Lesson Plan Project

The Social and Economic Impact of the Great Depression in

the American Context

Course title: Teaching American History through Film

Course instructor: Dr. Yassine Najjar

By Sonia ASLI

TEFL MA1

Date of Submission: 29th December 2025

Academic Year 2025-2026
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1. Introduction:
Teaching history can be quite challenging, as it often proves difficult
to connect past events with the present-day classroom. Traditional
history teaching has focused more on «knowing history» by learning
substantive concepts (H. Havekes, P. Arno-
Coppen, J. Luttenberg, C. van Boxtel, 2012, p.72). This approach has
shown to be ineffective because it relies solely on memorization,
without engaging the student in actively exploring and
understanding the historical events that shaped their own country
and the whole world. Today, the digitization of society generates
new ways of teaching and learning history, students are increasingly
using audiovisual products like movies, platforms... and their use
can be much more helpful than traditional products such as
textbooks. That’s why using films to teach history may be beneficial
in enabling students to intervene rationally and move from
«knowing history» to «doing history». In this regard, one of the most
useful model that increases student engagement with content and
develops higher-order thinking skills such as problem-solving and
critical thinking (Deepa, 2023) is the flipped classroom. This model
frees up time for more peer interaction and autonomous learning.
2. Purpose of the lesson:
Many educators believe that we need to make our teaching more
relevant to an increasingly diverse group of students and at the
same time to develop their critical thinking skills. One way to do
that is to use carefully chosen films as a part of the undergraduate
curriculum. (Bluestone, 2000) and during 1930’s Hollywood movie
industry was in its peak, providing the public with therapeutic relief
to escape the hardship of that period. In this regard, this
comprehensive four-hour lesson, divided into two two-hour sessions,
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offers an in-depth look at the Great Depression, focusing on both the

urban-industrial crisis and the rural agrarian collapse. High school
students will compare Charlie Chaplin’s «Modern Times», which
satirically criticizes industrialization, poverty, and the struggle to
find work, with John Ford’s «The Grapes of Wrath» as a powerful
adaptation of Steinbeck’s novel, showcasing the arduous journey of
the Joad family from the Dust Bowl to California. By the end of the
session, students will analyze how various sectors of American
society responded to the economic challenges of the 1930s. The
lesson highlights key themes such as dehumanization, migration,
labor rights, and the endurance of the human spirit.
3. Learning objectives:
a. General objectives of the lesson: enable students to:
i. Understand the causes of the Great Depression.
ii. Analyze how the Great Depression affected the
socioeconomic tissue of American society.
iii. Compare artistic approaches (satire vs. realism)
and their effectiveness in understanding the
impact of the Great Depression.
iv. Evaluate the role of New Deal programs in
restoring dignity and community.
b. Specific learning objectives:
i. Session 1: the industrialized and urban crisis.
After watching the selected clips from
«Modern Times» 1936, students will be
able to:
1. Explain the key social and economic
consequences of the Great Depression.
2. Identify how Modern Times reflects these
impacts through its visual elements.
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3. Analyze the critique of mechanization and

the dehumanization of labor in Modern
Times.
4. Evaluate the causes and consequences of
mass unemployment and labor unrest in
urban centers.
ii. Session 2: The agrarian crisis and migration.
Viewing the chosen scenes from «The
Grapes of Wrath» (1940), will enable
students to:
1. Explain at least three economic impacts of
the Great Depression.
2. Describe at least three social impacts of the
Great Depression.
3. Analyze how The Grapes of Wrath
represents and interprets these impacts
through specific scenes and cinematic
choices.
4. Evaluate the role of New Deal programs
(symbolized by the Weedpatch Camp) in
restoring dignity and community.
4. Teaching materials:
Film clips from «Modern Times» and «The Grapes of Wrath.»
Modern Times clips: the assembly line and the feeding machine -
the red flag riot - the jail and job search
scenes - dream of domestic life
The Grapes of Wrath clips: tractor eviction - roadside/ Hooverville
camp - Weedpatch Government camp -
Peach orchard labor/ strike
The New Deal draft.
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Pictures illustrating that era

