Historical Context: The 30s and 40s

This webquest brings together the best of all worlds! Social Studies, Language Arts, and Fine Arts come together as students work in cooperative groups to create a well-illustrated fictional story that is historically accurate. The unit is best used in concert with the Social Studies curriculum which covers the Great Depression and World War II. Prior to beginning the webquest, the teacher should put students in heterogenous cooperative groups consisting of 4 members. Plan on devoting approximately 4-6 days to the webquest. Be sure to provide art paper, colors (colored pencils, markers or paints), and note paper. Students will also need access to computers, their Social Studies textbook, and library books on World War II.   

The webquest was originally created as a pre-reading unit for the book, Finally Free: The James Finley Story. While it is a perfect fit for teachers who will be introducing this biography set in the context of the Great Depression and World War II, the wequest is generic in nature and designed for all teachers looking for an integrated unit set in the historical context of the 1930s and 1940s.

 

Standards

Common Core, Writing The fifth-grade standards are listed; Grades 6-8 contain these same standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3a Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3c Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3d Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3e Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.


Florida Sunshine State Standards
--FL.SS.A.5.3. Time, Continuity, and Change [History]: The student understands United States history from 1880 to the present day.
--Understands the impact of significant people, events and ideas on the development of the United States (for example, the Great Depression).

Pathways Target Skills, NAD, and Southern Union Standards
• Understand the factors that affected United States history during the crash of the stock market and the resulting Great Depression.
• Examine the domestic and international impact of the Great Depression.
• Discuss the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the rush to build up armed forces.
• Study the events leading to the use of atomic weapons, and how they were used to end the war.

• Work independently and cooperatively to accomplish goals.
• Write using story elements.

Credits

This webquest was created as part of a unit commissioned by the Atlantic Union Teacher Bulletin, www.teacherbulletin.org. It is based on the historical setting of a book which was authored by Sandra Doran, the creator of this webquest. The picture on the Welcome Page was taken of my parents, James and Gloria Finley, on their wedding day in 1944. The Introduction Page shows my father, James Finley, in Brooklyn, New York during the Great Depression.