Student Activity Directions

Overview

The Great Depression affected all Americans and most of the world in some significant way. Use this activity to prepare for upcoming guest expert Errol Lincoln Uys, author of Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression. Create primary source material on life during this era by conducting interviews of Great Depression survivors.

Objectives

• To distinguish between primary and secondary sources
• To understand how a historic event affected family, friends, and/or neighbors
• To accurately compile data obtained in an interview
• To heighten understanding of the Depression era by analyzing and presenting the information to the class

Resources

Use the following online resources for this assignment.

Beyond Books Resources

• The Decade That Roared
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/ush11/11.asp]
      Gilded Age to the Depression, Unit 11

• Old Values vs. New Values
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/ush11/12.asp]
      Gilded Age to the Depression, Unit 12

• The Great Depression
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/ush12/1.asp]
      Depression to New Millennium, Unit 1

• The New Deal
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/ush12/2.asp]
      Depression to New Millennium, Unit 2

• Truth or Dare: Taming the American West
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/lam12/3.asp]
      American Literary Voices: Part 2, Unit 3

• Steinbeck and the Social Conscience
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/lam12/3b.asp]
      American Literary Voices: Part 2, Unit 3b

• Grapes of Wrath
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/lam12/3c.asp]
      American Literary Voices: Part 2, Unit 3c

• Of Mice and Men
      [http://www.beyondbooks.com/lam12/3d.asp]
      American Literary Voices: Part 2, Unit 3d

Other Online Resources
• Errol Lincoln Uys homepage
      [http://www.erroluys.com]

• Uys's Information about Riding the Rails
      [http://www.erroluys.com/RidingtheRails.htm]

• Letters and narratives from former boxcar kids and teen hobos
      [http://www.erroluys.com/BerkeleyHackett.htm]

Directions

1. Research the Great Depression era and prepare questions for your interview. Base questions on issues you are curious about, what you think will make a good story, and what information is essential in order to analyze what life was like for this person during the Depression.

2. Decide on a prospective candidate to interview. The expert should have lived during the Depression. Grandparents, great-grandparents, great aunts and uncles, neighbors, friends' grandparents and great-grandparents would all be excellent experts. If it is okay with your teacher and parents, you may wish to consider visiting a local senior citizen center or nursing home. Many older Americans would love to tell you the story of what life was like in "the old days."

   If you do not have the opportunity to interview a Great Depression survivor, search for primary sources on Beyond Books, or in Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression. From first-hand accounts, write an essay comparing and contrasting the lives of two people who lived through the Great Depression.

3. Decide on your expert. Write his or her name, age, and your relationship to the expert and submit this information to your teacher for approval.

4. Arrange the time and place for your interview. Your teacher will give you a deadline for completing this step. Be prompt and courteous - no one likes a rude interviewer!

5. Review and use Simple Tips for a Good Interview by Errol Lincoln Uys. These guidelines will ensure a great interview!

6. Conduct the interview. Refer to the tips above for help in gathering information in written form, or using a tape-recorder.

7. Once the data has been collected, a transcript must be typed. Begin with an overview of the experience. The date, time, location, setting, name of the interviewee, and age should all be presented.

   Other interesting information such as how old the person was during the Depression, their status (child, student, teen, runaway, hobo, adult, etc.), the socio-economic level of the family, and a hint as to what the story will tell should also be included here.

8. Type or rewrite the data. Be accurate. Label each section with your name and your question, followed by the expert's name and their responses. Use brackets to indicate that you've added things to the interview, i.e. notes on inflection, facial expressions, or artifacts that are presented.

9. Proofread your work and prepare it for archiving and presentation.

10. Write a brief essay to conclude. Provide your analysis (secondary source) of what life was like for your expert based on the information you gathered. Present your conclusion to the class. Answer questions raised by classmates and your teacher based on the details in your interview.

11. Have fun creating an oral history and learning first hand what life was like during the Great Depression!

12. Join Beyond Books on October 13 from noon to 1pm (EDT) to ask questions of Errol Lincoln Uys and former boxcar teens, Rene Champlain and John West. Add their answers to your class archive on the Great Depression.