Webquest: Life During the Depression

Introduction toTo Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
English 9B – 30 points

>>What is a webquest?
This is a guided exercise that will ask you to find information on the Internet using resources provided for you.

Our class goal: To familiarize ourselves with the era of the Great Depression, which is the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. The information collected from these websites will help you to better visualize the story. It will also help you to complete a project that follows the webquest.

To begin the webquest, go to: www.wherethebookends.com and click on To Kill a Mockingbird.

Click on the corresponding titles, which are links to websites that will help you to answer the questions below. Be sure to read the complete articles!

Website: "I Remember . . ." - Reminiscences of the Great Depression
 
1. What were some things that people did to make money during this time?

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2. What kinds of food did people eat most often?

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3. What kind of Christmas presents might a child receive during the Great Depression?

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Website: Growing Up Black in the 1930s

4. According to Mrs. Peacolia Barge, what was the attitude of blacks toward the subject of slavery in the 1930s? How about the subject of farming?

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5. What were typical living conditions for southern blacks during this time?

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6. Summarize some of the social, educational, and legal “barriers” that Barge discusses.         

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7. Barge ends her interview by saying, “No, not all black people are the same and not all white people are the same.” What do you think she means by this?

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Website: Growing Up White in the 1930s

8. What were some qualities of what was considered a “good” family in the south during the 1930s? (Consider religion, employment, wealth, speech, etc. in your answer)

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9. What common role did black women play in the lives of white children?

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10. What sorts of play activities did the interviewees enjoy as young girls? How were their activities different from the ones Barge remembers?

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Website: The Depression News

11. Why did workers form labor unions during the great depression? Do you think they reached their goal?

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12. What was the CCC and who did it help?

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Website: Background on the New Deal

 

13. What did President Hoover try to do to ease the effects of the stock market crash?

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14. What was President Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal?’

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15. What was the ‘bank holiday?’

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