financial magic tricks, companies worldwide were infected with a range of toxic assets that inevitably would plummet. In the globalized world we live in, not only the economic recession in the US focused but spread throughout the world. In September 2008, we see unmistakable signs of economic stagnation in disparate parts of the world: The Bank of England is rescuing banks to the brink of bankruptcy; Iceland is close to bankruptcy after the bankruptcy of three of its biggest banks. During the crack of 29, the competent authorities avoided this problem. From the private sector, which attempted to stabilize the market through capital injections at critical times, but still the Republican Laissez faire mentality prevailed in the early years of recession. It is true that President Hoover tried to revive the economy by creating a series of interventionist measures and unbalancing the budget balance, but their attempts were shy and in 1932 broke his steps to get to the elections with a balanced budget balance. It was not until the Democratic administration of Roosevelt took over the Capitol there was a clear change in this regard. In the present case, also this is a republican government with a president of the Republican Federal Reserve and a deeply liberal treasury secretary. While the idea of not intervening was the first to be considered when problems appeared at Bear Stearns, the ultraconservative Republican decision-makers are quickly given how much they had to act. We can say that we have learned from our mistakes and the Republican administration of George W. Bush, very reluctantly did what his colleague Hoover was unable to do: take action on the matter and forget their economic principles. The measures that were taken from the congress with the support of the Republican administration (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and the Economic Stimulus Act) connected to the series of measures that would be taken then under the Democratic administration of Barack Obamaare the closest things to the New Deal. In both cases, it is the executive who heads this package and covers skills that theoretically would not own him. In 1932, the executive enhances its role in the internal politics of the country and start a trend that will be the norm until today: The crucial role of the post of President of the United States. Until then, with some exceptions, most US presidents had a very minor role in political matters, since the great majority of them were taken from the congress. From the Great Depression, presidents will be more powerful figures and eager to use it. In the current crisis, we can also see how the legislation came to stop the crisis was suggested by the secretary of the treasury, which was harshly criticized by hardliners of republicanism expand unacceptably executive powers. Although there is a clear dividing line between the executive and legislative powers, in the decisive moments with this separation fades In order to act quickly and effectively, because the Congress is slow and full of obstacles while not tuned can take years to approve a decree. 24 4. Teaching Approach 4.1 Justification I chose this topic due to the big impact that occurred in world history when the collapse of one of the most important countries, United States of America,which also influenced the global economy on a large scale, so, I particularly think that is an interesting topic for a short survey for a teaching unit. 4.2 Stage, cycle and educational level The whole didactic unit is oriented to a 2º Bach of a bilingual class, this is due to the CLIL level, it includes new vocabulary to be learned by students in class about economics, politics and historical facts; sometimes it will be quite difficult to acquire these new words or expressions so students must have a high level for this unit. Literature also has a great importance here, names of authors and works, especially in extracts to be analysed in class. 4.3 Didactic Unit 4.3.1 Learning objectives Didactic Objetives Stage Objetives Area Objectives - - To acquire more vocabulary, promoting a lexicalsemantically enrichment. To have a fluid communication in class, both, with teacher and partners Basic competences a, b, c, d, e, f, g, i, l, j 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, i, j 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 25 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 - To improve the a, b, c, d, e, f, g, pronunciation level, i, j the importance of phonology. - To understand and extract the main a, b, e, f, g, i, j, l ideas and topics from the texts to be analyzed. - - - The development of full essays by taking the main topics from texts a, b, e, f, g, i, j, l Historical study: Acquire knowledge a, b, c, d, e, g, i, about this period, j, l economical, political and social situation Enjoy reading literature, a, b, e, f, g, i, j, l transmitted orally and written 26 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 To conclude: Taking a view at the didactic objectives established in our didactic unit, the main competences that will be developed during the development of this lesson will the following ones in this table: Tick where competences