The Great Depression Letter

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"The business of America is business."

- President Calvin Coolidge

Directions:

1. Your task is to create a letter in the voice of a person growing up in the 1930s. This letter will be written to a person living in the year 2012. Before you begin your research, consider the name, gender, race, and age of the "character" you will become. Also, decide the audience for your letter. This might be a friend, family member, or teacher.

2. Your writing must cover the following topics:

Causes and Effects of the Great Depression
Family, New Deal, and Standard of Living
School and Friends
Social and Political Events in the 1930s

Begin your research by exploring the resources listed below. As you explore the sites, record facts. Remember to avoid copying word for word.

The Great Depression from PBS
The Great Depression from the Department of Humanities
Voices from the Dustbowl from NPR
Photographs of the Great Depression from the Library of Congress
"I Remember....." Reminiscences of the Great Depression"
Then and Now: Prices
How the Great Depression Affected Children from the New Deal Network

Hint: There are three frames within this site. When you have completed a frame click on the arrow to the right.

3. When you have collected information about each of the topics, you are prepared to begin the writing process. Remember, you are writing from the perspective of a person living in the 1930s. You are explaining your life to a person living in 2012. Your letter should include enough detail and description for your reader to gain a sense of what your life was like.

4. Your letter should be a minimum of five well-developed paragraphs. Read the attached 'Outline for Great Depression Letter' to guide you as you write your letter.

Go to the next page to submit your letter.