Title: The Great Depression

Subject: Social Studies, Georgia Studies

Grade Level (s): 8th

Duration: 50 minutes

Type of Lesson: Metaphorical Expression

Standards and Elements:

SS8H8 Analyze Georgia’s participation in important events that occurred from World War I
through the Great Depression.

b. Explain economic factors that resulted in the Great Depression. (e.g., boll weevil and drought).

Tag Standards:

Advanced Communication Skills

1. The student uses written, spoken, and technological media to convey new learning or
challenge existing ideas.

10. The student supports and defends his/her own opinions while respecting the opinions of
others.

Creative Thinking & Creative Problem-Solving Skills

5. The student develops original ideas, presentations, or products through synthesis and
evaluation.

7. The student uses analogies, metaphors, and/or models to explain complex concepts.

10. The student monitors and reflects on the creative process of problem solving for future
applications.

Higher Order Critical Thinking Skills (HO/CTS)

2. The student responds to questions with supporting information that reflects in-depth
knowledge of a topic.

11. The student draws conclusions based upon relevant information while discarding irrelevant
information

Summary: Students will participate in a discussion on standard SS8Hb based on their

understanding of the content and a question posed by the teacher. The students will then rotate
through three stations asking them to answer questions consisting of different types of analogies.
After each student has completed all three stations, students will complete their own analogies
related to the content of the lesson. Students will complete the lesson by answering a question on
the standard as a ticket out the door.

Enduring Understanding(s): Students will be able to explain economic factors that contributed
to the Great Depression in Georgia.

Essential Question(s):

How did Georgia’s agriculture-based economy result in Georgia being hit so hard by the Great
Depression?

Evidence of Learning:

What student should KNOW: Students should know the key economic factors that led to Georgia
being affected by the Great Depression. Additionally, students should know some of the key
issues involving Georgia during the Great Depression.

What student should BE ABLE TO DO: Student should be able to explain economic factors of
the Great Depression.

Suggested Vocabulary:

Boll Weevil

Bank failure

Drought of 1924

Dust Bowl

Overproduction

Under consumption

Procedure: The teacher will divide the classroom into three sections. Each section will contain a
different type of analogy for students to complete. Students will begin by previewing each
station to brainstorm. Students will then participate in a brief class discussion about losing all of
their possessions. Following the discussion, students will work independently to read the Georgia
Encyclopedia article on the Great Depression and complete the corresponding graphic organizer.
Students will then complete the analogy activities and the exit ticket.

Each Step of the Strategy:

Phase 1: Hook

1. Students will participate in a Carousel Brainstorming Activity. Students will preview each
question at the three stations and will begin to think of answers to each. The teacher will then
review the three types of metaphorical expressions experienced by the students: direct
analogies, personal analogies, and compressed conflicts. Explain to the students that “today
in Georgia Studies, we are going to learn how the Great Depression affected Georgia using
these three types of analogies.” The teacher will then lead the student through the mental
stretcher questions in order to demonstrate to students what they will be doing. The teacher
will project each question on the board and will call on students for responses.

Phase 2: Examine the Content

2. Set the Scene: The instructor will ask students to imagine they lost everything they
owned, which of those possessions would be hardest to live without, how they would manage
to survive without those possessions, how they would feel about others having nothing, and
how their lack of money or possessions would affect society as a whole?
3. Pose the Essential Question. “How did Georgia’s agriculture-based economy result in
Georgia being hit so hard by the Great Depression?” How is our essential question
connected to our discussion about losing everything?
4. Students will work individually to read a description of the Great Depression and
complete the content organizer. Each student will pair up with another to compare their
answers and verify their understanding of the concepts of the Great Depression.

Phase 3: Analogies

5. Direct Analogy: Students will identify the similarities and differences between the boll
weevil and a bulldozer. In groups of 4 students will record how they are alike and how they
are different using the visual organizer.
6. Personal Analogy: Students will compare themselves to a bank during the Great
Depression. Students will individually record the answers to the following questions:
• Where are you located?
• How do you feel when you foreclose on a farm?
• How do you feel when you run out of money?
• How do you feel when you are closed down?
Students will write a paragraph, poem, or song in the first person about their life as a bank
during the Great Depression.
7. Compressed Conflict: Students will answer the question, “How is being wealthy like
being poor?” After answering the question, students will list 5 words that descrive the Great
Depression and brainstorm antonyms of each word.
Phase 4: Synthesis Activity

8. Students will create their own similes about the Great Depression or one of the aspects of
the time period. Students should create at least three examples. Ex. As invasive as the boll
weevil.
Summarizing Activity

•Exit Ticket: What impact do you think the Great Depression had on the development of
Georgia? What steps do you think the people of Georgia took to try to avoid another
major economic depression?

Assessment:

Students will be assessed informally based on their answers to the analogies and the
corresponding activities.

Differentiation:

Students will be provided multiple ways to demonstrate mastery.

Linguistic learners will have the opportunity to demonstrate understanding of concepts orally.

Intrapersonal learners will have the opportunity to complete the lesson independently.

Lower level learners will have the teacher scaffold the lesson with them.

Students will be grouped by ability and interest.

Resource(s)/Material(s):

Paper

Anchor Text(s):

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/great-depression

Technology:

Microsoft Surface
Projector

Handouts:
Handout 1: Mental stretchers
Handout 2: Digital handout on the Great Depression – completed on student devices
Handout 3: Content Organizer
Handout 4: Direct Analogy Organizer
Handout 5: Personal Analogy Organizer
Handout 6: Compressed Conflict Organizer
Handout 1:

Mental Stretchers

1. How is colonization like theft?

2. If you were a ship, where would you most want to sail? Why?

3. If you were a map, where would you lead?

4. How is war like peace?

5. Write down as many ideas for free servitude as you can.

Handout 2:

Digital handout:

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/great-depression
Handout 3:

Content to be examined:

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

What does it look like? (use pictures or words)

What are its parts?

What is its purpose?

How does it operate? (use pictures or words)

How did it originate?

What is it a part of?

What is its importance?

Handout 4:

How is Like

The Boll Weevil A Bulldozer

How are they not alike?

Handout 5:

Personal Analogy

The Great Depression

Pretend that you are a bank during the Great Depression and answer the following
questions as if you were that green plant.

Where are you located? How do you feel when you foreclose on a
farm?

How do you feel when you run out of How do you feel when you are closed
money? down?
Write a paragraph, poem, or song in first person about your life as a bank during the Great
Depression.

Handout 6:

Compressed Conflict

Great Depression

How is being wealthy like being poor?

List five important words that describe List an antonym for each word to the
the Great Depression. left.

1.

2.

3.

4.
 5.

Review your original list and its antonyms. Do any of the pairs of words seem to fight each
other but still describe the Great Depression? Create three Compressed Conflicts