Design for Learning

Instructor: MG Sanford/Lizzie Collier

Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 6th
grade
Lesson Title: Stock Market goes falling... Date:
Curriculum Area: Social Studies
Estimated Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
(maybe 2
days)
Standards Connection: 5.) Explain causes and effects of the Great Depression on the
people of the United States.
Learning Objective(s): Students will be able to identify the reactions of the people and
the consequences of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 by completing an open mind
portrait with having at least seven adjectives or descriptive phrases.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language: Today boys and girls, we are
going to be discussing what the Stock Market Crash is and how people reacted to the
Stock Market Crash in 1929.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s): Students will be able to identify the reactions of
the people and the consequences of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 by completing an
open mind portrait with having at least seven adjectives or descriptive phrases. Students
will be able to pick from a wealthy person mindset, a middle-class mindset, or a poor
mindset. This list of options for the open mind portrait could also include President
Hoover. The teacher will hand out a worksheet (attached at the end of this lesson) that
has a blank head on it, ready for students to fill with thoughts, expressions, and
emotions. This will begin to help students understand how it felt to experience living
through the stock market and how different people had different reactions to this event.
Engagement:
(There are hardly any desks in the room and all the students enter the room and sit on
the floor quietly.) There will be huge open cardboard boxes with some trash that are
lined up in a semi-circle in the middle of the room facing the board. The boxes will be set
up in a way to look like someone has been living in them. This will surprise the students
and create interest as to what they will be doing in class that day. The teacher will begin
to hand out slips of paper numbered 1-5 throughout the whole class at random. Okay
class! I need everyone to come in quietly and sit on the floor with all of his or her
belongings. Im going to hand out these slips of paper that have a number on them!
Based on what number you have, you need to group up with the other students that also
have that number but no one move until all slips are passed out! The teacher hands out
all the slips. Okay now I need all of the ones to pick up all of their stuff and head to the
box by the door. The teacher allows plenty of time for them to move. I need all of the
twos to move to the box to the right of them. The teacher allows for the next group to

move as well. Now everyone with a three card can move to the third box. The teacher
will allow these students to move. I need all of the fours to go to the box next to the
threes and then the fives in the next box. Teacher allows for the final students to move.
Now that you are all in your groups, Im going to hand out an envelope with a scenario
card. Do not open these envelopes until I say so! The teacher hands each group a
scenario envelope. Now I need everyone to look at me. The people that you are with are
now your families for the week. Teacher allows for the students to giggle and react. As a
group, I want you to read the scenario card allowed. There will be different scenarios for
each group. You cant ask any questions at all! All you have to do is read the scenario,
assign a role to each member of your group, and wait patiently for further instruction.
(See the different scenarios on the attached sheet with all the materials). These
scenarios also integrate other subjects for the students to practice!
Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
For the first half of the week students will be living and working from their boxes. Each
family will live in their box for a few days to get a glimpse of what losing everything felt
like, something that they will be learning in this lesson. The students will have different
scenarios to base their income off of, again something that will come later. Throughout
living in these boxes, the teacher will ask both convergent and divergent questions to
students so that they are able to solve their family scenarios and deepen their
understanding of the lasting reactions of the people after the Stock Market Crash. So
boys and girls, does anyone have an idea why I might be assigning you to a family?
Before raising your hands I will let you think about that pose another question...what
might your roles be within the family? We also stated that our new unit topic is the Great
Depression. The teacher will allow for students to answer these questions. Some
possible thoughts might be: Im an only mother with three kids; I am a cousin going to
live with my relatives because my family doesnt have enough money, etc. Teacher will
practice a sufficient amount of wait time. Okay, now that you have all thought about this,
would someone please share why they think I am putting you all into families? Students
will share responses. Some more answers might consist of because we are a family
going through the Great Depression. Some students might not have any idea why they
are being put into a family. After discussing, teacher will introduce the living in boxes
simulation. Those are all good guesses but the real reason I am putting you into a family
is so that you and your family can live in a box for the next couple of days! Teacher will
allow time for student reactions. Yes, you heard it correctly, we are going to be working
and living out of a box for the next couple of days. Now why do you think we will be
living in boxes? Will you all talk with your assigned family and discuss your predictions
about why we would be living in boxes. Teacher will allow time for group discussion.
Okay, if everyone can bring it back in I am going to write our predictions quickly on the
board. Family 1, what did you all say for a potential reason for living in boxes? Teacher
will continue to call on each family group to predict the explanation for the boxes. Those
are all great predictions class. Now can everyone gather around really close? I am going

