The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Students “become” several of the social groups who participated in the 1934 Longshore Workers Strike—some of whom had to answer the question, “Which side are you on?”
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Social Class
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Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
Archive.
A collection of resources and programs on the history and legacy of the Abraham Lincoln Brigades.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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Burned Out of Homes and History: Unearthing the Silenced Voices of the Tulsa Massacre
Teaching Activity. By Linda Christensen. Rethinking Schools.
Teaching about racist patterns of murder, theft, displacement, and wealth inequality through the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: African American, Economics, Racism & Racial Identity
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Deportations on Trial: Mexican Americans During the Great Depression
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this role play students analyze who is to blame for the illegal, mass deportations of Mexican Americans and immigrants during the Great Depression.
Time Periods: Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Immigration, Labor, Latinx, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity
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Haiku and Hiroshima: Teaching About the Atomic Bomb
Teaching Activity. By Wayne Au. 3 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Lesson for high school students on the bombing of Hiroshima using the film Barefoot Gen and haiku.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944, Cold War: 1945 - 1960
Themes: Language Arts, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Online Archive
Archive.
Collection of firsthand accounts and primary sources of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Asian American, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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Learning About the Unfairgrounds: A 4th-Grade Teacher Introduces Her Students to Executive Order 9066
Teaching Activity. By Katie Baydo-Reed. Rethinking Schools.
Students hold a "tea party" and a mock trial in preparation for reading literature about internment.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Asian American, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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A Lesson on the Japanese American Internment
Teaching Activity. By Mark Sweeting. Rethinking Schools.
How one teacher engaged his students in a critical examination of the language used in textbooks to describe the internment.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Asian American, Democracy & Citizenship, Education, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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The Other Internment: Teaching the Hidden Story of Japanese Latin Americans During WWII
Teaching Activity. By Moé Yonamine. 18 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Poetry, photography, and text are used in this role play to teach about the seldom told history of Japanese Latin American internment during WWII.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Asian American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Immigration, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, World History/Global Studies
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Sandino Rebellion: A Documentary History
Archive.
A digital collection of over 3,300 documents from the Sandino Rebellion in Nicaragua, 1927-1934.
Time Periods: Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: US Foreign Policy, World History/Global Studies
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Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union: Black and White Unite?
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Role play on farm labor organizing in the 1930s shows how racism had to be challenged to create effective worker alliances.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: African American, Labor, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
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What Caused the Great Depression? The Widget Boom Game
Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez. Rethinking Schools.
A simulation helps students understand the causes of economic crises.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Economics, Labor, Social Class
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Who Made the New Deal? The Economic Recovery Conference Role Play
Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez. Rethinking Schools.
Through role play, students explore how different social groups influenced New Deal legislation.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Economics, Labor, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing
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E.Y. “Yip” Harburg: “Brother Can You Spare a Dime”
Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg's "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" (1932) is performed by Allison Moorer.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Art & Music, Economics
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Labor Matters
Teaching Activity. By Teaching Tolerance.
Introduces students to the role of the labor movement in securing contemporary benefits such as the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, and workplace safety regulations.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Turn of the Century: 1900 - 1909, World War I: 1910 - 1919, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Labor, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing
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Langston Hughes: “Ballad of Roosevelt”
Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Langston Hughes' "Ballad of Roosevelt" (1934) by Danny Glover.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship
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The Power In Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 1988.
Role plays and writing activities project high school students into real-life situations to explore the history and contemporary reality of employment (and unemployment) in the U.S.
Time Periods: 19th Century, Industrial Revolution: 1877 - 1899, 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Economics, Labor, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
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Protesting the First World War
Teaching Activity. By Colby Smart.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 14 of Voices of a People's History of the United States on anti-war efforts during the first World War, as well as the U.S. government's response.
Time Periods: 20th Century, World War I: 1910 - 1919, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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Vicky Starr: “Back of the Yards”
Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Vicky Star's "Back of the Yards" by Christina Kirk.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Women's History
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World War II and McCarthyism
Teaching Activity. By Gayle Olson-Raymer.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 16 of Voices of a People's History of the United States on domestic opposition to the "good war" and the impact of McCarthyism.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944, Cold War: 1945 - 1960
Themes: Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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