Canadian Studies · Grade 10

Active learning ideas

Life During the Depression & Dust Bowl

Active learning helps students connect emotionally and intellectually with the human stories behind the Depression and Dust Bowl. When students role-play, debate, and simulate, they move from reading about hardship to experiencing its weight firsthand, making the past tangible and unforgettable.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Canada, 1929–1945 - Grade 10
• ON: Social, Economic, and Political Context - Grade 10

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Document Mystery
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Relief Camp Life

Assign roles like camp worker, foreman, or family member. Students script and perform a day's routine, including work quotas and grievances, then debrief on emotional and physical tolls. Conclude with a class vote on proposed improvements.

Analyze the daily struggles faced by unemployed Canadians during the Depression.

Facilitation Tip

For the relief camp role-play, assign specific roles (e.g., camp cook, single unemployed man) and provide first-person letters to ground the scenario in real testimony.

What to look for

Provide students with a photograph depicting life during the Depression (e.g., a breadline, a Dust Bowl scene, a Bennett buggy). Ask them to write two sentences identifying the specific hardship shown and one question they have about the people or situation in the image.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Dust Bowl Sources

Display stations with photos, diaries, and maps of dust storms. Groups visit each, noting human impacts and evidence of causes. Regroup to share findings and create a class impact timeline.

Explain the impact of the 'Dust Bowl' on the Prairie provinces and their residents.

Facilitation Tip

During the Dust Bowl gallery walk, have students rotate in pairs so they can discuss each source aloud before moving, building collaborative analysis skills.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a young person living in rural Saskatchewan in 1935 or urban Toronto in 1932. Which situation sounds more challenging, and why?' Facilitate a class discussion where students compare and contrast the daily struggles based on evidence from the unit.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 50 min · Pairs

Formal Debate: Urban vs Rural Hardships

Pairs analyze curated documents on city breadlines versus Prairie dust bowls. Prepare pro-con arguments, then debate in whole class format. Vote and reflect on common versus unique struggles.

Compare the experiences of urban versus rural populations during the economic crisis.

Facilitation Tip

In the Bennett Buggy rally simulation, provide scrap cardboard and string so students construct a model that reflects the resource limitations of the time.

What to look for

Present students with three short primary source excerpts: one from an unemployed city worker, one from a drought-stricken farmer, and one describing a government relief camp. Ask students to label each excerpt with the most likely perspective and identify one key challenge described in each.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Simulation Game
• 35 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Bennett Buggy Rally

Students build simple models of improvised vehicles from recyclables. In small groups, role-play a rally protesting policies, incorporating facts on unemployment rates and migrations.

Analyze the daily struggles faced by unemployed Canadians during the Depression.

Facilitation Tip

For the urban vs rural debate, assign student teams roles (e.g., prairie farmer, Toronto factory worker) and require evidence from unit sources in their arguments.

What to look for

Provide students with a photograph depicting life during the Depression (e.g., a breadline, a Dust Bowl scene, a Bennett buggy). Ask them to write two sentences identifying the specific hardship shown and one question they have about the people or situation in the image.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should emphasize primary sources to counter textbook generalizations, as students need to see the Depression and Dust Bowl through the eyes of those who lived it. Avoid reducing the topic to statistics alone; instead, use narrative and sensory details to help students grasp the scale of suffering. Research shows that when students embody historical figures, they retain empathy and context more deeply than with lectures alone.

Students will demonstrate empathy and historical accuracy by analyzing primary sources, taking on perspectives of those affected, and evaluating government responses. Successful learning includes precise use of historical evidence and thoughtful comparison of urban and rural experiences.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Role-Play: Relief Camp Life activity, watch for students assuming the Depression was less severe in Canada than in the U.S.

  Use a map activity during this role-play to overlay Canadian unemployment rates and bank failures, prompting students to compare national data as part of their role-play debrief.

• During the Gallery Walk: Dust Bowl Sources activity, watch for students attributing the Dust Bowl entirely to natural drought.

  Have students test soil erosion with hands-on demonstrations using different soil types and farming practices, then revisit primary sources to identify human actions like overfarming.

• During the Debate: Urban vs Rural Hardships activity, watch for students assuming urban and rural hardships were the same.

  Provide source comparison charts during the debate prep, highlighting differences like soup kitchens in cities versus farm foreclosures in rural areas, and require students to cite these in their arguments.

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Methods used in this brief

• Document Mystery
• Gallery Walk
• Formal Debate
• Simulation Game