The Life of Migrant Workers in the Great Depression
Teacher Page
Introduction:
Congratulations!You are an up and coming actor
and you have been hired to play a role in a big movie that portrays Dorothea
Lange, a famous photographer, and a migrant family that lived during
the great depression. Depending on your knowledge of the Great Depression
and the life of a Migrant Worker past and present, you could get the lead
role! The only way to develop a true perspective about the people is to learn
about the culture, community and the everyday life of the migrant worker in
America. You must bring the materials you create with the resources below
to the second audition in order to be cast in the “lead” role. Good luck!
The Task
- You will be able to describe the life of a migrant worker during
the depression and today.
- You will identify vocabulary associated with migrant workers of
the Great Depression era.
- You will learn a brief history of Dorothea Lange.
- You will be able to identify Dorothea Lange’s photograph “Migrant
Mother,” and explain its underlying meanings.
- You will develop multiple perspectives of the life of a migrant
worker today, and the life of the children of migrant workers today through
creating a project journal and creating an original song, poem, or portrait
that depicts the life of a Migant Worker in America. .
- To get the lead role in the movie, you will present your project
journal and your original song, poem, or portrait you have created. Only
one person can get the lead role so you have a great challenge to prove you
have the knwledge to have the lead role in the movie!
The Process
1. You will work in groups of three. Each
member of the group will have a Leader, a Recorder, and a Navigator.
2. Each group will first complete activity #1 and read the important vocabulary.
3. The group will create a project journal to record thoughts, questions
and answers, and ideas as you go through the project. You will then do activity
#2. You must print a KWL chart
and write what you already know about Migrant Workers and the Great Depression
and what you want to know.
(Remember, this project journal will determine if you
get the lead in the movie)
4. The group will then use the resources below to complete activity #3
and #4 to learn about the The Great Depression. In their own words, the group
will use the
note pages in the project journal to record what they
learn about the following:
What is the Great Depression? When did it begin and why?
Why did people decide to migrate and how did they come to
be called Migrant Workers?
What were the living conditions of migrant families during
the 1930's?
4. Finally, each member
of the group will do activity #5 and create their own original poem, song,
or portrait that portrays the life of an American migrant worker in
the Great Depression.
Activity #1: Read Important Vocabulary
Read and discuss
the the
Vocabulary
handout. As an actor,
you must know vocabulary to be able to read the script. Be sure you
understand the terms used and be prepared to discuss them in your second
auditon.
Activity #2: Complete
the "what I know" and "what I want to learn" section of the KWL chart .
(Print KWL Chart).
Write down what you already know about Migrant Workers and the Great Depression
and what you want to learn. (Remember, this project journal will determine
if you get the lead in the movie)
Activity #3: Music from the Great
Depression Era (Print Project Journal Notes Page 1).
Listen
to a folk song by Jack Bryant, entitled “Sunny Cal.” You can obtain lyrics
and download a recording of the song on the Library of Congress's American
Memory site. As a group, listen to the song once, then read through
the lyrics together. Discuss the meaning of the song and record your answers
in complete sentences in your project
journal notes page 1. You will use the following questions to guide your
discussion:
- What do you
think the song is about?
- What is the
purpose of the song?
- Why might it
have been written?
- Look at the
date of the song. What do you know about this period in American History?
- Is the song
telling a story?
- What is the
story about?
- Is it a happy
story or a sad story?
Activity #4: Images of the Depression
era and the life of a migrant worker. (Print Project Notes Page 2)
Now you will discover the Great Depression thorugh the eyes of the photographer
Dorothea Lange. You will find of one of her most famous photograph at the
Minneapolis Institute of Art, and additional background
information on the photograph can be found on the Library of Congress resource,
Dorothea
Lange's Migrant Mother Photographs in the Farm Security Administration
Collection.)
Discuss the meaning
of the photograph with your group. Ask each other the following questions
and record responses in your project
journal Notes Page 2.
- Why would the
artist have taken the photograph?
- Who do you see
in the photograph?
- Where do you
think they are?
- What can you
tell about these people based on the photograph?
- How do you think
they feel in this picture? How can you tell?
- What techniques
does the photographer use to draw you into the subject matter or to draw
an emotion from you?
Activity
#5: Voices from the Dust Bowl:
Now it is time to explore
the collection of photographs and songs and information available below.
Remember, each member of the group will perform for the second audition.
Along with the project journal, each member of the group must increase
their chance of getting the lead role by creating your own original portrait,poem,
or song that depicts the life on the migrant worker in the Great Depression.
.
Please explore each of these resources and use them to create
your original song, portrait, or poem about the Great Depression and living
as a migrant worker.
***********Don't forget to complete
the final section of the KWL chart********************
Evaluation
For rubric, go to:
Your portrait,
song, or poem should include (see rubric above):
- subject matter relevant to the experience of migrant workers.
- imagery/language that evokes a response from the viewer/listener.
- historically accurate information.
- reflected knowledge of the experience of the migrant worker/family.
Your project journal
should contain 7 completed pages. (see rubric above) They should be placed
neatly in the folder provided by the teacher.
- 1 per group: A title page which includes the title of the project,
the group member's names,and illustrations from the Great Depression,
Migrant Workers, or Dorothea Lange. The illustrations may be printed
from the computer or drawn with pencils, markers, etc.
- 1 per group: completed KWL chart with information you know, want to
know, and what you have learned.
- 1 per group: completed Note Page1.
- 1 per group: completed Note Page 2.
- 1 per each group member ( a total of 3): Portrait, song, or poem that
is historically accurate and reflects knowledge of the experience of the migrant
worker
Conclusion
In this lesson,
students will learn about migrant workers to better understand the environmental
and social impact of the Great Depression. For example, students will learn
about the effects of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl on American farm owners,
tenants, and sharecroppers. Using photography, specifically Dorothea Lange's
Migrant Mother, and song lyrics of the era, students will explore
the challenges faced by migrant workers and their families, and will create
a project journal and create their own portrait, song or poem to bring attention
to the plight of the migrant worker.
Teacher
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Webquest Author: Erica Yanez eyanez@lasvegas.edisonschools.com