can be found, cross where can’t be found in the following table: 4.3.3 Basic competences BASIC COMPETENCES Linguistic competence (1) We look for the successful development of the four basic skills in understanding texts and analyze the information: reading, speaking, writing and listening. X Mathematical competence (2) Briefly developed during the lesson, just to know several percentages and stadistics of the period X Knowledge and interaction A comparison between the society of The Great Depression and with the physical world (3) modern society, especially when talking about economical crisis. Very short development. Treatment of information It requires gathering information for the development of this work, and digital competence (4) so, ICTs will be essential for this work. Social competence citizenship (5) and The expression of all kinds of feelings: love, hate, rage, revenge, lust, poverty, struggle, desperation, etc. Different kinds of sensations people experienced during this time. Spirit of teamwork, collaboration among students is required, it does not have to be an individual task but that collective work can lead to better stories. Cultural and competence (6): artistic The study of the situation of the period, cultural references, the development of society after the ’29 Market Crash. Historical knowledge will be acquired. 27 Learning to learn (7) Autonomy and initiative (8) The use of ICTs for acquiring more information, documentaries, films or extracts of them will be visualized to fit into the context of the Great Depression. personal Personal distribution of students according to the type of activity to be carried: individual, workingin pairs, in groups, chatdiscussion. Development of activities orally, written, visual information, etc. Relevance of Stage Objectives The aim of foreign language education at the Bachillerato stage is to develop the following skills: 1. To develop personal expression and oral collaboration with other being always comprehensive and showing respect and precision, use also the correspondent strategies for each situation. 2. To understand the essence and specific information presented in an oral way and following the line of argument in oral texts according to real-life communicative contexts and by mass media. 3. The writing of different kinds of texts with a clear and well-organised structure, using the most appropriated registers adapted to the audience to which is addressed and paying attention to the communicative intention. 4. To understand varied types of written texts of general and specific interest allowing a critical interpretation, improving strategies of comprehension according to the required activities, the identification of the key elements of the text and to capture their function and organization of discourse. 5. To read texts with different purposes according to the level of the students, their needs and interests, to evaluate reading as a source of information, pleasure and leisure. 28 6. The application of linguistic knowledge and a clear use of norms both, in speaking and writing doing it appropriately, with coherence and correctly in order to understand oral and written texts and reflect upon the function of the foreign language in communicative situations. 7. The acquisition and development of learning strategies, making use of all means available to them, including the use of ITC’s, aiming to the use of the foreign language autonomously and to further their learning. 8. Knowledge of the main socio-cultural features of the foreign language allowing a better understanding and interpretation among cultures that are different to our own and the foreign language itself. 9. Valuation of foreign language as means of accessing other knowledge and cultures, and recognising the importance of the target language as a way of international communication, fomenting the understanding in a multi-cultural world; similarities and differences amid different cultures must be appreciated. 10. The reinforcement of self-assessment strategies to acquire the communicative competence in the foreign languages; initiative, confidence and responsible attitudes during the process shall be developed. 4.3.4 Contents A) Communicative Skills B) Language Awareness D) Sociocultural Aspects Due to the reviewing nature of this didactic unit, students will deal with many contents. Those have been explained before, during the development of the second term. 29 However, the main contents that will be practiced during this lesson plan are now presented, emphasizing Communicative Skills, Language Awareness and Sociocultural Aspects: 1º Communicative Skills: LISTENING, INTERACTION SPEAKING AND READING AND WRITING -Exchanging information with their -Analyzing causes and the context of the partners in class, discussion forum Great Depression -Producing oral messages related to -Skimming and scanning a text in order to texts analyzed extract important information and give your personal message -Present their own speaking production -Recognizing and understanding topics, about any topic given, fresh ideas and extracting its main ideas, the importance of these topics to analyze society of the personal points of view period -Watching documentaries and films -Learn new vocabulary related to jobs of related with “The Great Depression” the period, some of them do not exist nowadays -Study of social classes from society of the period, why did they suffer poverty? 