The Great Depression
in Spokane
A unit plan designed
By: Lindsay Rockefeller
6 to 8 lessons intended to be taught over a
3 to 4 week period for 3rd grade students
Table of Contents
1. Essential Understanding of the Unit .........................................................3
2. Lesson One –photo walk of Spokane in The Great Depression………….4
3. Lesson Two – Movie of a fictional girl in the 1930s..…………………………..5
4. Lesson Three – Making money in the 1930s........…………………………………..6-7
5. Lesson Four – What to eat?……………………………………………………………………...8-9
6. Lesson Five – Housing in Spokane…………………………………………………………..10
7. Lesson Six – Entertainment in the 1930s in Spokane……………………… 11-12
8. Concluding Project……………………………………………………………………………………..13
2
Essential Understanding
What effects did The Great Depression of
the 1930s have on the people of Spokane?
In order to answer the question we will look at the topics
of:
9 Jobs
9 Food
9 Housing
9 Recreation
3
Lesson 1
Lesson Overview: Students will be introduced to photographs taken
during the time of the Great Depression in Spokane, Washington.
Goal: Students will be able to visually see the differences between how
they live their lives and how many people of the 1930s lived and start to
form opinions about the differences.
Time: 40 minutes to an hour.
Materials:
1. 6-10 primary source photos of Spokane during the Depression and
photo of FDR as president
2. 10 pieces of butcher/chart paper
3. Marker for each child (one color for each table group of kids)
4. Welcome to Kit’s World, An American Girl Book
Lesson Set Up:
1. Teacher will take the ten primary resource photographs of Spokane
during the depression obtained from the MAC and place in sheet
protectors. The pictures will then hang around the room on butcher
paper with plenty of room to write.
2. With their markers, the children will travel to every picture and write
a comment stating what they know about it. If they know nothing
about the picture, they are to point out something in it. At this point
the teacher has given no background knowledge about the subject.
(Management – split up the children and time them for 1 ½ to 2
minutes at each picture and rotate at the same time)
3. After children have had time to cycle around the room, gather them
to read from Welcome to Kit’s World – An American Girl Book. Read
pages 4,5,8,9 as an introduction to The Great Depression.
4
Lesson 2
Lesson Overview: Students will watch a movie about a fictional girl named
Kit who lived during the 1930s. The movie introduces key terms that they
will start to write down in their Illustrated Glossary of Terms.
Goal: Students will be able to articulate differences that children living
in the 1930s have from them. They will also start to write down terms in
their glossary.
Time: 1 session of 2 hours or 2 separate hour sessions over 2 days
Materials:
1. The movie “Kit Kittredge, An American Girl”
2. Chart paper or white board space
3. A copy of the Illustrated Glossary of Terms for each student and
answer key for teacher.
Lesson Set Up:
1. Show the video “Kit Kittredge, An American Girl.” While showing the
video, have the kids take notes on new words or questions. Teacher
should also stop through the video to point out new vocabulary.
2. Introduce the Illustrated Glossary of Terms (Breaking Away from the
Text Activity) Have students fill in the definition and sketch a picture
or symbol for Great Depression and Black Tuesday.
5
Lesson 3
Lesson Overview: Students will explore what people did during The Great
Depression to make money and what the job situation was like.
Goal: Students will be able to articulate how The Great Depression
affected the jobs of the people living in Spokane and also what solutions
were given for the loss of jobs for so many.
Time: 1 to 2 days (30-60 minutes each)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
9 Materials:
Welcome to Kit’s World, An American Girl Book
Climbing Out of the Great Depression
Newspaper Article from Spokesman Review, October 23, 1932:
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/media/pdf/20081214_depression_
SR32.pdf
A copy of the Illustrated Glossary of Terms for each student and
answer key for teacher
Writing journals for each student
Lesson Set Up:
1. Teacher brings out the pictures from the activity on the first day
that have to do with jobs (picture of FDR, CCC camps, WPA projects).
Teacher will read off what the children wrote. If anything is correct,
circle it. Teacher will explain/write what the picture is really about. If
there is space, place the photographs on the wall for the duration of
the unit.
2. Teacher reads from Kit pages 10-11: hobo/transient; 18-19: FDR, New
Deal; 48-51: NRA, WPA, CCC and/or from Climbing Out of the Great
Depression pages 8-19.
