Prosperity, Depression, & World War II
Teaching Activity PDFs
Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union: Black and White Unite?
Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 12 pages.
Role play on farm labor organizing in the 1930s shows how racism had to be challenged to create effective worker alliances.
African American, Labor, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Labor Matters
Teaching Activity. By Teaching Tolerance.
Introduces students to the role of the labor movement in securing contemporary benefits such as the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, and workplace safety regulations.
Learning About the Unfairgrounds: A 4th-Grade Teacher Introduces Her Students to Executive Order 9066
Teaching Activity PDF. By Katie Baydo-Reed. 10 pages.
Students hold a “tea party” and a mock trial to connect with a challenging novel.
Asian American, Criminal Justice, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
A Lesson on the Japanese American Internment
Teaching Activity PDF. By Mark Sweeting. 4 pages.
How one teacher engaged his students in a critical examination of the language used in textbooks to describe the internment.
Asian American, Democracy & Citizenship, Education, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
The Other Internment: Teaching the Hidden Story of Japanese Latin Americans During WWII
Teaching Activity PDF. By Moé Yonamine. 18 pages.
Poetry, photography, and text are used in this role play to teach about the often untold history of Japanese Latin American internment during WWII.
Asian American, Civil Rights Movements, Criminal Justice, Democracy & Citizenship, Immigration, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, World History/Global Studies
Haiku and Hiroshima: Teaching About the Atomic Bomb
Teaching Activity PDF. By Wayne Au. 3 pages.
Lesson for high school students on the bombing of Hiroshima using the film Barefoot Gen and haiku.
Language Arts, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Protesting the First World War
Teaching Activity PDF. By Colby Smart. 16 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 14 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on anti-war efforts during the first World War, as well as the U.S. government’s response.
From the Jazz Age to the Uprisings of the 1930s
Teaching Activity PDF. By Gayle Olson-Raymer. 20 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 15 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on the economic and social realities of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the corresponding rise of unions and the Communist Party.
World War II and McCarthyism
Teaching Activity PDF. By Gayle Olson-Raymer. 19 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 16 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on domestic opposition to the “good war” and the impact of McCarthyism.
Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Teaching Guides
The Power In Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow and Norman Diamond. 1988. 184 pages.
Role plays and writing activities project high school students into real-life situations to explore the history and contemporary reality of employment (and unemployment) in the U.S.
Audio
Ballads of Sacco and Vanzetti
Audio CD. Songs by Woody Guthrie, produced by Moses Asch. 1996.
Songs about the murder trial of Sacco and Vanzetti.
Books: Fiction
The Great Migration: Journey to the North
Book – Fiction. By Eloise Greenfield. Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. 2011. 32 pages.
A picture book that introduces the historic story of the Great Migration to young readers.
No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller
Book – Fiction. By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Artwork by R. Gregory Christie. 2012. 188 pages. About the life of Lewis Micheaux, owner of the famous National Memorial African Bookstore.
Scraps of Time 1928: A Song for Harlem
Book – Fiction. By Patricia C. McKissack. 2007. 108 pages.
Story for young readers about a 12-year-old girl’s education during the Harlem Renaissance with Zora Neale Hurston as her teacher.
Tough Times
Book – Fiction. By Milton Meltzer. 2007. 176 pages.
A historical novel about a child of immigrants during the Great Depression, including his participation in the Bonus March.
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba
Book – Fiction. 2009. 208 pages. Daniel has escaped Nazi Germany and must make his way in Cuba once New York turns away his ship full of refugees.
Immigration, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Books: Non-Fiction
“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II
Book – Non-fiction. By Studs Terkel. 2004. 608 pages.
Interviews with over 120 people about WWII.
At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance — a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power
Book – Non-fiction. By Danielle L. McGuire. 2010. 352 pages.
History of the violence against African-American women during the 20th century and the role played by Rosa Parks in the organized legal response to that abuse.
Civil Rights Movements, Racism & Racial Identity, Women's History
The Bomb
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2010. 100 pages.
Zinn’s personal reflections and political analysis on the bombing of Hiroshima.
A Hubert Harrison Reader
Book – Nonfiction. Edited by Jeffrey B. Perry. 2001. 505 pages.
Essays by the “father of Harlem radicalism”.
A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter
Book – Non-fiction. By Patricia & Fredrick McKissack. 1995. 160 pages.
A true story of the history of this powerful union effort by the African American porters.
Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust
Book – Nonfiction. By Milton Meltzer. 1991. 240 pages.
A document-based historical account of Jewish experiences in Nazi Germany during World War II, for ages 12 and up.
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005. 702 pages.
Howard Zinn’s groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details the lives and facts that are rarely included in textbooks — an indispensable teacher and student resource.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Economics, Education, Immigration, Imperialism, Labor, Laws & Citizen Rights, Native American, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, Social Class, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, Women's History
Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South
Book – Non-fiction (with CD). Edited by William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins and Robert Korstad. 2008. 346 pages.
