The Great Depression and World War II

 

Primary Learning Topics:

ž     Franklin D. Roosevelt, his role in navigating America through the Great Depression, and his positioning of African-Americans in places of political power

ž     The state of the nation during the Great Depression

ž     Interactions with Japanese and Japanese-Americans during World War II

ž     The role of the Tuskegee Airmen

ž     The integration of major league baseball

 

 

Note: the following books are presented to paint a picture of Great Depression experiences in various regions of the country.  All are told from a child’s perspective, which makes them especially entertaining to young students.  Additionally, for those who are interested in coupling the stories with hands-on activities, Classic Education, Inc. publishes an excellent resource as a part of its “Learning Through History” series.  The Great Depression unit study includes discussion on popular foods during this era, art and music, and lifestyles of several who fell on hard times.

 

 

Read the entire book of David Adler’s The Babe and I.

 

 

Read approximately ½ of Dust for Dinner by Ann Turner.

 

Read the latter half of Dust for Dinner.

 

 

An alternative to Dust for Dinner, especially for an older elementary child, might be Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp Kids by Jerry Stanley.  This moving story tells of displaced Oklahoma residents who move to California and persevere through a number of adversities to build a school and a socio-economically stable community for themselves.

 

 

Use pages 10-13 of Stuart Kallen’s The Civil Rights Movement to introduce the state of African-Americans during the Great Depression and African-American involvement in World War II.

 

 

Read Franklin D. Roosevelt by Laura Hamilton Waxman according to the following schedule:

 

Day 1

pgs. 5-12

Day 2

pgs. 13-18

Day 3

pgs. 19-26

Day 4

pgs. 27-35

Day 5

pgs. 37-43

 

 

 

 

Read The Fighting Red Tails by Warren Halliburton according to the following schedule:

 

 

Day 1

Chapters 1 and 2

Day 2

Chapters 3 and 4

Day 3

Chapter 5

Day 4

Chapters 6 and 7

 

 

 

Note: “Red Tails” are one of many names bestowed upon the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of all African-American pilots who served valiantly in World War II.  They were referred to as “angels” because they never lost a single bomber they escorted—a claim which no other similar flying unit could boast.  Warren Halliburton’s The Fighting Red Tails is used because of its brevity.  As time and interest dictate, use the richer, more descriptive stories presented in Red Tail Angels by Frederick and Patricia McKissack.

 

 

Read pgs. 5-18 of The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism, and Renewal by Sheila Hamanaka.

 

 

Read pgs.  21-31 of The Journey.

 

 

Read approximately ½ of Toshi Maruki’s Hiroshima No Pika.

 

 

Read the latter half of Hiroshima No Pika.

 

 

 

Conclude this section by reading Jim O’Conner’s Jackie Robinson and the Story of All-Black Baseball.  This story can be enjoyed at one chapter per day.

 

 

 

 

  

To Ask and Think About:

 

 

How might Franklin D. Roosevelt’s battle with polio have helped him better understand the plight of people who are poor or deprived in some way?

 

 

Why were Japanese-Americans imprisoned during World War II?

 

 

In Genesis  37, we see the discord between Joseph and his brothers as Joseph reveals the signs to his brothers that he is the chosen one of the group.  Given that Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were considered better baseball players in their day than Jackie Robinson, how might they felt have about Jackie being the first chosen to enter Major League baseball?  What about Jackie’s character made him an excellent choice?