Layer 4

Chicken Thieves and Baked Bean Sandwiches: Life during the Great Depression

Brought to an economic low, Americans were forced to “make do or do without.” Once prosperous citizens were reduced to taking in boarders, raising chickens, and wearing dresses made of rough feed sacks.  We will look at the role of CCC camps and other government policies, chicken thieves, gangsters, suicide, and murder in Central Pennsylvania as we follow the footsteps of local residents.  Would you have escaped from reality by dreaming of becoming a Hollywood star or robbing a bank?  As you munch on baked bean sandwiches, cap your own soda bottle, and experiment with homemade remedies, we will attempt to understand this trying period of American history.

 

 


Essential Questions:

How were the lives of ordinary Americans affected as they learned how to make do or do without?
What are the causes and effects of the Great Depression?
How did the decade of the 1920s set the stage for the Great Depression?
How did people struggle in their everyday lives during the depression?
How did the New Deal programs succeed and fail?
How is history interpreted to relate the past to the present?
How do the concepts of family, education, leisure, government, economics, religion, and communication define a culture?

History Standards:  8.1 A, B, C,D  8.2.12 A,B,C,D   8.3.12 A, B,C,D 
Reading Standards: 1.15 A, G 1.2 A 1.3 A,F 1.6 A,B,D,E


“You are an amazing person who knows some really interesting stories about our nation’s history! You made us think about how courageous and brave these men and women were in our nation’s history. Your presentation as a whole was fantastic, and I really appreciate you coming here to tell and show our class some astounding artifacts.”
         Laura B.