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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity four

In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate a primary source letter from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing. Students will investigate the influence of technology, and its lack, on the tobacco bag stringers. They will do a role play/debate in which they will assume the roles of owners of companies and other people that were involved in the issue.

A for grades 3–5 Social Studies

By Pauline S. Johnson

Learn more

  • Secondary source: Tobacco bag stringing This article introduces the concept of tobacco bag stringing and discusses its importance as a source of income for women in North Carolina and Virginia during the Great Depression. Adapted for elementary students.
  • Primary source: Tobacco bag stringing: Life and labor in the Depression Images and text from a report in the North Carolina Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill documenting tobacco bag stringing work in North Carolina and Virginia in 1939.

Related pages

  • Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity three: In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate primary source letters from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing.
  • Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity one: This activity for grades 3–6 will help students understand what tobacco bag stringing was and why it was important to communities in North Carolina and Virginia. Students will read and analyze an adapted introductory article about tobacco bag stringing.
  • Primary source letters lesson plan: This is one of a series of activities that will help educators use the Tobacco Bag Stringing project...

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This is one of a series of activities that will help educators use the Tobacco Bag Stringing project materials in their classrooms. Throughout the series students will learn about tobacco stringing, study primary source documents and visuals, engage in a role play/debate, and practice critical thinking and analysis skills.

This activity should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing.

Learning outcomes

  • Students will read and evaluate an excerpt from a primary source letter.
  • Students will evaluate the role of technology and economics in the lives of citizens.
  • Students will practice higher order thinking.
  • Students will experience historical empathy.
  • Students will consider multiple perspectives.

Teacher planning

Materials needed

Time required for lesson

20 minutes for reading activity, 40 minutes for role play/debate

Procedure

Reading activity

  1. Ask the students “What is technology?” (A formal definition would be “development and application of machines and techniques for manufacturing and producing goods; method that applies technical knowledge or tools; a society’s practical knowledge.”) Students will have their own definitions depending on grade level.
  2. Ask the students for some examples of technology. How has technology helped us?
  3. Review the information about tobacco bags from activity one. Remind the students that many people during this time put strings in tobacco bags to earn extra money.
  4. Pass out copies of the letter excerpts to students. Allow them to work individually, in pairs, or in small groups. Teachers may need to read the letters to younger students.
  5. Discuss the answers as a whole class.

Role play/debate

  1. Explain to the students that they will pretend they are either tobacco bag stringers or people involved in the manufacturing companies.
  2. Allow each student to pull a role sheet from a hat.
  3. Put the “Ideas to think about” overhead up. Explain that each student will be writing ideas on his or her notebook paper as if the student is the person on the role sheet. Remind them that because they are pretending, they may need to make up some of the answers. You may want to give an example such as: “If you are the owner of a factory, what do you need money for?” The students could respond cars, a new house, nice clothes, food. Another example: The investors could be bankers.
  4. Give the students time to write some ideas and other thoughts on notebook paper. You may require that each student must speak at least one time. Since the students will know this ahead of time, you may go to the more shy students in the class and help them come up with at least one comment. It could be just some biographical information from their role sheet.
  5. Have the students move into a circle.
  6. Start the discussion by taking the role of a moderator of a public forum. It adds to the experience if you address the students by Mr. or Miss. Each side may present their ideas about why Golden Belt Manufacturing Company should or should not be required to share its stringing machine technology. Because this is a debate about how the technology affects different groups, you probably would not want to get into patent infringement or related issues. However, the owners of the Golden Belt Company may say that because the technology is theirs they shouldn’t have to share. You may just want to get other opinions. The objective of this exercise is to encourage higher-level thinking and historical empathy. The students should also begin to consider that each issue has more than one side, that everything does not have to be totally right or wrong, and that there are many shades of gray. They should start to consider multiple perspectives.
  7. Debates like this are sometimes slow to develop. Give the students time. If you require that each student speak at least one time, you could call on those who have not spoken saying, “What is your feeling about this issue?”
  8. After 20 minutes (more or less depending on the liveliness of the debate) have the students debrief about the issues. How did the issue of technology affect the people they were representing? How did technology affect the economics of the companies and the individuals involved? What have they learned from this activity?

Processing/homework

Have the students in their roles write a letter to the government expressing their opinion of the public forum and what they believe should be done about the issue of the stringing machines.

Assessment

  • Assess by clarity of student understanding as evidenced during discussion.
  • Assess Letter Excerpt by completion of questions.
  • Each student contributing at least one time can assess the debate. This does not penalize the shyer students and reward more outgoing students. Additionally, the notebook paper with their reactions to the overhead can be collected and evaluated.
  • Processing letter should be graded by clarity of persuasion, grammar, and style.