3. During or after reading, fill out the Glossary of Terms for bolded
words.
4. Depending on time and desires, there are two activities that can be
done:
6
Breaking Away from the Text Activities:
1. Make a list as a class of jobs that were helped by the WPA in Spokane
(High Drive, Riverside State Park, Vista House on Mt. Spokane, sewers
and storm culverts still in use, Grand Coulee Dam)
2. Writing Activity: Choice Write on Jobs
„ Write a page in your diary describing a day of job hunting
„ Describe how you would feel and what you would do if you just
lost your job because someone was willing to do it for less
money.
„ Pretend you are a part of the CCC. Write a letter home
describing what you are doing in Spokane.
7
Lesson 4
Lesson Overview: Students will explore what people did during The Great
Depression for food when money was so scarce.
Goal: Students will be able to explain how people might have changed
what they ate during this period of time, and what they did when they
had no food to eat.
Time: About an hour lesson
Materials:
1. Welcome to Kit’s World, An American Girl Book
2. Climbing Out of the Great Depression
3. A copy of the Illustrated Glossary of Terms for each student and
answer key for teacher
4. Computers to look up newspapers or printed off newspapers from the
1930s (see below)
5. Writing journals for each student
6. Depending on choice lesson, may need scissors, glue and paper
Lesson Set Up:
1. Teacher brings back photos from day 1 showing breadline and soup
kitchens and students add those words to glossary.
2. Read pages from Kit: 16, 17, 32
3. Look up the grocery ads from 1934 Spokane Daily Chronicle (links
below) – Kids can compare to prices from current grocery ads. Either
set up students at computer lab with these pages already tabbed on
class website or another safe way for them to get there, or print out
pages for them to look through.
4. Project ideas (depending on time)
„ You can have the students make up a menu for a day by
cutting our pictures or writing down prices
„ They can do a side by side comparison of prices on certain
items from today’s ads and the 1930s ads
„
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yHgSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8fQDAAA
AIBAJ&pg=7418,6301876&dq=grocery+prices&hl=en
8
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Gn8SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6PQDAAA
AIBAJ&pg=5830,629477&dq=new+deal&hl=en
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GXkSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6fQDAA
AAIBAJ&pg=5396,539490&dq=new+deal&hl=en
9
Lesson 5
Lesson Overview: Students will explore what people did during The Great
Depression for housing.
Goal: Students will be able to explain what people might have used as
housing during the 1930s that would have been different for those same
people just a few years earlier.
Time: About an hour lesson
Materials:
1. Welcome to Kit’s World, An American Girl Book
2. Climbing Out of the Great Depression
3. A copy of the Illustrated Glossary of Terms for each student and
answer key for teacher
Lesson Set Up:
1. Watch video from Jim Kershner (Spokesman Review) on Spokane in
The Depression http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/video/archive.asp?postID=467
2. Read from Climbing Out of the Great Depression: 6-7
3. Add Hooverville/Hobo Jungle to glossary
4. May also want to read from Kit – pg 34-35, to talk about boarders and
people taking in others to help pay mortgage.
10
Lesson 6
Lesson Overview: Students will explore what people did during The Great
Depression for entertainment and find the similarities and differences
from what is done today.
Goal: Students will be able to demonstrate that they know at least one
thing that adults and children did for entertainment in Spokane during
the 1930s.
Time: 1 or 2 days, depending on length of activity chosen
Materials:
1. Welcome to Kit’s World, An American Girl Book
2. Climbing Out of the Great Depression
3. Computers to look up newspapers or printed off newspapers from the
1930s (see below)
4. A copy of the Illustrated Glossary of Terms for each student and
answer key for teacher
Lesson Set Up:
1. Many pages to read from Kit: 30,31,38-43. Teacher can separate this
into what adults and children did or focus on just the children
2. Either have the students at the computer lab looking up the
newspapers from the 1930s online or print off ahead of time. (See list
for papers)
3. Project Ideas: Have students work in groups to make a newspaper ad
for an activity of different age groups (children, teenagers, young
adults, adults). They will search through the newspapers to see the
types of things that people were doing in Spokane in the 1930s.
Teacher will lead the discussion about who (what class of people) were
doing the things in the newspapers.