30 2º Language Awareness: GRAMMAR VOCABULARY REFLECTION UPONS ONE´S OWN LEARNING -Basic Modal Verbs -Vocabulary (Should/Shall/Must/Can) politics, -Countable vs. history, etc. related to -Participating individually, economics, working in pairs and teamwork, small groups; Uncountable nouns. -Basical grammatical students propose ideas, (a/an/some/any/There knowledge to avoid simple those to be found in the text or their own ones is/There are) mistakes 4.3.4.1 Interdisciplinary and cross curricular issues Thanks to the content of the unit CLIL, students will be able to practice the second language, English, at the same time they study an important historical lesson, so, we have here: CROSS- CURRICULAR ISSUES Universal Literature History Economy and politics INTERDISCIPLINARY ASPECTS Subjects that could be also included here in this didactic unit are: History;the depth study of a black period in the history, not only of the EE.UU, due that it also affected to several countries in the world, The Great Depression was spreaded all over the world. Language and Literature: works from several authors: John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, etc. They all dedicated a part of their literature to talk about The Great Depression. Some extracts of specific works from them will be analyzed. 31 Finally, Economy &Politicsbriefly, studying the causes of the ’29 bursatile crack. Some numbers, statics and actions that some politicians took in order to solve the situation. 4.3.5 Timing Timing will be held in eight different sessions, analyzing both, extracts from literature of the period and articles. The duration of each session will be estimated in about an hour per class, just for reading and analyzing texts, there will be a debate about topics and the final deduction and conclusions of the Great Depression causes. Songs and videos will be analyzed too 4.3.6 Methodology - Language is a tool to use when talking and writing to and about others (communicative approach). - Students should learn the language autonomously from their teacher and from the teacher’s resources at their disposal. - A foreign language is best learnt if used in class and in the largest variety of circumstances, situations and contexts possible. - All four skills require the same attention and should be granted the same importance. - New technologies, if available, should form part of our curriculum. - Task-basedapproach. - Cooperativelearning. - Content and language integrated learning. Grammar learning carries out a very inductive personal process. 32 4.3.7 Attention to diversity and specific needs We will pay special attention to those students who have special needs, so we will focus on: • • • • • Oral expression Listening comprehension Written expression Basic reading skill Reading comprehension 4.3.8 Activities Students with difficulties or less advanced level will be provided with other types of activities, for example: --Description of characters in stories analysed. - Description of photographies, pictures or even paintings from this period. - Use of dictionary for acquisition of necessary vocabulary. - Online resources for searching information. - Reading: find the main ideas, but in a more brief way than the rest of the class. - Pronunciation improvement of difficulty words. - Some quotations from different personalities of the period will be proposed by the teacher: student’s main function will be to interpretate the meaning of these quotes and propose their own beliefs about them. 4.3.9 Materials and Resources: When carrying out the development of the teaching unit, students and the teacher will have a plenty disposition of materials to help the normal development of classes, always trying to make them interesting, avoiding falling in boredom, in which students actively collaborate with each other or with the teacher, contributing their ideas and views, exercises and any kind of doubt that they could have while studying The Great Depression. 33 To analyze the stories we will be guided by the use of ICT: We will use the computer with free Internet access to all kind of information just to facilitate the development of the topic. Sometimes it will be necessary to make photocopies of some extracts from texts to help to their analysis, due to sometimes will be able to make certain written records to help capturing certain ideas or resolutions of exercises, but generally, the rhythm of the classes will be marked by reading and analyzing using the projector, links through the web, visible to the students in the classroom. An electronic blackboard will be used by both, students and teachers to extract main ideas and topics from these texts. So, finally, to sum up, we will use this elements: - Projector Blackboard Language assistant Computers with internet connection (informatic room) Photocopies Mobile phones (students) Laptops - 34 4.3.10 Evaluation tools WORK AND Attitude in class (20%) PARTICIPATION