1. Life during the great depression
Social Studies 11

2. Outline Last class we looked in the causes of the Great Depression.
Today, we are going to examine what life was like for people during this era.
Our outline for today is:
A think-pair-share
A video on experiences of teenagers during the 30s
An independent reading
An analysis of Primary Source Accounts

3. Think Pair Share
Imagine if you were all told you can’t go to school. What would you do with all your free time? Discuss with your neighbours.

4. Think Pair Share
Now imagine that you also don’t have access to any money. Does that change your plans at all? What would you do then? Discuss with your neighbours.

5. Riding the Rails
A similar situation happened to teenagers during the 1930s.
Many of them were told they had to leave school because their parents had lost their jobs, and they needed them to try to get money.
However, finding work was not at all easy.
We are going to watch a segment from the documentary Riding the Rails, which tells the stories of many teenagers during the Great Depression and what they had to do to survive.

6. Independent Reading
We are now going to do some independent reading to gather some historical context on what life was like during these “desperate years”.
Pages 94-96

7. Primary Source Worksheets
Now that we have an understanding of what life was like for Canadian’s during the depression, we are going to do an analysis of primary source statements from the era.
Two handouts:
1930’s Sacrifice: Canadian Life during the Great Depression
Canadian Life in the Great Depression Chart
Read through the primary source statements and fill in the chart.
Once you have completed the chart, work on the questions on the back of the sheet.

8. Summary
Today we learned about the life experiences of people during the Great Depression.
Tomorrow, we will look into reactions of another group - the Canadian Government.