Before and After

Grade Level

8th Grade

Duration

45 minutes

Subject

U.S. History

---

Common Core State Standards Alignment

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

---

Learning Objectives

• I can describe how people's emotions and daily lives changed before and after the stock market crash of 1929 using primary sources.
• I can analyze excerpts from letters and diaries to understand different viewpoints during the Great Depression.
• I can collaborate in groups to share and discuss historical feelings and impacts.

---

Success Criteria

• Students use evidence from primary sources to explain feelings and situations before and after the crash.
• Students participate actively in group discussions and share out clearly using details from texts.
• Students check understanding by answering targeted questions during the lesson.

---

Differentiation Strategies

• ESL and Below Grade-Level Readers: Provide vocabulary lists with definitions and sentence frames for describing feelings and events. Use visual aids (charts, images) to support comprehension.
• Advanced Learners: Encourage deeper analysis by comparing and contrasting feelings before and after the crash with supporting evidence.
• Varied Group Roles: Assign roles in groups (reader, recorder, reporter) to support structured participation.

---

Materials Needed

• Copies of selected primary source letters and diary excerpts from The Stock Market Crash Before and After.pdf (simplified language for ESL students).
• Vocabulary handouts with key economic and emotional terms (e.g., "panic," "optimism," "uncertainty," "poverty").
• Chart paper or whiteboard for share out.
• Writing tools and notebooks.

---

Lesson Plan Outline

1. Do Now (5 minutes)

Creative Quick-Write:
Prompt: "Imagine you are a member of a family living in 1929, just before the stock market crash. Describe a day in your life. What are you doing? How do you feel about the future?"

• Students write a brief paragraph or draw with labels if writing is challenging.
• This connects emotions to historical context, activating prior knowledge and empathy.

Check for Understanding #1:

• Circulate and ask 3-4 students to share a key feeling or activity they wrote about.
• Confirm they understand the time (“just before the crash”) and mood (hopeful, busy, confident).

---

2. Mini Lesson (10 minutes)

Teacher Overview:

• Use simple language and visuals to explain:
  • What the stock market crash of 1929 was.
  • Economic impacts: loss of money, closing businesses, unemployment.
  • Emotional impacts: panic, fear, sadness, uncertainty about the future.
• Show images from the PDF or era photos.
• Highlight that before the crash, many people were optimistic, but after, feelings shifted to fear and hardship.

Incorporate Vocabulary:

• Pre-teach 5-6 words; students repeat and write in notebooks.

Check for Understanding #2:

• Ask 3 students to explain one economic impact and one emotional impact from the overview.
• Use thumbs up/down or quick verbal responses to gauge comprehension.

---

3. Group Activity (20 minutes)

Primary Source Analysis:

• Divide class into groups of 4-5 students.
• Each group receives 2-3 short primary source excerpts from letters or diaries expressing feelings before and after the crash (simplified excerpts with guiding questions).
• Students read aloud together, then discuss guided questions:
  • How does this writer feel before the crash? After the crash?
  • What words or phrases tell us about their feelings?
  • What changed in their life or outlook?

Support:

• Provide sentence starters like "The writer feels ___ before the crash because ___."
• ESL students get bilingual glossaries if needed.

Check for Understanding #3:

• Each group creates a summary sentence describing the change in feelings from before to after the crash.
• Teacher circulates, listens for evidence-based responses and clarifies misunderstandings.

---

4. Share Out and Reflection (7 minutes)

• Groups share their summaries aloud, posting them on the board/chart paper.
• Teacher facilitates a brief class discussion:
  • What were common feelings before the crash? After?
  • Why do you think people's feelings changed so much?
• Close with a reflective prompt: "How can understanding these feelings from history help us today when facing hard times?"

---

Assessment and Feedback

• Formative checks embedded during Do Now, mini lesson, and group discussions.
• Anecdotal notes on student participation and understanding.
• Collect student quick-write and group summary sentences for evidence of learning.
• Use share out to assess speaking and listening skills consistent with CCSS.SL.8.1.

---

Extensions and Homework

• Optional journal entry: "Write a letter as a person living just after the crash, explaining your feelings and worries to a friend."
• Research economic terms introduced and create a mini-poster or infographic for the classroom.

---

Reflection for Teacher

• Note engagement levels of ESL and below grade-level readers.
• Adjust primary source complexity for future lessons.
• Consider adding multimedia sources like short video clips to support visual learners.

---

This lesson plan integrates primary source analysis with emotional and economic understanding to engage 8th-grade students, especially ESL learners, in meeting Common Core standards through collaborative and accessible social studies inquiry.