Whiteboard and markers
Handouts

5. Session 1: Time: 2h
a. Preparation stage. (15 min)
Introduction (05 min)
The teacher begins the lesson by reminding the students of the
previous topics related to the 1920s, such as the booming
economy, the rise of consumerism, and the stock market.
This will activate students’ prior knowledge and help to
establish the context for understanding the sudden
economic collapse that led to the Great Depression.
Guided discussion (10 min)
The teacher then presents a problematic to the students:
 Imagine waking up one day to find that all the money you and
your family have saved is now worthless. How would this affect
your daily life, your future plans, and your overall outlook on life?
Learners are highly motivated when they perceive the
subject matter as relevant to their lives. By asking them
to express their own points of view, the activity
immediately connects the historical crisis of the 1930s to
their personal experience. This establishes a foundation
of historical empathy and validates the learner’s existing
knowledge.
b. Activities (105 min)
Pre-watching (20 min)
Ask students to compare photos before and after the crisis
(newspaper front pages - Henry Ford and his son posing in the T
ford car versus children holding signs to protest against a factory
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owner)
How do you explain this shift from a prosperous life to extreme
poverty?
What are the possible consequences of this degradation?
This activity aims to provide the necessary scaffolding of
key facts, such as economic boom, unemployment,
poverty, and factory closures,... to ensure a common
understanding of the causes of the Great Depression
before diving into the film analysis.
While-watching (60 min)
Clip 1: (15 min) the assembly line and the feeding machine
 Beyond the comedy, what is the psychological impact of this
repetitive work on Chaplin’s character?
 How do props such as, wrenches and buttons, turn workers into
an extension of the machine? What does this say about dignity
and autonomy?
 How does the frantic, mechanical music used in the factory
scenes reflect the economic pressure placed on the worker
during the Depression?
 How do the boss’s screen and the trial of the feeding machine
show managerial control?
These questions are designed to ensure that the students
are actively watching the clips. The WHAT questions aim to
depict the psychological effect of industrialization on the
workers and how it leads to their dehumanization. The HOW
questions target the artistic features of the film; they ask
students to identify themes such as power dynamics,
surveillance, and mechanization as critical tool also connect
the aesthetic choices to the socioeconomic impact on the
workers’ mental and physical state.
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Clip 2: (15 min) the red flag riot

 What misunderstanding turns a simple signal (the red flag) into a
labor protest?
 How are visuals used to communicate political anxiety without
dialogue?
 Why are protests a predictable social impact of mass
unemployment and wage cut?
These three questions are asked to guide students through
a layered analysis of the Red flag scene to understand the
political climate of that era and interpret its socioeconomic
impact. The first question highlights the accidental almost
absurd nature of the political situation where a simple
object could trigger a massive reaction due to social tension.
Since the movie is mainly silent, the second question’s
objective is to tell the students about the importance of
visual cues such as shot framing (the appearance of the
police), body language (the shift from a casual march into an
organized protest) and symbolism (the color and the shape
of the flag, which convey to radicalism and communism).
The last question encourages problem-centered learning; it
asks students to connect the scene to the broader
socioeconomic causalities of the Great Depression as
eliminating the primary means of survival, loss of dignity,
and fueling emotional outrage, and to use it to analyze the
fundamental relationship between the economic hardship
and social unrest.

Clip 3: (15 min) the jail and job search scenes

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 What do we see at employment offices or on the street (long

line, No Vacancy, competition...)
 How does Chaplin make jail appear orderly and safer compared
to the chaos of job hunting?
 What does the Gamin (the girl) represent about the impact of the
Depression on the American family and the social safety?
 Why is steady employment out of reach despite effort?
These four questions focus on the core theme of mass
unemployment and the breakdown of the social contract
during the Great Depression. The first question requires
students to recall the visual evidence of mass
unemployment used to establish the reality of the
Depression (the endless lines of unemployed men reading
No Vacancy signs). The next question requires students to
analyze the use of film techniques to deliver a bitter social
critique that the state provides more security and basic
needs (food, shelter) to its criminals than to its honest,
unemployed citizens. The next question uses the character
of the girl as a symbol to guess the social impact of the
crisis; the Gamin represents poverty, the breakdown of the
family unity (her father was killed during the strike), and the
failure of the social safety. The last question is a synthesis
question, it asks students to demonstrate that the problem
is not a lack of will ( Tramp is constantly looking for a job)
but a structural economic crisis (overproduction, ...) that
made jobs unavailable.

Clip 4: (15 min) dream of domestic life and the closing scene
 What images define the dream, and what realities intrude on it?
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 How does Chaplin mark the difference between fantasy and

reality, (pacing, lighting, music)
 Why does the movie end with hope despite scarcity? Note that
the film was released before the end of the depression.
These final questions shift from the immediate crisis to the
themes of escapism, resilience, and the historical context of
hope. They analyze the Tramp's pursuit of the American
Dream and the film’s ultimate message, which is crucial for
the final synthesis with The Grapes of Wrath. The first
question establishes the core conflict between the idealized
American Dream and the harsh reality of the Great
Depression. The second question demonstrates how film
technique is used to convey emotional and psychological
states (escapism vs. hardship). The last question aims to
challenge the students to analyze the type of hope offered
not the economic recovery, but personal resilience and
human connection. Chaplin’s final walk prompts discussion
on the role of art during a crisis to offer critique. The
outcome of this discussion will be used during the post-
watching activity of the 2nd session.

Post-watching (25 min)

Phase 1: (10 min) group formation: small groups of 3 - 4 students
Each group is given a sheet of paper divided into three columns.
Literal observation Cinematic technique Socioeconomic
synthesis
List 3 - 5 key visual List 2 - 3 specific film Identify historical
facts or events from techniques used concepts illustrated
the clips by the clips
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Encourage groups to use their film worksheet notes. Circulate and

ensure they are correctly linking the visual facts to the historical
concepts.
Phase 2: (05 min) the teacher designs one representative from
each group to share one item from their socioeconomic synthesis
column. Write the shared answers on the whiteboard to create a
collective summary of the session’s main takeaways.
Phase 3: (10 min) formative assessment
Role play: imagine the dialogue held between Chaplin and the
Gamin in the dream of the domestic life scene.
To quickly assess individual comprehension of the session’s
core objectives: the social and economic impacts of the
Great Depression.

