Substitute Lesson Plan: The Great Depression – Using Census Data

Objective

Students will be able to:

• Analyze map and data on U.S. unemployment in 1937 and explain the value of collecting such data during the Great Depression (between decennial census years).
• Formulate a position on the New Deal and support it with specific data.

Materials

• "The Great Depression: Using Census Data" student packet (includes Item 1: Unemployment Census Photo, Item 2: Map of Geographic Divisions 1937, Item 3: Percentage of Population Unemployed by Sex/Geographic Division 1937) — one copy per student
• Pen or pencil for each student
• Whiteboard/chalkboard (optional, for recording student answers during discussion)

Warm-up (~5 min)

Have students look at Item 1: Unemployment Census Photo in their packets. On a blank sheet of paper or in the margin of their packet, have them write a 2–3 sentence response to this prompt (write on board if available):

"Why do you think the government needed to count how many people were unemployed during the Great Depression, even though the regular census only happened every 10 years?"

Ask 2–3 volunteers to share their answers aloud before moving on.

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Read the Introduction together (~7 min): Have students take turns reading the Introduction section aloud (paragraph by paragraph). Pause after each paragraph to check understanding — remind students this explains why the 1937 unemployment censuses were created and how sampling later became part of the decennial census and the American Community Survey.

1. Independent/Pair Work on Questions 1–5 (~18 min): Have students work individually or in pairs to answer Questions 1 through 5 in the packet, using the Introduction and Items 2 and 3 as their evidence source. Circulate the room (or have a designated helper circulate) to ensure students are:
2. Referring back to specific text in the Introduction for Questions 1–3.
3. Actually reading Item 2 (the map) and Item 3 (the data table) to answer Question 4 (identifying the region(s) with highest unemployment percentages for both men and women) and Question 5 (identifying the region likely needing the least New Deal funding).

If students finish early, they should begin reading ahead to Question 6.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

Have students complete Question 6 as their exit ticket:

"Imagine you are a congressperson in 1938 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt is asking for more money for his New Deal program. Use data from Item 3 and your background knowledge of this time period to support an argument for or against increasing New Deal funding."

Students should write at least 3–4 sentences that reference specific data from Item 3. Collect these responses at the end of class (or have students turn them in to a designated folder/tray) for the regular teacher to review.

If Time Remains

Have students answer Question 8: "What question topics (other than employment) would have been useful to include in the census sample survey to give legislators a better idea of the impact of the Great Depression on the American family?" Students can jot down their ideas as a list and be prepared to share one idea aloud with the class before the period ends.