Participation(30%) Pay attention to teacher, respect Active collaboration, the teacher and partners. resolution of exercises, etc. STUDENTS DAILY Exercises, WORK IN CLASS (40%) topics, ideas, etc. Ideas and doubts(10%) Working with essays, exercises, Percenteage for those searching the web, etc. students who ask for doubts and collaborate with fresh ideas 4.3.11 Evaluation criteria LISTENING, SPEAKING AND INTERACTING Concepts Procedures Attitudes -The understanding of the -Listening to the audio -Working both, individually material given, the from videos and songs or in pairs or small groups addition of fresh ideas, free opinions, criteria, etc. -Ideas transmitted orally -Communication preferably in English, to improve level 35 READING AND WRITING Concepts Procedures Attitudes -Ideas to be summarised -Writing essays -Don’t forget the context in which we are working -To extract the main topic -Be the writer: Invent of texts and ideas different stories in the -Be brief and orderly context of the topic USE OF LANGUAGE Concepts Procedures Attitudes -Right use of verbal times -You can search online, use (present, past, future, of dictionaries, translators, conditional, etc). etc for the understanding of the texts and ideas. -Be positive when acquiring new vocabulary: it could be useful for further activities. -Vocabulary: Acquisition SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTS AND INTERCULTURALITY Concepts Procedures Atttitudes -Learn a part of the history -Pay attention to teacher’s -Multiculturality: pay of one of the biggest explanations and don’t respect to other cultures countries of all times. forget to ask him for and national identities. doubts or ideas. 36 Students will evaluate teacher with this test: 37 1st Session: (55 minutes) TASK 1: (20 minutes) BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT DEPRESSION BY MEANS OF A POWER POINT EXPLAINED BY THE TEACHER. 38 39 TASK 2: (15 minutes) QUESTIONS: 1º What were the main characteristics of the culture in the ‘20s? 2º What was The Great Depression? 3º Can you explain the phenomenon of the Dust Bowls? 4º Explain the consequences of the unequal distribution of wealth 5ºEnumerate the consequences of the Stock Market Crash TASK 2: (10 minutes) TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY FALSE SENTENCES. 1º During the 1920,s, woman had long hairs 2º The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis of the century 3º Many people lost their homes during The Great Depression 4º Stock prices rose during this period 5º Bankruptcy was a consequence of the Stock Crash 6º Dust Bowls were as a consequence of strong rains 7º There were people living in “hoovervilles” 8ºFarmers had their crops saved 9ºThere was a middle class 10º President Roosevelt created The New Deal TASK 4: (10 minutes) WORD SEARCH, FIND THE FOLLOWING WORDS: BANKRUPT DEPRESSION DISASTER DUSTBOWL ECONOMIC FARMERS MARKETCRASH NEWDEAL ROOSEVELT STOCKS SUICIDE UNEMPLOYMENT 40 The Great Depression U J T Z N K J C V D S M Z F L L N O P L D I F E W L A B A C J S E A U M W P I S W R O R Q Z N J M O R R K U H O K O M J M A E N P E K I S Y B E V E G Q Q O W S L C N J P T T P R T H C I S D I O K A Y S C J S M E Z I J D E X Y V B U R J B P U O T E L X A M M Y D A H O J N X O H W V Z L U E G S B L E Y Q Y H Z V Q N P E N H C X J T L E V E S O O R L Z T I D E U B D I S A S T E R T G A K R S K C O T S S L A T C Q U S P X P M Y J B U B D N H J D F Q 41 2nd Session: SONGS&READING AND COMPLETE TASK 1: (30 minutes) TEACHER WILL PLAY EACH SONG TWICE, THEN, COMPLETE THE LYRICS WITH THE WORDS GIVEN ABOVE EACH PARAGRAPH. BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE ME A DIME? BY AL JONSON (JOB, DREAM, EARTH, JOB) They used to tell me I was building a ________ And so I followed the mob When there was ______ to plow or ____ to bear I was always there, right on the _____ (BREAD, GLORY, PEACE) They used to tell me I was building a dream With ______ and ______ ahead Why should I be standing in line Just waiting for _____? (TIME, DIME, RAILROAD) Once I built a ______, I made it run Made it race against _____ Once I built a railroad, now it's done Brother, can you spare a _____? (BRICK, TOWER, SUN) Once I built a ______up to the _____ ______ and rivet and lime Once I built a tower, now it's done Brother, can you spare a dime? (HELL, KID, BOOTS, DRUM) Once in khaki suits, gee, we looked swell Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum Half a million ______ went slogging through _____ And I was the _____ with the ______ (REMEMBER, PAL, DIME, TIME) Say, don't you__________? They called me 'Al' It was 'Al' all the _____ Why don't you remember? I'm your _____ Say buddy, can you spare a _____? ACROSS THE BORDER BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 42 (BAG, TONIGHT, BORDER, TRACKS) ______my____ is packed Tomorrow I'll walk these ______ That will lead me 'cross the ______ (SKIES, SOMEWHERE, LOVE, SLEEP) Tomorrow my ____ and I Will _____ 'neath auburn _____ ________ across the border (SADNESS, PAIN, BEHIND, DEAR, DRINK) We'll leave _____ my ____ The ______ and ______ we found here And we'll _____ from the Bravo's muddy water (SIDE, SKY, GROWS,WIDE) Where the____ ______gray and _____ We'll meet