The New Deal and Rebellion

I had a great meeting with inspiring educators, Kathy Emery and Judy Smith, where we discussed ways to design curriculum units around the central theme of REBELLION. Here are some initial ideas for a New Deal unit. Please let me know what you think!

The New Deal and Rebellion

Possible Reading List (California Recommended Literature List, Grades K-12)
My Lord, What A Morning: An Autobiography
By: Marian Anderson

Hatred, Bigotry, and Prejudice: Definitions, Causes and Solutions
By: Robert Baird

Growing Up
By: Russell Baker

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
By: Michael Chabon

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café
By: Fannie Flagg

Life is So Good
By: George Dawson

Of Mice and Men/The Grapes of Wrath
By: John Steinbeck


English/Social Studies Lesson Plan Ideas
•Waiting for Lefty, Pins and Needles, Cradle Will Rock
(Students will read excerpts, perform sections, analyze and discuss major issues present: Labor conditions, unions, strikes, Communism)

•The Living Newspaper
(Students will read/perform the plays, discuss the issues being presented, debate whether the LN does a good job of presenting the problem to the American public)

•American Masters (PBS): Woody Guthrie Lesson Plan
(Labor Movement in America, Political Orientation, The Music of Woody Guthrie with guided questions for thought and discussion)

•The Murals of Diego Rivera
(Examination of Murals (SF City College), controversial themes, defense of Rivera’s work-why or why not?)

•Roosevelt’s Black Cabinet
(Students assume the roles of Cabinet members Mary Mcleod Bethune, Robert Weaver, William Hastie, etc. and formulate position statements/speeches on ways to end discrimination in New Deal programs—CCC running separate camps for black and white youth, TVA hiring practices, CWA paid less, anti-lynching legislation)

•Women and the New Deal
(Images of women in Superman, Woman of the Year, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Norman Cousins’ article in the Saturday Evening Post vs. Mary “Molly” Dewson and Frances Perkins)