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Teaching The Great Depression

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Students may have lived through the Great Recession, but the Great Depression is a whole other ball of wax. You'll need to put the events of the Depression into perspective, and we have the lessons you need to give context to this catastrophic event.

In this guide you will find

  • modern resources showing how the Depression still has effects in place today.
  • activities analyzing statistics and historical quotes of the time period.
  • related biographies of important figures, both political and literary, like FDR and John Steinbeck.

There's no need to slip into a great depression yourself when you have this teaching guide.

What's Inside Shmoop's History Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring history to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 3-5 Common Core-aligned activities (including quotation, image, and document analysis) to complete in class with your students, with detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes to be sure students are looking at the material through various lenses.
  • Resources to help make the topic feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the topic and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching The Great Depression?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Ah, statistics. Sixty percent of the time, they're right every time. 

But seriously. Even though they can sometimes be misunderstood or manipulated, they can also be very helpful. 

One way to tell the story of an event like the Great Depression, for instance, is through the use of statistics. And that's exactly what your students are going to attempt to do today. They'll examine statistics for unemployment, fertility, divorce, and suicides and see if they can make some (reasonable) connections.

Length of Lesson: One class period.

Materials Needed:

  • Stats on unemployment, fertility, divorce, and suicide rates, provided below
  • "Miserable Statistics" section of Shmoop's Economy Lens

Step One: Divide students into pairs or small groups and provide them with the statistics below. 

Unemployment Rates
in 1929: 3.2%
in 1930: 8.9%
in 1931: 16.3%
in 1932: 24.1%
in 1933: 24.9%
in 1934: 21.7%
in 1935: 20.1%
in 1936: 16.9%
in 1937: 14.3%
in 1938: 19.0%
in 1939: 17.2%3

Fertility Rates (per 100,000 women aged 15-44)
in 1928: 93.8
in 1929: 89.3
in 1930: 89.2
in 1931: 84.6
in 1932: 81.7
in 1933: 76.3
in 1934: 78.5
in 1935: 77.2
in 1936: 75.8
in 1937: 77.1
in 1938: 79.1
in 1939: 77.6

Average divorce rate (per 1,000 people)
1920-1929: 1.6
1930-33: 1.4
1934-39: 1.8
1940-46: 2.8
1947-64: 2.5

Suicide rates (per 100,000 people)
1920-1928: 12.1
1929: 18.1
1930-1940: 15.4

Step Two: Each pair or group should find a way to place all of these statistics on a single graph or chart, of their design, that allows for better comparison and analysis of these statistics. You can give them 20-25 minutes to complete their charts in class. Be sure to let them know they have a deadline so they'll work efficiently.

Step Three: Bring the class back together and read through the "Miserable Statistics" section of Shmoop's Economy Lens.

Step Four: Give students a few minutes to share their charts or graphs and see how others chose to represent the stats. What methods seem to make for the easiest interpretation of the data?

Encourage students to talk a bit about their charts and use them, as well as the information you've just reviewed, to discuss the Depression’s impact on basic human decisions and relationships. What do people think? What kind of an impact did the Depression have? 

You may want to follow up this discussion with a few of the questions below.

  1. Given the stats you've charted, what definitive statements can you make about how the Depression impacted people?
  2. Are there any statistics on your graph that challenge any of these statements? Explain.
  3. Which conclusions that you've drawn might be leaps, based on what the statistics seem to indicate? 
  4. How could you back up your conclusions? What further research or data would help you to make definitive statements that would stand up to greater scrutiny? 
  5. Overall, do you find these statistics helpful in painting a picture of life during the Depression? Why or why not?

(Lesson aligned with CA History-Social Sciences 9th-12th grade historical research, evidence, and point of view standard 4; historical interpretation standards 1, 2, 6; 11th grade American History standards 11.6, 11.6.3)

TEKS Standards: §113.41. United States History Studies Since 1877 b1, c2A, c2B, c3B, c29B

Instructions for Your Students

Ah, statistics. Sixty percent of the time, they're right every time. 

But seriously. Even though they can sometimes be misunderstood or manipulated, they can also be very helpful. 

One way to tell the story of an event like the Great Depression, for instance, is through the use of statistics. And that's exactly what you're going to attempt to do today. Ever told a story in stats? Get read to try.

Step One: With your teacher's help, divide into pairs or small groups and take a look at the statistics below. 

Unemployment Rates
in 1929: 3.2%
in 1930: 8.9%
in 1931: 16.3%
in 1932: 24.1%
in 1933: 24.9%
in 1934: 21.7%
in 1935: 20.1%
in 1936: 16.9%
in 1937: 14.3%
in 1938: 19.0%
in 1939: 17.2%3

Fertility Rates (per 100,000 women aged 15-44)
in 1928: 93.8
in 1929: 89.3
in 1930: 89.2
in 1931: 84.6
in 1932: 81.7
in 1933: 76.3
in 1934: 78.5
in 1935: 77.2
in 1936: 75.8
in 1937: 77.1
in 1938: 79.1
in 1939: 77.6

Average divorce rate (per 1,000 people)
1920-1929: 1.6
1930-33: 1.4
1934-39: 1.8
1940-46: 2.8
1947-64: 2.5

Suicide rates (per 100,000 people)
1920-1928: 12.1
1929: 18.1
1930-1940: 15.4

Step Two: Happy stuff, right? Your job is take this information and (working with your partner or group) find a way to place all of these statistics on a single graph or chart, of your own design, that allows for better comparison and analysis of these statistics. You'll only have 20-25 minutes to finish your chart or graph, so don't dilly dally. 

Step Three: Get back together with the rest of the class and read through the "Miserable Statistics" section of Shmoop's Economy Lens.

Step Four: Take a few minutes to share your chart or graph and look at how others chose to represent the stats. What methods seem to make for the easiest interpretation of the data?

You and your classmates can talk a bit about your charts and use them, as well as the information you've just reviewed, to discuss the Depression’s impact on basic human decisions and relationships. What do people think? What kind of an impact did the Depression have? 

 You may want to follow up this discussion with a few of the questions below.

  1. Given the stats you've charted, what definitive statements can you make about how the Depression impacted people?
  2. Are there any statistics on your graph that challenge any of these statements? Explain.
  3. Which conclusions that you've drawn might be leaps, based on what the statistics seem to indicate? 
  4. How could you back up your conclusions? What further research or data would help you to make definitive statements that would stand up to greater scrutiny? 
  5. Overall, do you find these statistics helpful in painting a picture of life during the Depression? Why or why not?