on the other _____ There across the border (HILL, HOUSE, BORDER, BUILD) For you I'll _____ a _____ High upon a grassy _____ Somewhere across the ________ (PAIN, MEMORY, BORDER) Where _____ and _______ Pain and memory have been stilled There across the______ (GOLD, AIR, WATER, BLOSSOMS) And sweet _______ fill the ____ Pastures of _____ and green Roll down into cool clear ______ (EYES, SORROW, ARMS) And in your ______ 'neath open skies I'll kiss the ______ from your _____ There across the border 43 (STRONG, TOMORROW, DREAM, SING) Tonight we'll ______ the songs I'll _______ of you my corazón And_______ my heart will be ______ (ARMS, SAINT, SAFELY) And may the _____' blessing and grace Carry me ______ into your _____ There across the border (BLESSED, HOPE, HEARTS) For what are we Without____ in our _____ That someday we'll drink from God's ____ waters (FORTUNE, SOMEWHERE, VINE, FRUIT) And eat the _____ from the _____ I know love and _______ will be mine ______ across the border TASK 1: (25 minutes) READING AND COMPLETE (The use of computers or mobile phones is totally allowed during this second task) During the Great Depression many families had radios and would listen to the news and weather reports. It was very important for our farmers to know about weather conditions. Families also used Mother Nature in forecasting weather conditions. Explain how the following would help predict the weather: (Search the web if necessary) 1º Awooly worm: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2º Animal fur: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 44 3º Rain on Easter Sunday: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 4º The groundhog: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Name three weather instruments that we use nowadays to predict the weather and explain how they work briefly: A. ________________________________________________________ B. ________________________________________________________ C. ________________________________________________________ 45 3rd Session: LITERATURE Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird We will study a brief introduction of the plot of the work by Harper Lee and the historical background with The Great Depression period: To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the 1930s in Maycomb, a fictional, rural town in Alabama, in the United States. Things were quite different then to the way they are now. Apart from the obvious, like the fact that there were no mobile phones, TV, the Internet, sushi or McDonalds, there were some major social and economic differences. Maycomb County, as the author describes it, is in a state of economic decline. Communication with outlying houses depend on dirt roads, and all the county inhabitants, whether professional people or farmers, are poor. In late 1929 the economic prosperity of the 1920s came to an end with the Wall Street Crash followed by the Great Depression. The economic boom of the 1920s rested on a fragile foundation; there was such an unequal distribution of income between the rich and the poor that when things started to falter, there were not enough people to buy goods and services to keep the economy in a healthy state. Rural, southern towns in the United States were hit hard because they were largely reliant on agriculture. Problems with the economy had a flow-on effect to all parts of society. People lost jobs, marriages broke down, banks failed, people became homeless, businesses folded, birth rates fell, people got depressed and many people went hungry. This explains the situation of poor farmers like the Cunninghams in To Kill a Mockingbird who have no money to pay a lawyer but pay instead with produce like hickory nuts and turnip greens. As Atticus says, 'The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest' TASK FOR THE FULL CLASS: Imagine that you are a White teenager living in Alabama in the 1930s. Write a letter to a friend living in the North describing your life as the son of a cotton plantation owner. (150-180 words) Best redactions will be read aloud for the whole class and will obtain the highest marks. 46 4thSession: COMPUTER CLASS SESSION TASK 1 (30 minutes) SEARCH IN THE WEB INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TOPICS BELOW: -Explain what the Dust Bowl was. -What were the two main causes of the Dust Bowl. -Explain what the Dust Bowl caused people in that region to do. -What does “buying on margin” mean? -Name something the stock market crash led to. -What programs, started by Roosevelt, aimed to bring the country out of the Depression? -How many Americans were unemployed during the worst part of the Depression? -What was the name given to FDR’s presidency? -Explain one effect of the Depression in other parts of the world. -What superhero appeared in a comic for the first time in the 1930s? TASK 2 (25 minutes) METAPHORS: A metaphor is a figure of speech. A metaphor compares two things with something in common but does not use the word like or as. Below are some common metaphors that were used during the Depression years. Choose at least four of the metaphors and write in your own words how it applies to the Great Depression. 1. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I t is better to try to avoid problems rather than trying to fix them once they arise 2. A stitch in time saves nine. A little timely effort will prevent work later. 3. Beggars can’t be choosers. If you beg (or ask) for athing or favor, then you shouldn’t complain about what you get 4. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It’s better to have a small advantage than the chance of a great one 5. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Don’t be ungrateful or turn against a benefactor. 6. Half a loaf is better than none. Something is better than nothing 7. Here today, gone tomorrow. You say this when something disappears very quickly or suddenly 47 5th Session: SHORT DOCUMENTARY: TASK 1 (20 minutes) VIEW: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQfMWAikyU *During the view of the video, we will stop it every time it would be necessary just to discuss about ideas the video focuses in, to annotate something or just to answer any kind of questions. TASK 2 (20 minutes): ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (VIDEO WILL BE PLAYED AGAIN WHILE STUDENTS DO THIS EXERCISE) -According to the narrator, is there a unique cause for The Great Depression? -What was the most affected sectorin the Depression? Why? -Why many farmers did to close their farms? -What was the position for commercial bankers in 1929? -Which percenteage of Americans were owners of the stock? -According to the narrator, what does he think was the cause of the Depreesion? -What is a frozen credit system? .What was the function of the Versailles Treatment? 48 TASK 3: (15 minutes) MATCH AND DISCUSS: What is a Hobo? A hobo is a homeless man or woman who travels from town to town, often in empty train cars, looking for work, money, and shelter. He sometimes lives in hobo camps hidden from towns with others who also have the same problems. Hobos have a code of good behavior with rules such as: 1. Stay Clean 2. Help children if they are in need 3. Do not cause problems in a train yard 4. Always try to find work Hobos have a coded sign language. Can you match thecodewiththesign? _______________________________________________________________________ WORK IN PAIRS OR IN GROUPS AND DICUSE WHY YOU HAVE CHOSEN THESE SYMBOLS FOR EACH SITUATION, TRY TO JUSTIFY IT WITH CLEVER ARGUMENTS. 49 6th Session: SHORT STORY TASK 1: (10 minutes) READING The Great Depression I never see daddy anymore, not since two months ago. Mommy says he’s trying to get a work so we can have enough food to survive, but I don’t know what survive means, but I pretend I do. I pretend that I understand why daddy can’t just keep working here too. I miss him so much when he’s gone. Most of my friends’ daddies had had to go to the country to get work too. Most of them travelled to California, all the way from Manhattan. Iknow my legs couldn’t walk me that far before I fell down. My little sister Annabelle doesn’t stop crying except when she sleeps, I think it’s cause she missed daddy too, but mommy says it’s because she’s hungry. I’m hungry too but mommy says I have to be a big girl and be strong for Annabelle so I don’t cry, I don’t complain when my stomach won’t stop rumbling. Mommy cries tough, she cries when she thinks I’m not looking, but I see. I see her sobs at night too, as she lies next to me. We used to have a big house where I had my own bedroom and a lot of pretty dresses. But mommy had to sell the house and all those pretty dresses, so instead we have a small house with just only one bedroom. I sleep in the big bed with mommy and Annabelle sleeps in her cot. When she cries, I reach for her and bury my head against her chest. She says the baby inside her is dying and I can’t do anything, but I want to meet my little brother or sister. So, every night, I kiss mommy’s tummy and I say: Goodnight baby; and every night I pray that I’ll get to kiss its head for real. Mommy says that it’s important to pray every night before I get into bed especially now that the Great Depression is here.Mommy says that if I pray hard enough and be a good Christian then maybe God will answers all my prayers and bring daddy home. I hope so. There’s a girl who lives a few streets away from us, she’s black and I used to play with her. But we’re not allowed to go to the same school or take the same buses. The Ku Klux Klan killed her mommy and brother a month ago, but she still has her daddy. She and her daddy go to marches where they try and get equal rights among the races. I don’t get why mommy doesn’t let me speak to her a lot, she doesn’t seem to like her and her daddy very much. In fact, mommy doesn’t like black people at all, so I asked her about it last week. “Mommy, why don’t you like black people?” She frowned at me and took a drag on her cigarette before answering; it was the last one she’d had enough money to buy. 50 “It’s not that I like them, baby, it’s just that blacks are inferior to white people but they don’t act like it. It’s the way God made them, to be slaves of the whites.” TASK 2: (15 minutes) During the development of the short story, we can notice about topics of desperation and frustration in some of the paragraphs. Write about this idea and about the suffering that the protagonist of this storyfeels.Racism topic is also present too in several aspects, explain it briefly too. TASK 3: (30 minutes) Now, imagine you are the girl who wrote this letter and try to convince your mother on your own words, giving her hope and wishes for a better future. (100- 120 words). 