11
Children’s:
Swimming at Natatorium Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=7159,1851582&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=6419,2005416&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Rail Fairs at Nat. Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dIcSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CPUDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=3410,4976382&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Teenagers/Young Adults:
Labor Day Plans at Nat Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V4kSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=7162,6246849&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Marshmallow Roast and Dance at Davenport Hotel
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AAqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rfQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6012,5522082&dq=davenport+hotel&h
l=en
Swimming at Nat. Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=6419,2005416&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Adults:
List of visitors to town, how people entertained at home
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TfkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=4301,4070944&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
12
Concluding Project
We will use the CBA Dig Deep to have the students write a five
paragraph essay on one of the aspects of The Great Depression in
Spokane. They can chose from one of the themes we have discussed:
jobs, food, housing, recreation.
The teacher should use the guidelines from the state of the Dig Deep
CBA project. See resource list.
13
Elementary
School
Recommended
for 4th Grade
Dig Deep CBA
To be an effective citizen, you need to know how to use evidence from different sources. Using
artifacts and primary sources as evidence, you will draw conclusions about a historical question
you have been studying in your classroom.
Directions to Students1
In a cohesive paper or presentation2, you will:
Develop a question to guide an investigation of a time period after looking at primary
sources.
Draw one or more conclusions about the question referencing two or more primary
sources.
List two or more sources including the title, author, type of source, and date of each
source.
You will also:
Develop a timeline OR a description of the time period that includes 3 or more events
or details.
1
This directions page guides students towards the “proficient” level (level “3”) for this CBA. To help students reach “excellent” (level “4),
please refer to the rubric or, if available, the graphic organizer.
2
Students may do a paper or presentation in response to the CBA provided that for either format, there is documentation of this response
that someone outside their classroom could easily understand and review using the rubric (e.g., a videotaped presentation, an electronic
written document).
Elementary – Dig Deep CBA Rubric (Recommended for 4th Grade*)
Å----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PASSING
GLE (EALR)
4 - Excellent
3 – Proficient
Develops two or more
5.2.1. Creates and uses a research
Develops a question to guide
questions to guide an
question to conduct research on an issue
an investigation of a time
or event.. (4th Grade)
investigation of a time period
period after looking at primary
(EALR 5.2. Uses inquiry-based research.) after looking at primary
sources.
sources.
NOT PASSING --------------------------------------------------------------Æ
2 - Partial
1 - Minimal
Develops one or more
Describes a time period but does
questions on a time period
not develop any questions to
without any evidence of having guide an investigation of the tim
looked at a primary source.
period.
4.3.1. Understands that there are multiple
perspectives regarding the interpretation
of historical events and creates an
historical account using multiple sources.
th
(4 Grade)
(EALR 4.3. Understands that there are
multiple perspectives and interpretations
of historical events.)
5.2.2. Understands the main ideas from
an artifact, primary source, or secondary
source in order to gather accurate
information on an issue or historical
event. (4th Grade)
(EALR 5.2. Uses inquiry-based research.)
5.4.1. Draws clear, well-reasoned
conclusions and provides explanations
that are supported by artifacts and/or
primary sources in a paper or
presentation. (4th Grade)
(EALR 5.4. Creates a product…)
4.1.1. Understands and creates timelines
to show how historical events are
organized into time periods and eras. (4th
Grade)
(EALR 4.1. Understands historical
chronology.)
5.4.2. Prepares a list of resources
including the title, author, type of source,
date published, and publisher for each
source. (4th Grade)
(EALR 5.4. Creates a product…)
*
Draws one or more
conclusions about the
question(s) referencing three
or more primary sources.
Draws one or more
conclusions about the
question(s) referencing two
primary sources.
Draws one or more
conclusions about the
question(s) referencing one
primary source.
Draws one or more conclusions
about the question(s) WITHOUT
referencing a primary source.
Develops a timeline OR a
description of the time period
that includes 5-6 events or
details.
Develops a timeline OR a
description of the time period
that includes 3-4 events or
details.
Develops a timeline OR a
description of the time period
that includes 1-2 events or
details.
A timeline of events or
description of the time was
attempted with several
inaccuracies or sequence
problems.
Lists three sources including
the title, author, type of source,
and date of each source.
Lists two sources including the
title, author, type of source,
and date of each source.
Lists one source including the
title, author, type of source,
and date of the source.
Lists source(s) but does not
include the title, author, type of
source, and date of the source
for any of them.
OSPI recommends that this CBA be used at a particular grade level and thus, the GLEs included in the rubric are for that grade. However, if the CBA is used at
another grade level within the grade band (3-5, 6-8, or 9-12), the GLEs may need to change to match the appropriate content.
Name _____________________________________ Date _______________
Illustrated Glossary of Terms
Word
The Great
Depression
Black
Tuesday
Transient/
Hobo
President
Roosevelt
(FDR)
New
Deal
Definition
Picture of Term
NRA – National
Recovery Act
WPA – Works
Progress
Administration
CCC –
Civilian
Conservation
Corps
Soup Kitchen /
Bread lines
Foreclosure
Hooverville /
Hobo Jungle
Name __________________
Key_____________
Date _______________
Illustrated Glossary of Terms
Word
Definition
The Great
Depression
A period of time when
many Americans could
not find jobs.
1929-1941
Black
Tuesday
Oct. 29, 1929 – the day
the stock market
crashed and a lot of
people lost money they
had in banks.
Transient/
Hobo
People without jobs or
homes looking for work
and a place to settle
(many rode the rails and
needed assistance with
food)
President
Roosevelt
(FDR)
The president elected in
1932 – believed his
primary job was to
rebuild hope in the US.
Brought people the New
Deal
New
Deal
The laws that FDR
passed to help people get
jobs became known as
the New Deal
Picture of Term
NRA – National
Recovery Act
An act passed to help
raise wages and create
jobs for workers. Known
by the Blue Eagle
Symbol.
WPA – Works
Progress
Administration
A great success to
create jobs lost to the
Depression – build roads,
schools, fed children, and
put teachers and artists
back to work.
CCC –
Civilian
Conservation
Corps
A group of young men
who helped nature by
planting trees, building
roads, and state parks.
Helped feed and educate
young men too.
Soup Kitchen /
Bread lines
Programs run by
volunteers to serve
hungry people bread,
soup, and coffee.
Foreclosure
When the bank takes
back a person’s home
because they can’t pay
for it anymore.
Hooverville /
Hobo Jungle
Collection of ramshackle
buildings lived in by
hobos who had lost their
home.
Primary and Secondary Resources
Organized by Lesson
Materials Used Throughout the Unit
Tripp, Valerie, Changes for Kit: A Winter Story . Middleton: Pleasant
Company Publications, 2001.
This secondary source is a historical fiction book written as part of
a series about a girl living in 1934 dealing with the repercussions of
The Great Depression. It is a great read aloud for third graders
during the unit because it ties in a lot of the vocabulary of the times
and makes it a little more real through the life of a girl their age.
Brown, Harriet, Welcome to Kit’s World: Growing up During America’s
Great Depression. Middleton: Pleasant Company Publications, 2002.
This secondary source is chalk full of hundreds of primary source
photographs, newspaper headlines, and songs from every aspect of
American life through The Great Depression. It was written as a nonfiction companion to the historical fiction stories of Kit Kittredge.
Price, Sean, Climbing Out of the Great Depression. Chicago, Raintree
Fusion,2009.
This 32 page book is part of a series called American History
Through Primary Sources. It delivers content by way of primary
source material. The book is great to add background knowledge,
easily defined vocabulary, and are written for the level of middle
elementary school students. This book mostly focuses on the New
Deal and how people around the country were able to get out of The
Great Depression through the acts of President FDR.
Jennings, Peter and Brewster, Todd, The Century for Young People:
Defining America:1936-1961. New York: Delacorte Press of Random
House Children’s Book, 2009.
A great resource of information for teacher background knowledge.
This book is a collection of stories of the people who lived as a young
person in the time period being portrayed. It is the voice of ordinary
people and is a great way to connect with a time period through
personal stories.
Nostalgia Magazine staff, Spokane: Then and Now. Spokane: King’s
Publishing Group, 2009.
This primary source book is a series of pictures from the archives of
Nostalgia Magazine, which is a great source on its own for local
history. It is laid out so that on one side of the book is a picture from
the past and other side shows a recent picture. The pages I would
point out for this unit are: 2,3,12,13,20,21,98,99,106, and 107.
Kintisch, Shelly and Cordero, Wilma , Breaking Away From the Text.
Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2006.
This book is a teacher’s guide to help with teaching American history.
I have used the ideas of the Illustrated Glossary of Terms and
several writing prompts from the section on the 1930s, but there are
many more that one could use to add to this unit. The writing
activities I used are in lesson three.
Lesson 1
Frank W. Guilbert, #854, ca. 1935, Northwest Museum of Arts and
Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane,
Washington. ID number: L95-111.518
This is a picture of Clark Way at the Francis Cook CCC Camp on
Paradise Mountain in Mount Spokane State Park.
John Fahey, Trent, East – 500 Sheridan to Spokane to River, ca. 1932,
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture/Eastern Washington State
Historical Society, Spokane, Washington. ID number: L93-18.62
Quote on picture from artist, “Three years after the October 1929
stock market crash, soup lines formed in Spokane. The old Schade
Brewery, converted to transient quarters an dubbed the Hotel
DeGink, served meals and furnished cots to jobless men.” This picture
shows the long line of men waiting in the snow to get inside.
Washington National Guard, Seven Mile CCC Camp, 1938, Northwest
Museum of Arts and Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical
Society, Spokane, Washington. ID number: L95-12-2229
This is an aerial view on the Seven Mile CCC Camp.
Photographer unknown, Donut Line, Salvation Army, Spokane, ca. 1932,
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture/Eastern Washington State
Historical Society, Spokane, Washington. ID number: L94-40.42
This photograph is of the inside of the Salvation Army. There are men
standing in a line to receive coffee and a donut. A single woman is
serving the coffee.
Libby Studio, Depression, 1932, Northwest Museum of Arts and
Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane,
Washington. ID number: L87-1.1615-32
From photo: “Junior League gathering clothing and bedding for
emergency relief.”
Photographer unknown, Works Progress Administration, ca. 1930s,
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture/Eastern Washington State
Historical Society, Spokane, Washington. ID number: L2005-9.328
This photograph shows a long table filled with sewing machines and
women lined up on both sides working on projects,
Libby Studio, Lincoln, South-1500, 1940, Northwest Museum of Arts and
Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane,
Washington. ID number: L87-1.17697-40
From photo: “View north along center of street, 7 March 1940. Works
Progress Administration Project.” Looks to be a storm drain project.
No people are in the photograph.
Libby Studio, First, West -1300- (Adams to Cedar), 1939, Northwest
Museum of Arts and Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical
Society, Spokane, Washington. ID number: L87-1.15128-39
From photo: “Looking East on First, 1939 Works Progress
Administration Project.” Looks to be a sewer project.
Lesson 2
Ann Peacock, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, VHS, Directed by Patricia
Rozema. Burbank, CA: Picture House and New Line Cinema, 2006.
Lesson 3
Margaret Bean, “Freight Trains Carry Hordes of Restless,” The
Spokesman Review, October 23, 1932.
I found this article online here:
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/media/pdf/20081214_depression_SR32.pdf
Lesson 4
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yHgSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8fQDAAA
AIBAJ&pg=7418,6301876&dq=grocery+prices&hl=en
I found that Google has digitalized the Spokane Daily Chronicle from its
beginning in the late 1800s until it merged with the Spokesman Review.
If you go to http://news.google.com/newspapers and type in what you are
looking for and the time frame, it will give you a list of articles or ads
from that time. It was a great resource for looking at grocery prices at
the time, which is how I used the online source in lesson four.
Lesson 5
Mulvany, Colin, “Depression Video,” Spokesman Review Blog – Colin
Mulvany, entry posted December 12, 2008,
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/video/archive.asp?postID=467ht
tp://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/video/archive.asp?postID=467
(accessed August 24, 2010)
Lesson 6
This lesson involved many more articles archived from the Spokane Daily
Chronicle through Google News. Here are the ones that I used.
Children’s:
Swimming at Natatorium Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=7159,1851582&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=6419,2005416&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Rail Fairs at Nat. Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dIcSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CPUDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=3410,4976382&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Teenagers/Young Adults:
Labor Day Plans at Nat Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V4kSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=7162,6246849&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Marshmallow Roast and Dance at Davenport Hotel
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AAqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rfQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6012,5522082&dq=davenport+hotel&h
l=en
Swimming at Nat. Park
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=6419,2005416&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en
Adults:
List of visitors to town, how people entertained at home
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TfkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_QDAAAAIBAJ&
pg=4301,4070944&dq=natatorium+park&hl=en