HOW TO DECONSTRUCT JOURNALS, LETTERS, DIARIES
The Great Depression
* source documents, including images and
letters that illustrate the effects of the Great
Depression. Some examples may include
− letters to Herbert Hoover from desperate
families
− drought on the prairies
− breadlines or soup kitchens
• Ask students to jot down their impressions
based on the images and in response to focus
questions such as
− What do the images/documents show?
− What do they reveal about the time period
and how people lived?
− How do the images demonstrate a change
from the previous time period?
• As a class, discuss student impressions,
focussing on how these images are different
from student perceptions of the “roaring ’20s.”
• In pairs, have students theorize what could
have caused such a dramatic shift from the
1920s to the situation portrayed in the primary
source documents. Discuss student suggestions
and explanations as a class.
RESOURCES
The Canadian letters and images project is an online archive of Canadian wartime correspondence, photographs, memoirs and reminiscences. The archive covers Canadian participation in nineteenth and twentieth century conflicts, including the Spanish American War, the Boer War, World War One and World War Two, and also life as a soldier in the Canadian Peacekeeping Force. It offers primary source material which will be of use to historians and social studies researchers at all levels
