After completing the questions on the participant accounts, pictures, and cartoons, students will show the teacher their historical understanding on the following three activities.

1. Letter to the First Lady

• Individual activity
• You will write a letter to Mrs. Roosevelt like the ones you have seen on this site. Use information gathered through resources on this site or others in order to structure you letter similar to those of the youth in the Great Depression. You will also need to include a backstory as to why you are in such a situation as well as the reasons why you need the supplies/items you are asking the First Lady to provide.
• This should be typed, 12 point font, 1-2 pages long with 1″ margins.

2. Editorial cartoon

• Partner Activity
• You will work with a partner and make an editorial cartoon that compares and contrasts how children/families of the Great Depression survived to the ways children/families survived during the most recent recession. The cartoon must express the differences and similarities between the two generations. This can be done either by showing a conversation, the daily lives of the two generations, changes they had to go through, etc. You may use resources on this site for this activity as well as other sources for the Great Depression perspective. You will need to include your own experiences of the recession or the experiences of someone who felt the affects of the recent recession.

3. Journal

• Individual activity
• You will pretend to be a child who lived during the Great Depression and create a personal journal talking about the hardships you and you family faced during this time period. Use the participant accounts, political cartoons, and photos as a guide to help write your journal entry. Lastly, talk about what life was like before the Great Depression and explain how your life style changed from it.
• This should be hand written, 2-3 pages