Photographs: **What do you OBSERVE? Look at the setting, the clothing, the people, the atmosphere, the circumstance, the details.
DORTHEA LANGE (1895-1965) has been called America's greatest documentary photographer. She is best known for her chronicles of the Great Depression and for her photographs of migratory farm workers. Below are 42 pre-WWII photographs she created for the US Farm Security Administration (FSA) investigating living conditions of farm workers and their families in Western states such as California. Most of the workers and their families had come west to escape the Dust Bowl, the lengthy drought which devastated millions of acres of farmland in Midwestern states such as Oklahoma.
Videos: **Instructional documentaries are useful when it comes to gaining an overall understanding of the time period. The scholars who created these usually mix an interesting array of photo, film, and music to enhance their explanations and demonstrate their points. Basically, someone else has done RESEARCH and this is the end result. It would benefit you to take a look at the sources inside these documentaries, too. EVEN THESE SCHOLARS had to get their information from somewhere, and they make it accessible to us, as well.
PBS.com's "American Experience Online premiered in November 1995 and has won accolades from viewers and critics alike. To date, [AEO] has produced over 175 featured sites, enabling viewers to watch films online and encouraging in-depth exploration of each film beyond the television screen. [AEO] has been recognized by online and print publications including Yahoo!, USA Today Online, Broadcasting and Cable, and TV Guide."
PBS.com also has an interactive Dust Bowl series, a series of video clips and scenarios for students to work through. After each clip, you will make a decision whether to continue farming or to move on to something else. The point is to help students understand the causes of the Dust Bowl and the mistakes made that contributed to its continuation.
Washington University's YouTube Channel has digitized and archived 148 first person accounts of the Great Depression. The accounts cover events from 1929 to the beginning of the US involvement in WWII.
Music: **What do you HEAR? Listen to the tempo, the words, the meaning. Look at the singers, the bands. What are they saying? What is normal life like? What are they trying to change? What do they love?
78RPM Depression Era Music (from a 1930s turntable) http://youtu.be/aipX6JWEP7I 1. "To My Mammy" / Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra / Victor 22406 / 1930 / vocal Bert Lorin 2. "One More Time" / Gus Arnheim and his Cocoanut Grove Orchestra / Victor 22700 / 1931 Oakland pressing note 0 over dog / Bing Crosby vocal 3. "A Girl Friend Of A Boy Friend Of Mine" / Ted Weems and His Orchestra / Victor 22499 / 1930 / Parker Gibbs vocal 4. "Now's The Time To Fall In Love" / Gene Kardos and His Orchestra / Victor 22865 / 1931 Dick Robertson vocal 5. "Nocturne" / Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra / Brunswick 7321 / 1934
HOT HOT HOT Dance! *People actually attended dances back in the day, and they even had moved around the living room furniture to give themselves room to party! The dances, as you can tell from this video, were taken from all cultures. I DARE you to dance like this at prom! (BTW - Keville and his sweet wife kick butt at swing dancing!)
1930s Music Sample 1) [0:00] We Ought to Do This More Often - Kay Kyser 2) [2:40] Al Bowlly - Try to Forget 3) [5:30] Eddy Duchin (feat. Lew Sherwood) - Did You Ever See A Dream Walking 4) [9:00] Mildred Bailey & Dorsey Brother's Orchestra - Lazy Bones 5) [11:50] Ozzie Nelson Orch. Love is Never Out of Season 6) [14:50] Ozzie Nelson Orch. - There Isn't Any Limit To My Love 7) [17:50] Fletcher Henderson - Stealin' Apples 8) [20:40] Leo Reisman And His Orchestra - Through 9) [23:30] Ozzie Nelson Orch. - look what you've done 10) [26:20] Fletcher Henderson - Jimtown Blues 11) [29:00] Cole Porter, Leo Reisman With Anita Boyer - What Is This Thing Called Love 12) [31:50] Glen Gray - Heaven Can't Wait 13) [34:50] Guy Lombardo - Inka Dinka Doo 14) [37:20] Lee Wiley - Time On My Hands 15) [40:40] Leo Reisman & His Orchestra - Continental 16) [43:00] Leo Reisman & His Orchestra - Doin' The Boom-Boom 17) [46:40] Fletcher Henderson - Shoe Shine Boy
"Boy! Oh, Boy! I've Got It Bad" In 1931, the High Hatters Orchestra was a studio dance orchestra owned by the Victor Talking Machine Company and led by Leonard Joy.
Time Magazine: ** The Chittenango High School library media center has a subscription to TIME MAGAZINE! What does this mean for you? It means that you get to look at articles written in the time period by people with knowledge. Keep in mind that you always have the right to disagree with the points of view. Search the appropriate time period for articles so that you won't have to dig through a millions hits to get one that works for your assignment.