to reveal the secret of why you all are families living in boxes... (Now the teacher starts
screaming in terror to get full attention) the Stock Market Crash of 1929!!! Teacher will
now present the PowerPoint presentation she has made including a note-taking guide
for the students to complete while learning all about the stock market (note
taking/summarizing McREL strategy). Start Slide Two (all slides are attached). Okay
before we begin diving into the stock market, I am going to hand out a note-taking guide
for you all to follow along and take notes on. Teacher allows for all the students to get
situated and ready to take notes. The Stock Market Crash in 1929 was a day that will be
remembered forever. You all have heard about the stock market in our previous unit on
the roaring 20s. Start Slide Three. What was this time period like? (Diving into previous
learned content) Students might give answers based off the pictures on the PowerPoint:
fancy cars and dresses, flappers, new amendments passed, time of fun and a little
rebellion, etc. Can anyone raise their hand and tell me one thing they can remember
about the stock market or stocks in general? Students would be expected to know that in
the 20s the stock market was one with rising stock values. There was a chance of
making a huge profit off of a small investment, which highly motivated people across the
country to invest. Start Slide Four. Yes, correct! (McREL - providing recognition) The
stock market in the 1920s was booming. Stock values were rising and more and more
people were investing. Does anyone remember what buying on margin means?
Students will reply. Yes, buying on margin is when a person buys stock on credit, or with
borrowed money. These stockholders planned to sell the stocks at a higher price, pay
back the loan, and keep what remained as profit. But these stockholders didnt think this
process out completely. This way of purchasing stock only works if the stock values went
up. But with stocks rising, do you think people ever considered what would happen if the
market turned into one with declining stock prices? Class responds, no! No, you are all
right. So buying on margin was a risky decision. Start Slide Five. No one expected what
happened on that dreadful Tuesday, October 29th. The Thursday before this happened,
panic hit the stock market. Within three hours, the market had lost $11 billion in value.
Then the following Monday, before Tuesday the 29th, the prices dropped again. Then
Tuesday came and the stock market crashed and this day became known as Black
Tuesday. Start Slide Six. So many people wanted to sell their stocks and so few wanted
to buy, that stock prices collapsed. Teacher will then direct students attention back to the
board because some may be busy filling in the note-taking worksheet. She will point out
the drastic difference (through a visual) in stock value from September to October. If
everyone will put all eyes on the PowerPoint for a moment, I want to show you a chart
that represents the decrease in stock market prices from September to October in 1929.
As you can see stock values began increasing in July and by September the total value
of the stock was $87 billion, less than two months later at the end of October, more than
$30 billion in stock value had disappeared. That is roughly one-third of the value of the
stock market that had disappeared. Start Slide Seven. Now lets stop for a minute and
think about how you would have reacted if you would have lived through Black Tuesday.
Teacher will give a non-example reaction by stating that everything is fine and she is not
concerned about the Stock Market at all. Then she will call on a student to agree or
refute her reaction. Do you think that my reaction was appropriate for how people were

feeling on October 29th, 1929? No! Thats right, people would not have been calm, they
would have been what? Freaking out! An abrupt change happened to the stock market
and it was terrifying for the people of the United States and created lasting effects that
we will look into more in the days to come. So if the people were not calm, do you think
there was anyone who was reacting in a positive, non-fearful way? Think back to last
unit on the roaring 20s. What leader was elected in the beginning of 1929? Class will
respond with Herbert Hoover. Start Slide Eight. Yes, good job! Hoover was elected on
March 4th, 1929, when stock value was steeply increasing. President Hoover tried his
best to calm public fears by assuring Americans that the economy was still strong. He
said, The fundamental business of the country...is on a sound and prosperous basis.
Hoover was confident that together, America could tackle the crash of the stock market.
But if you ran a country that had just lost almost a third of value in stock would you have
reacted in the same way? Teacher will give students time to reply and discuss that if it
had been her, she would have been frightened just like the rest of the country. One very
important message I want you all to be aware of is that the Great Depression was not
just caused by the action of the stock market crashing. The stock market crashed and
from that action there were multiple chain reactions that created the Great Depression
as a whole. Start Slide Nine. One thing that was immediately affected was the bank.
Banks had invested heavily in the stock market, so they lost heavily when the market
crashed. There were people who could not pay back their loans and people who had
deposited their life savings into banks and lost everything. There were people who lost
everything! Start Slide Ten. So if there were people who lost everything...do you think
that could be a reason I am placing you all in families living in boxes for the first half of
the week? Students respond, yes! I want you all to really get a glimpse of what is like to
lose a majority of your money and understand how families coped with and solved their
problems. Start Slide Eleven. Many people lost their jobs, there was an uneven
distribution of wealth, and Europeans were still recovering from WWI, which created a
decrease in the ability of Europeans to buy American goods. These are all small pieces
that led to the severity of the Great Depression. America had experiences such as
recessions and depressions before 1929. Each time, the economy followed the business
cycle and recovered. But this time was different. After the stock market crash, there was
a downturn of events that created the length and harshness of the Great Depression.
Start Slide Twelve. Lets all stop for a minute and think about this question. Do you all
think that the Great Depression could have been avoided? If so, how? Teacher and
students will spend a few minutes pondering this question and will then share their
thoughts. Then teacher will show students a primary source cartoon portraying reactions
from Americans on how they felt about President Hoover. Now if everyone will look at
the cartoon on the slideshow. What do you all see? How does the cartoonist show
Hoover reacting to the crisis? Yes, many Americans were blaming Hoover for not
working hard to fix the economy. Hoover looks very frustrated by this. Being a
republican, he believed that it was up to private individuals and institutions, not the
government, to offer relief. Obviously, this did not go well with Americans who believed
he should be doing more after such a big action (The Stock Market Crash). Because so
many people were becoming unemployed, many of these people became homeless.

