LEARN NC

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

Tobacco bag stringing: Secondary activity four

In this activity for grades 7–12, students will examine primary source photographs and biographical information that were collected for the Virginia-Carolina Service Corporation to set up a data record.

A lesson plan for grades 8 and 10–12 Social Studies

By Pauline S. Johnson

Learn more

  • Secondary source: About 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.
  • 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.

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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, 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 examine and evaluate primary source material to set up a data record.
  • Students will understand that historians use data to help with their analysis of the past.
  • Students will experience historical empathy as they examine the lives of tobacco bag stringers.

Teacher planning

Materials needed

Time required for lesson

45 minutes

Procedure

  1. Put the students in pairs. (Depending on the size of the class, groups of three may be used.)
  2. Hand out a copy of the data matrix to each pair.
  3. Put each of the twelve worker sheets around the classroom.
  4. Assign each pair of students to one worker sheet.
  5. Students will fill in the data matrix for that worker. Some of the information is not in the biographical data. Ask the students to indicate that the information is not applicable (NA).
  6. Have the students move to another worker sheet.
  7. After all students have analyzed each worker sheet, use the Data matrix questions to initiate a class discussion as they analyze the data.

Assessment

Assess by completed data matrix and discussion.

Data matrix questions

  1. Most of the bag stringers are in what age range?
  2. Do most of the bag stringers have other income? How do they make their money other than bag stringing?
  3. What is the average income of the twelve tobacco bag stringers? This will be an estimate.
  4. Look at the information about Mrs. W. H. Bryant. Calculate their average monthly (four weeks) income and average winter monthly expenses. Are they able to survive without the tobacco bag stringing?
  5. Do most of the bag stringers own or rent their home?
  6. Why do you think the interviewers included the condition of the home and the children in their data? What does this information tell you?
  7. What do most of the bag stringers use their bag income for?
  8. From the data that you have collected, organize the tobacco bag stringers from most needy to least needy. Come up with a class consensus on this.
  9. How does data such as you have investigated help historians to better understand the past?

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 8

  • Goal 5: The learner will evaluate the impact of political, economic, social, and technological changes on life in North Carolina from 1870 to 1930.
    • Objective 5.01: Identify the role played by the agriculture, textile, tobacco, and furniture industries in North Carolina, and analyze their importance in the economic development of the state.
  • Goal 6: The learner will analyze the immediate and long-term effects of the Great Depression and World War II on North Carolina.
    • Objective 6.01: Identify the causes and effects of the Great Depression and analyze the impact of New Deal policies on Depression Era life in North Carolina.

Grade 10 — Economics and Civics

  • Goal 9: The learner will analyze factors influencing the United States economy.
    • Objective 9.02: Describe the impact of government regulation on specific economic activities.
    • Objective 9.08: Analyze the influence of environmental factors, economic conditions, and policy decisions on individual economic activities.

Grades 11–12 — African American Studies

  • Goal 7: The learner will assess the plight of African Americans during the Great Depression and World War II.
    • Objective 7.01: Analyze the impact of the Great Depression and the New Deal on the lives of African Americans.

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.