Black Blizzard. (2010). The History Channel website. Retrieved 7:10, December 14, 2010, from http://www.history.com/videos/black-blizzard.
This video is an awesome first hand account of the Dust Bowl and its survivors. The video is at my students’ independent level of comprehension. It will certainly aid students’ understanding of the sheer magnitude of the Dust Bowl. Following the video, students and I will discuss how the Dust Bowl impacted the American peoples’ economic hardships. I will supplement section 3 of the chapter about the Dust Bowl with this video to aid my students’ comprehension.
Bolden, Tonya. (2010). FDR’s Alphabet Soup. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
This book is written at my students independent reading level and has the appropriate content. This book would be a fantastic alterative to the textbook. It includes text features such as pictures, propaganda, and very clear outlines of events. The book is very reader friendly and would certainly engage my students in the content. For some of my struggling readers, I may supplement the textbook with this text. I would specifically use this text to showcase the first one hundred days in office, as the text so clearly outlines each major event.
Evans, Walker. (1994). Something Permanent. Poetry by Cynthia Rylant. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co..
This is a compilation of photographs and poetry that reflect the emotions of people during the Great Depression. This book is written at most of my students’ frustration level but with scaffolding, they would gain meaning from being exposed to the text. Themes that this book relates to in my unit are the spirit of America and the affects on the American people. I would use this book for a Book Scavenger Hunt to showcase specific photos and poems. Specific poems I would include are “Stories,” “Birdhouses,” and “Grave” because they speak to the same underlying message of hope and strength.
FDR: A Voice of Hope. (2010). The History Channel website. Retrieved 6:57, December 14, 2010, from http://www.history.com/videos/fdr-a-voice-of-hope.
This video is a perfect addition to the material students will be studying about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, especially during the Zooming in and Zooming out strategy. It begins with one of FDR’s famous speeches and discusses how FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt kept the country in good spirits during the Great Depression. The language is at my students’ independent level of comprehension and I will likely show this video to activate my students’ schemas before the Zooming in and Zooming out strategy. In addition, this video gives students another exposure to FDR before the R.A.F.T. assignment.
FDR's Fireside Chat on Dust Bowl. (2010). The History Channel website. Retrieved 7:14, December 14, 2010, from http://www.history.com/audio/fdrs-fireside-chat-on-dust-bowl.
This speech is at my students’ independent level of comprehension due to the background knowledge they will have gained from the other texts in the unit. The speech gives insight to who FDR was and how he dealt with the American people. The Fire-side chat audio will serve as a great model for students, particularly for the R.A.F.T. assignment. I may possibly use this audio in a group-work task with stations or as a listening activity as a class.
FDR's New Deal. (2010). The History Channel website. Retrieved 7:02, December 14, 2010, from http://www.history.com/videos/the-new-deal-how-does-it-affect-us-today.
This video will be a great supplement for Section 2 in the textbook, which focuses on the New Deal. The content in the video will help students better comprehend the information in the text because it will expose them to it multiple times. In addition, the video showcases the role that Eleanor Roosevelt played in helping run the country, which was omitted from the textbook altogether. The video will help me offer a holistic view of the Great Depression and the key players. The language is at my students’ independent level.
Himmelberg,R.F. (2000). The Great Depression and the new deal: An overview. The Great Depression and the New Deal. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Even though this book is likely written at my students’ instructional or possibly frustration level of reading, the chapter is a very objective and detailed explanation of the Great Depression. The book directly relates to themes in my unit, such as analyzing the New Deal and its impact on American people and also the differing perspectives regarding the New Deal. I would use this particular chapter because it is one of the more objective chapters in the text. I would have students read the first introductory pages (3-5) independently and then I would use a guided worksheet and groupwork to help students comprehend the content in the rest of the chapter. This would then be followed by rich discussion, possibly in the format of Reciprocal teaching directed by myself.
Library of Congress. (2002). The Great Depression and the 1990’s: Student Resources. Retrieved from http://http://memory.loc.gov/learn//lessons/97/depress/resource.html
This website from the Library of Congress would work perfectly as a Web-Quest for my students. It offer political cartoons my students would greatly enjoy and first-hand accounts of peoples’ lives during the depression. The content of this website relates to the themes in my unit directly, like what was the impact on the American people and how did critics react to the New Deal. The website is designed specifically for eleventh grade students and would be at my students instructional or possibly frustration level of reading; however, I would tailor the Web-Quest to be very specific and include many directions. In addition, the Web-Quest could be a class activity to better aid my students.
Mc Elvaine, R.S. (Ed.). (2008). Down and out in the Great Depression: Letters from the forgotten man. (25th ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
This is a great primary source book for my students. It has great visuals and pertinent quotes that would resonate with students. The content in the book directly relates to the Great Depression unit and will help students connect with the content. For example, the letters explain the positive initiatives and acts that Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted. Most of my students will be able to read this text at an independent level due to the first person perspective the letters are written. In addition, this book would be a great model and scaffold for students while completing the Dear Diary strategy outlined in Part III of the S.C.A.T. project.
Meltzer, Milton. (1969). Brother, can you spare a dime. New York: Random House.
This book is written at my students’ instructional level due to certain unfamiliar vocabulary, such as tenancy. I would use this book as a read-aloud to students, specifically chapter twelve, which describes the plight of American farmers before and during the Great Depression. The book includes songs and poems that people were familiar with during the Depression. Written in an objective first person manner the book is very appropriate for my students because it will help them comprehend the information in the text.