6. Session 2: Time: 2h
a. Preparation stage. (05 min)
Brief summary of the urban crisis to ensure the transition to the
rural one.
b. Activities (115 min)
Pre-watching (20 min)
Students will engage in a gallery walk featuring four to six high-
impact primary source images from the Great Depression Era
(Dorothea Lange’s). At this station, students will use a graphic
organizer to record their observations and the question: «Based on
this image, what is the most significant challenge facing this person
or community?»
This activity aims to activate prior knowledge and build
historical empathy.
While-watching (60 min)
Clip 1: (15 min) The tractor scene
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 What is the primary economic force driving the Joads from their
land?
 How does director John Ford use low-angle shots and stark
shadows to make the tractor appear monstrous and inhuman?
 Why is the destruction of the home, rather than just the land, the
emotional climax of this scene?
This clip will help students to understand the economic
causes of displacement. By focusing on the destruction of
the home, students are asked to highlight the human cost of
mechanization, not only the economic loss.

Clip 2: (15 min) the Hooverville arrival

What are the immediate social conditions of the Hooverville camp?
How does the use of deep focus photography (Toland) show the
scale of poverty and interconnectedness of families?
Why does the film emphasize the lack of sanitation and the constant
threat of violence from outside forces?
These questions will direct the students’ attention toward
the documentary - like realism grounds of the movie, unlike
the satire style of Modern Times.

Clip 3: (15 min) the Weedpatch Camp

What is the fundamental difference in social structure between
Weedpatch and Hooverville?
How does the brighter lighting and more fluid camera movement
reinforce the film’s thematic message of hope and order?
Why does the film suggest that restoring dignity is as important as
providing food and shelter?
This activity aims at paving the way for understanding the
impact of the New Deal and evaluating its role in restoring
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human dignity.
Clip 4: (15 min) Tom Joad’s farewell speech
What is the core message of Tom’s final speech about collective
action?
How does the intimate close-up on Tom emphasize hid personal
transformation leading to political awakening?
Why is this speech considered the ideological heart of the film?
Through these questions, students are asked to give their
reflection on how the Great Depression redefined the notion
of community and resilience in America.
Post-watching (35 min)
Phase 1: (15 min) group work. The teacher divides the class into
4 groups. Each group will select one clip from Modern Times and
one from The Grapes of Wrath. Groups are asked to fill in the
given table.
Aspect The Modern Times The Grapes of Wrath
Economic problem Industrial automation Mechanization
Economic impact Displacement Mass unemployment
Social problem Urban factories California farms
Social impact Migration Poverty
Proposed solution Individual resilience Collective action
Tone used Satirical , comedic Tragic, political
Ending Hope, walking toward Call for systemic
uncertain future change

Phase 2: (10 min) group discussion

How do Ford’s realism vs. Chaplin’s satire affect the audience’s
emotional and intellectual response to the crisis?
The aim of these activities is foster a critical and analytical
approach to the material.
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Phase 3: (05 min) the teacher asks the students to identify any
questions or areas of confusion that haven’t been covered yet.
This feedback will help the teacher to gauge the students’
understanding and plan for any necessary follow-up
activities or adjustments.
Phase 4: (05 min)
The teacher wraps up the lesson by discussing the significance of
the Great Depression’s social and economic impact in relation to the
contemporary Tunisian context today.
Final assessment: homework
Students are assigned with composing a 200-word reflection on
why these two films, made nearly a century ago, still resonate with
modern economic anxieties and debates about automation, mainly
with the emergence of AI, and social safety nets.
This question focuses on critical evaluation and the long-
term significance of historical narratives

7. Conclusion
The Great Depression was more than just an economic downturn;
it was a pivotal period that changed American society, politics
and culture. Its devastating effects on both urban and rural
communities revealed the weakness of the economic systems
and the high human cost of industrial and agricultural collapse.
Through the lens of Modern Times and The Grapes of Wrath,
students may generate their own understanding of key concepts
such automation, inequality, and global economic uncertainty
and foster a higher level of cognitive skill so that they can learn
to apply and evaluate the course outcome.
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8. References
Bluestone, C. (2000). Feature Films as a Teaching Tool on JSTOR. College Teaching,
141. [Link]
Rodríguez-Moneo, M., Carretero, M., & Gutiérrez-Cano, M. (2025). History

education: Past, present, and challenges for the future. Current Opinion in

Psychology, 67, 102188. [Link]

Siler, C. R. (2005). Using The Grapes of Wrath to teach the Great Depression.

Steinbeck Review, 2(1), 37–48. [Link]

6087.2005.tb00037.x
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