51 7th Session: SHORT STORIES John Glenn’s Boyhood during the Depression John was 11 years old in 1932. To help the family he worked the three gardens, which the family owned. John’s job was to hoe and weed the _______. When the crops were ready, he loaded his _______ and went throughout the village selling the food to those people who could afford to buy it. During _______ ________, John would take his two beagle dogs ____ ___ ___, hunting for rabbits. Two rabbits would make a _______ for the family of four. John also washed cars for 50 cents and saved the money to buy a _______. With the new bike John could have a _______ _______ to earn money. In 1932, John and his friends formed a club similar to the Boy Scouts and named it the _______. Club meetings were held above a chicken hatchery until the members built a campsite near the creek. There, on hot summer days after they finished their chores, they could swim, cook over the campfire, and sleep in _______. They built a flagpole from a tree and raised and lowered the flag each time they were there. John played his _______ for the ceremony. There was little money during this time but families found ways to help each other and themselves through _______ ________ and ______ what they had. John’s father, a ______, was fortunate to have enough work to care for his family. TASK 1: (20 minutes) Put these answers on the lines in the story: 1. paper route 7. gardens 2. bugle8. hard work and sharing 3. wagon9. dinner 4. Rangers 10. hunting season 5. tents11. bicycle 6.Mikeand Ike 12. plumber Then, we will correct and read out loud. 52 TASK 2: (20 minutes) READING AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS Feeding the Family Many people during The Great Depression had a garden to “make ends meet”. They would grow a variety of vegetables, have fruit from an orchard, pick berries and nuts provided by “Mother Nature”. Those families with small farms would also raise animals such as chickens, hogs, cows, etc. In order to have food during the winter months, their harvest needed to be preserved. Common methods were canning, drying, and curing. A. Why would canning fruits and vegetables keep them from spoiling? Name some fruits and vegetables which can be canned. B. Why would drying fruits and vegetables keep them from spoiling? Name some fruits and vegetables which can be dried. C.Meat can also be canned and cured. What mineral was used for curing meat? D.Today people still preserve food for later use. What methods can be used today which were not used then? *You can search the internet anytime to find information that could help you while doing this activity. 53 TASK 3: (15 minutes) DEPRESSION ERA SCIENCE: Depression Era Science Tuberculosis and Polio were two of the terrible diseases which affected people living in 1937. Other diseases which were common at one time in our history are measles, mumps, and scarlet fever. Medical science has developed cures for these diseases and almost totally eradicated them in the United States. 1. What are some diseases which currently affect people in our country? (Search the web for answer these questions) 1. What are some diseases which currently affect people in our country? 2. How are these diseases treated? 3. What research is being done to eliminate these diseases? 54 8th Session: DOCUMENTARY: TASK 1 + TASK 2 = THE WHOLE HOUR TASK 1: WATCH THE VIDEO TASK 2: ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS: Watch 11:20 to 12:30 of the video: What happened to the narrator’s father’s job? How does he describe people’s clothing? Watch 5:36-6:11 Describe the houses that some families lived in. What were the homeless called? What were these families and homeless people looking for? Watch 10:21 – 11:00 What did children do if they wanted to play a game like baseball? Why? Instead of buying food, what did the children in this particular story do? Why? 55 5. Appendix 5.1. Legislation This didactic unit is faithful to the spirit and the contents for the English syllabus of the official curricula in a Spanish Secondary School in Andalusia. - - - - Order of December 15th 2008 for the assessment of Bachillerato in Andalusia. Ministry of Education’s Ley Orgánica de Educación 2/2006, 3 de mayo 2006. Andalusia government’s Orden de 10 de agosto de 2007, in which the curriculum corresponding to Secondary Compulsory Education in Andalusia developed. Orden de 5 de agosto de 2008, in which the curriculum corresponding to Bachillerato is developed. Orden de 15 de diciembre de 2008, fortheassessment of Bachillerato in Andalusia. Ministry of Education’s Real Decreto 1631/2006 de 29 de diciembre, in which the curriculum corresponding to Compulsory Secondary Education is developed. Ministry of Education’s Real Decreto 1467/2007 de 2 de noviembre, in which the curriculum corresponding to Bachillerato in Spain is developed as well as its