Groups of tin and cardboard shacks built by homeless families were named
Hoovervilles. Does this sound familiar to you all? Groups of people living out of
cardboard shacks Students will answer, yes, that sounds like our families living in
cardboard boxes for a few days! Yes, good job! Its like our classroom is a Hooverville!
Now we are going to investigate some more about how families during the 1930s lived.

(Primary source newspaper article after Stock Market Crash)

II. Opportunity for Practice:
The teacher will begin by addressing the simulations and situations of the families again
by connecting it from the teaching. Like we discussed today, thousands of people lost
their jobs as a result of the stock market crashing. People were scared of what this
would mean for their future. Would they ever get another job? Would they be able to
support their families? People had to carefully budget their money for months in
advance in order to have a somewhat stable living situation. In the beginning of class
you all were given a certain living situation with a monthly income. I am going to pass
out this sheet of paper that has the exact prices of groceries, clothes, trip expenses,
household items, appliances, furniture, toys, travel and miscellaneous items during this
time period. As a family, you all have to look at your monthly income and decide what
top fifteen items you need in order for everyone to survive. Out of these fifteen items,
you have to provide at least one personal item for each member of your family. This can
be a toy for children, a new shirt, etc. Once youve done this, take your pricing
worksheet, write every item that you are going to buy, and subtract the total amount of
money you spent from your monthly income. Students in their families will have to
figure out their budgeting for a months income and based off the prices sheet, and will
have to figure out what food and supplies they can buy. This is where you get the most
reactions from the students when they can barely buy anything but there are still

expensive items on the list that they want to buy, but are unable to because of the
restrictions and little money they have. The teacher will give students plenty of time to
figure out their expenses and talk about it. The teacher and the students will discuss how
people must have felt in the state of panic- teacher will write all feelings on the board.

III. Assessment:
The assessment will be an open mind portrait. Students will be required to state 7
adjectives or phrases that expressed how a person experiencing the Stock Market Crash
felt. Previously said, students will have the opportunity to choose from the mindset of a
person in upper, middle, or lower class. The open mind portrait is very similar to the Step
Inside thinking routine. The teacher will ask questions such as What can this person or
thing see, observe, or notice? What might the person or thing know about understand,
or believe? What might the person or thing care about? This assessment is meant to
step inside the mind of a person from a specific event. This can help deepen students
understanding of an event if the process is carried out effectively. Okay class, now its
your turn to get inside the mind of a person living during the Stock Market Crash. We are
going to be completing an open mind portrait. Just to remind you, an open mind portrait
helps us to look into an individuals mind. I will hand out a sheet with a blank head that is
ready to be filled with thoughts, adjectives, and phrases thought after the Stock Market
Crash in 1929 and during the depression. I want you all to write at least 7 descriptive
words or sentences conveying how you think the person you are role-playing felt. You
can chose a person who was in the lower, middle, or upper class and discuss how the
Stock Market Crash affected your person individually and differently than someone in
another class. You may also pick to complete an open mind portrait of President Hoover.
Teacher will pass out open mind worksheet and allow time for students to work
independently.
IV. Closure:
The teacher will call attention of the class. Okay everyone, all of these open mind
portraits are looking so good and I like the way everyone chose a different perspective.
People lost jobs, were losing their homes, etc. People were absolutely lost. With the
devastating event that took place, there was obviously a way for getting out of this mess.
Over the next couple days we will be discussing how America came around full circle
into fixing the tremendous blow to the country as a whole.

Materials and Resources:

Stock Market slide show with pictures
Projector
Big family size boxes
Family scenario worksheets
Budgeting Worksheets

Annual Income Worksheet

Open Mind worksheet
Pencils
Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):
Choice board attached to the back of lesson plans with reteaching strategies
for students
Data Analysis:
Reflection:

Samford University
Design for Learning