Mr. Roosevelt Comes to Champaign County:
An Examination of the New Deal
Marshall
Schacht (St. Joseph-Ogden High School)
Fellowship Summer 2009
Champaign County Historical Archives
Lesson 4: The New Deal in Action
Note: This lesson involving period newspaper articles can be done
as separate lessons over the course of several days or as a single lesson where
focus groups create presentations to the class as a whole explaining the role,
function, impact and significance of each specific agency.
Now that the
students have an understanding of the concept of the New Deal and the names of
several employment programs, students will consider the impact of specific
programs on life in Central Illinois.
The following
government agencies will be the focus of this lesson:
á
IERC—Illinois
Emergency Relief Commission
(Lesson 4.1)
á
WPA—Works
Progress Administration
o Urban (Lesson 4.2)
o Rural (Lesson 4.3)
á
CCC—Civilian
Conservation Corps (Lesson 4.4)
á
REA—Rural
Electrification Administration
(Lesson 4.5)
Students will
read a collection of newspaper articles that help to define the function of the
government agency and the manner in which programs were implemented. The students will discuss the content
of each article following the provided prompts.
Upon completion
of the lesson, students will have a deeper understanding of the role of
government in the lives of those living in Champaign County.
To assess their
learning, students will write a short summary essay containing the role,
function, impact and significance of one of the referenced agencies.