minimum levels of requirements established. Andalusia Government’s Decreto416/2008 for the Implementation of Bachillerato in Andalusia. Ministry of Education’s Ley Orgánicafor the Improvement of Quality in Education 8/2013, 9 de noviembre 2013. Plan de Lectura y de Bibliotecas Escolares promoted by the Junta de Andalucía (23/1/2007) Moreover, this project is in agreement with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) defends the idea that national and regional literatures contribute to the European cultural heritage, which the Council of Europe regards as ”a valuable common resource to be protected and developed” (2009:2) 56 6. Bibliography 6.1 For the epistemological framework [1.] Ball, Phil. (2009). What is CLIL? http://www.onestopenglish.com/clil/methodology/articles/article-what-isclil/500453.article [2.] Coyle, Do. (2001). Content and Language Integrated Learning Motivating Learners and Teachers. University of Notthingam.http://www.unifg.it/sites/default/files/allegatiparagrafo/20-012014/coyle_clil_motivating_learners_and_teachers.pdf [3.] W. Folsom, Burton. (2010). What ended the Great Depression? http://fee.org/freeman/what-ended-the-great-depression/ [4.] Helbling, Thomas. (2009). How similar is the current crisis to the Great Depression? http://www.voxeu.org/article/how-similar-current-crisis-great-depression [5.] Anónimo. (2010). El crack del 29. La Gran depresión. http://www.finanzasparatodos.es/gepeese/es/inicio/laEconomiaEn/laHistoria/ momento_historico_economia_historia_crisis_29.html [6.] Arango, Diana. (2015). La Gran Depresión como generador de expresiones artísticas paradigmáticas. http://intrahistoria.com/la-gran-depresion-como-generador-de-expresionesartisticas-paradigmaticas [7.] Matellanes, Iván. (2013). El Crack del 29 y la crisis finaciera de 2008. Similitudes y diferencias. http://www.sarasuati.com/el-crack-del-29-y-la-crisis-financiera-de-2008similitudes-y-diferencias/ [8.] SARRIUGARTE GÓMEZ. Íñigo (2010). La Gran Depresión Americana y su influencia en el desarrollo de la fotografía social. http://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/3341914.pdf [9.] KELLEY, Mark (2009). The Golden Age of Comic Books: Representations of American Culture from the Great Depression to the Cold War. http://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context =dittman 57 [10.] PRIBITKIN, Tesa (2001). Superman, The New Deal Symbol of the American Way. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=articles/newdeal-symbol [11.] PACKER, George (2013). Don’t look down. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/29/dont-look-down [12.] WIONCZEK, Miguel S (1956). La gran quiebra de la bolsa de valores de N.Y. en 1929. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42776414?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents [13.] Conn, PETER: LiteraturaNorteamericana, Madrid, Cambridge University Press, 1998. [14.] Eldridge, DAVID: American Culture in the 1930s, Edinburgo, Edinburgh University Press, 2008. [15.] Guardia Herrero, CARMEN de la: Historia de Estados Unidos, Madrid, Sílex, 2009. [16.] Lange, DOROTHEA: Los años decisivos 1930-1946, Madrid, La fábrica, 2009. [17.] Sanders, ANDREW: The Short Oxford History of English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2000. [18.] Tindall, GEORGE: America a Narrative History. New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. [19.] O'Callaghan, DENNIS BRYNLEY: An illustrated history of the USA Pearson Education, 2012, 1st ed., 24th impr. [20.] Zinn, HOWARD: A People’s History of the USA Routledge, New York.2003. [21.] Clark, GREGORY: Research in Economic History. Recurso Electrónico. [22.] Rohbard, MURRAY: America’s Great Depression Mises Institute: Alabama. 2008. 58 [23.] Lenthal, BRUCE: Radio’s America Chicago University Press. 2007. [24.] Byam, Nina (Ed.) The Norton Anthology of American Literatue, vol. 2. Norton Company. 1989. 6.2 For the Didactic unit . - Power Point based on The Great Depression http://static.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/gems/hhiggins/GreatDepression.ppt -Songs: Brother, can you spare a dime? by Al Jonson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo Across theBorder by Bruce Springsteen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMkAP9xnLJI Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/brother-can-you-spare-a-dime-lyrics-bing-crosby.html http://www.metrolyrics.com/across-the-border-lyrics-bruce-springsteen.html The John and Annie Historic Site: The Depression Era http://johnglennhome.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/depression.pdf To Kill a Mockingbird http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/mockingbird/depression.htm 59 The Great Depression Crash Course US #33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQfMWAikyU The Great Depression https://www.wattpad.com/7213824-a-collection-of-very-short-stories-the-great The Great Depression Web Quest http://www.springvillegi.org/webpages/abeiter/whats_going_on.cfm?subpage=14808 98 Stories from Great Depression https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfY8kh5lUw&feature=related 60 61
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz