The Civilian Conservation Corps
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/ccc/
During the Great Depression, many people were out of work and starving, the land had been over worked by farmers and was blowing away. President Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal to help Americans and one of the programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), put 3 million young men to work. This site provides clips from the American Experience program of the same name to illustrate this time in history. The film begins with an explanation of the background of the Great Depression and shows how people were suffering through this devastating time. With first-hand accounts, and old movie reels, this era in United States history comes alive.
The Learn and Explore section of the site has a photo gallery, timeline, maps, and teacher resources. The photo gallery’s images showing the types of CCC projects include photographs, a political cartoon, a newspaper headline, and a poster that illustrate the types of projects the young men were working on.
The Google maps pinpoint hundreds of CCC sites across the United States. The site looks at North Carolina camps: Hatteras Island, the Croatan National Forest, Kings Mountain State Park and National Military Park, Pisgah National Forest, the Nantahala National Forest, and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
Teacher Resources include a teachers guide with five lesson plans The lessons do not give an age range, but could be used for eighth grade and high school social studies. The lessons address race in the camps, daily life, mapping the camps, and more.