African American, Individuals in US History, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Social Class
Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust
Book – Nonfiction. By Milton Meltzer. 1991. 176 pages.
Stories of people who resisted the Nazi’s and worked to aid Jewish individuals.
Robeson in Spain
Book – Non-fiction. By The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. 2009. 25 pages.
Booklet in graphic novel format on Paul Robeson’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
African American, Art & Music, Racism & Racial Identity, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, World History/Global Studies
That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s struggle for justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia
Book – Non-fiction. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages. Bilingual (Spanish and English).
Biography for upper elementary of labor activist Emma Tenayuca.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
Book – Non-fiction. By Isabel Wilkerson. 2010. 640 pages.
The story of the great migration told through in-depth descriptions of three families.
We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin
Book – Non-fiction. By Larry Dane Brimner. 2007. 48 pages.
A sophisticated picture book on a key civil rights leader.
Films
Barefoot Gen: The Bombing of Hiroshima As Seen Through the Eyes of a Young Boy
DVD. By Geneon; directed by Mori Masaki. 1992. 170 min.
Barefoot Gen is a story about the devastating effects of war on everyday life.
US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, World History/Global Studies
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
DVD. Produced by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer. 2002. 83 minutes.
Documentary about the life of peace, labor, and civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Labor, LGBT, Organizing
Conscience and the Constitution
Film. By Frank Abe. 2000. 57 minutes.
In World War II, 63 Japanese Americans refused to be drafted from an American concentration camp.
Asian American, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
E.Y. “Yip” Harburg: Brother Can You Spare a Dime
Film clip. E.Y. “Yip” Harburg’s “Brother Can You Spare a Dime” (1932) is performed by Allison Moorer. From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Spanish Civil War
DVD. By Mary Dore, Noel Buckner, Sam Sills. 1984. 98 minutes.
Documentary narrated by Studs Terkel on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
Organizing, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, World History/Global Studies
The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It
Film. Produced by Rick Tejada-Flores and Judith Ehrlich. 2002. 60 minutes.
Documentary film on WWII conscientious objectors and excellent online resources for the classroom.
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train – DVD
Film. By Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller. 2010. 78 minutes.
Documentary on life and work of Howard Zinn.
Individuals in US History, Labor, Organizing, Social Class, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Langston Hughes: “Ballad of Roosevelt.”
Film clip. Langston Hughes’ “Ballad of Roosevelt” (1934), read by Danny Glover. From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
The Lemon Grove Incident
Film. By Paul Espinosa. 1986.
An early story of desegregation in a 1931 school that barred Mexican-Americans.
Matewan
Film. Written and directed by John Sayles. 1987. 132 minutes.
A feature film depicting a strike in a mining town in Appalachia and the struggle for solidarity across racial lines.
The Meaning of Sacco and Vanzetti
Online film. By Howard Zinn.
On November 7, 2008, Howard Zinn offered a lecture on “The Meaning of Sacco and Vanzetti” at the Dante Alighieri Society Italian Cultural Center, in Cambridge, MA.
Vicky Starr: “Back of the Yards”
Film clip. Vicky Starr’s “Back of the Yards” about organizing in the 1930s, read by Christina Kirk.
From Voices of the People’s History of the United States.
Yuri Kochiyama: “Then Came the War”
Yuri Kochiyama, “Then Came the War” (1991) is read by Deepa Fernandes and Sandra Oh. From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
Film. Producer/Writer: Kristy Andersen. 2008. 84 minutes.
Documentary about the life, literature, and research of Zora Neale Hurston.
Picture Books
Mississippi Morning
Book – Fiction. By Ruth Vander Zee. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. 2004. 32 pages.
A thought-provoking story of one boy’s loss of naivete in the face of racism and harsh historical realities.
That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s struggle for justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia
Book – Non-fiction. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages. Bilingual (Spanish and English).
Biography for upper elementary of labor activist Emma Tenayuca.
We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin
Book – Non-fiction. By Larry Dane Brimner. 2007. 48 pages.
A sophisticated picture book on a key civil rights leader.
Posters
Flint Sit-Down Strike
Poster. By Dylan Miner. 11″ x 17″. 2-color offset printed.
Informational poster about Roscoe Van Zandt and the Flint Sit-In strike.
Songs and Poems
E.Y. “Yip” Harburg: Brother Can You Spare a Dime
Film clip. E.Y. “Yip” Harburg’s “Brother Can You Spare a Dime” (1932) is performed by Allison Moorer. From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
Spanish/Bilingual
That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s struggle for justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia
Book – Non-fiction. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages. Bilingual (Spanish and English).
Biography for upper elementary of labor activist Emma Tenayuca.
Explore by Time Period
- Colonization
- Revolution & Constitution
- Early 19th Century
- Civil War Era
- Reconstruction Period
- Industrial Revolution
- Turn of the Century
- World War I
- Prosperity, Depression, & World War II
- Cold War
- People’s Movement
- 1975 – 2000
- 2001 – Present
- 18th Century
- 19th Century
- 20th Century
- All US History
- 21st Century
