Worth a thousand words: Depression-era photographs
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=304
A lesson plan for Grades 11–12 United States History
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 11–12
- Provider
- National Endowment for the Humanities
Legal
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Throughout the Great Depression, the federal government employed photographers to document the need for New Deal programs and the extent of these programs' successes. Today, through the Internet, students can view this record of an era and see for themselves how Americans faced the challenge of those testing times.
The goals of this lesson plan are:
- to gain insight into New Deal programs and the experience of Depression-era Americans
- to recognize the distinction between observation and inference when drawing information from documentary photographs
- to recognize some ways the photographer can influence interpretation of documentary photographs
- to gain experience in critical thinking about media
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (2003)
Grades 11–12 — United States History
- Goal 9: Prosperity and Depression (1919-1939) - The learner will appraise the economic, social, and political changes of the decades of "The Twenties" and "The Thirties."
- Objective 9.02: Analyze the extent of prosperity for different segments of society during this period.
- Objective 9.05: Assess the impact of New Deal reforms in enlarging the role of the federal government in American life.
