Surviving the Depression in
Champaign-Urbana
By Matt Goerss
Summer Fellowship 2009
Abstract: In this unit, students will analyze primary sources related to the impacts of the Great Depression in Champaign-Urbana. Students will learn about the initial impacts of the 1929 stock market crash in the community, and they will also learn about how leaders and citizens in the community responded to the problems of bank failures and unemployment. Finally, students will evaluate the importance and legacy of the Works Progress Administration in Champaign-Urbana through an analysis of photographs. As students read and analyze primary sources during this unit, they will use the information to complete a two- to three-page essay on the response to the Depression in the community.
Essential Questions:
While each of the lessons in this unit has additional essential questions, all of the content and activities in this unit are focused on the essential questions above.
Assessment: Students will be assessed in a variety of ways during this unit. The overarching assessment for this unit is a two- to three-page paper that students will write using the primary sources that they will analyze. In their paper, students will be required to respond to the essential question of whether the leaders of the community responded effectively to the Depression. Students will also be assessed on their ability to read and analyze newspaper articles, editorials, and photographs, both individually and in groups.
Setting the Purpose: Given the current economic recession, it is even more essential for students to understand how the nation and individual communities responded to the challenges they faced during the Great Depression. The local impact of the current economic problems can serve as a launching point to frame this unit on the local impact of the Great Depression. In addition, the teacher should introduce the essential questions on the first day of the unit and refer to them frequently throughout each lesson to give students a context for their analysis of primary sources.
Analysis of Local Primary Sources: In each of the four lessons in this unit, students will analyze newspaper articles, editorials, and photographs from local sources like the Champaign News-Gazette and Urbana Courier.
Ties to National Primary Sources: Most of the lessons in this unit begin with an analysis of a national primary source to give students an understanding of the impact of the Depression nationwide compared to Champaign-Urbana. Students will also analyze census data on unemployment to compare national and state unemployment rates with local unemployment rates.
Lesson 1
Lesson 2