ETE 335

Elementary Social Studies Lesson

deBonos Thinking Hats

ETE 335

Elementary Social Studies Lesson

deBonos Thinking Hats
Stephanie DAnza
The great Depression/Economics
5th Grade
Economy Downfall

ETE 335

Elementary Social Studies Lesson

Goals:
deBonos Thinking Hats

Students will know the difference between a good economy and a bad
economy.
Students will acknowledge the importance of being educated on past
events and what we can do to better future actions.

Objectives:
Students will be able to identify the good and bad in a past event.
Students will be able to use a variety of resources to complete the
assignments.

Content/Knowledge:
Students will be growing their knowledge in identifying the main
points in a historical event using resources to assist
him/herself.

Process/Skills:
Skills learned throughout this lesson:
Expressing feelings/emotion through reflective work,
discussions, identifying the good and bad in an event.

Values/Dispositions:
Students will be receiving information through visuals as well
as resources online. Students will be working with their peers
as well as individually.

ETE 335

Elementary Social Studies Lesson

deBonos Thinking Hats

Rationale:

The significance of this lesson is for students to recognize the

importance of correcting past mistakes and how we can work on
making decisions/choices better for the future.

Standards:
State Illinois Common Core or Learning Standards
Financial Literacy
SS.FL.4.5: Explain that interest is the price the borrower
pays for using someone elses money.
National and Global Economy
SS.EC.2.5: Discover how positive incentives (e.g. sale
prices and earning money) and negative incentives
influence behavior in our nations economy and around
the world.

National NCSS Themes

Culture, production, distribution, consumption,

individuals, groups, and institutions

Objective

Objective
Students will research, with a partner, information on the
Great Depression and why it occurred.
Students will discuss with another pair and form a group.
The teacher will go around and call on groups to discuss
what the Great Depression is and how it came to be.
Resources: Computers

Intuitive

Intuitive
Pictures from the Great Depression will be presented on the
overhead by the teacher. Students will write their feelings or
emotional responses in their journals when they look at each
picture.
Students will be assessed on completion of the assignment
and if their responses followed the images in order.
Resources: Overhead, pencil, journals.

Positive/Strength
s

Positive/Strength
Students will depict some general actions
in the Great
s
Depression. They will then look at the Great Depression as
a whole and list positive outcomes due to the Depression
on paper. For instance, social programs to assist people.
This will allow students to look in a different set of lens and
view the event as something good.
Resources: Paper, pencil.

Negatives/Weaknes
ses

Negatives/Weaknes
ses
The students will be paired up and each
given a problem that
developed within the Great Depression. Students are to describe
why this problem might have occurred during the time.
Students will also list the difficulties within the problem and why it
did not work for the people living during that time period.
Students will be assessed on their responses and complete
thoughts.
Resources: Paper, pencil.

Creative

Creative
After each pair responds to their problem and why it occurred,
students will then form possible alternatives or solutions to their
assigned problem.
Students will write the solution in a colored pen underneath their
problem and response. This allows the sentence (solution) to
stand out visually.
Students will then write the solution again on a post it note and
bring it up to the board. Students will go around and discuss their
problem as well as the solution that they came up with.
Resources: Paper, pen/pencil, post-it notes.

Thinking About
Thinking

Thinking About
Thinking

After students have found both the problem and solution, they
will then discuss the next steps that were taken to solve the
problem during the time with their classmates. Students will
decide to agree or disagree with the decision made during the
Depression.
Students will record their thoughts of this activity in their
response journals at the end of class.
Resources: Problem/solution sheet.

ETE 335

Elementary Social Studies Lesson

deBonos Thinking Hats
Visual Learning, Assessment, and Online
Resources:
Assessment:
1. I will assess my students through journals,
group/partner presentations, and how
thoughts are expressed through materials
provided.

Online Resources:
1. http://del.icio.us/sdanza/Economics