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"SOCIAL SECURITY?"
II.
LESSON PLAN: EXPANDED LESSON
Day 1: Background Activity:
- Read textbook chapter on Great Depression and New Deal. Also, read if available, “The Discovery of Poverty” by Caroline Bird and excerpts from “Dear Mrs. Roosevelt” - http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/er3a.htm [We did this as a homework assignment]
- In class, have a full-class discussion on the conditions faced by ordinary Americans during the Great Depression.
Day 2:
- Full-class discussion of “Frances Perkins on Social Security (1935)”
- Assign roles for the nine panelists who will discuss what role the government should play in providing a safety net. Each panelist will be given a primary source but must also seek out two additional sources to embellish their presentations (The list of background sources in the resource is submitted to assist in this process, but other sources may be substituted depending on the availability of some sources listed.).
See handout A - “Roles for Social Security Conference” 
Days 3 and 4: Optional Assignments
- Watch “The Grapes of Wrath’s”
Day 5:
- Homework: Panelist Prepare for Panel Presentation, formulating a 2-minute opening statement and Audience Prepares Focus Sheets
Day 6:
Panel discussion
- 15 minutes for defenders of Social Security, proponents of Self-Help, and Opponents of Social Security to meet to effectively organize their presentations. Audience hones their questions.
- 30 minutes for teacher to introduce panel and moderate the panel discussion.
- 15 minutes for audience to ask questions of the panelists
See handout C - Audience Preparation for Question and Answer Session with Panelists
Non-panelists will write a letter-to-the-editor based on all of the information gathered from this unit.
See handout D - Letter to Editor on Social Security
Day 7: optional – going deeper
Have students read Barton Bernstein’s “The New Deal: Conservative Achievements of Liberal Reform.”
Focus Question for discussion: Does Bernstein’s analysis of the New Deal differ from that of the class?
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