US History · 11th Grade

Active learning ideas

The Roaring Twenties: Economic Boom & Consumerism

Active learning works especially well for this topic because students need to see how economic systems interact over time. Role-playing the stock market or analyzing warning signs helps them grasp abstract ideas like overproduction and margin buying in a concrete way.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.His.1.9-12
• C3: D2.Eco.1.9-12

• 30–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 60 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Stock Market Game

Students 'invest' in stocks using a simulated market. The teacher introduces 'margin buying' and then triggers a 'crash,' allowing students to experience the panic and the immediate impact of debt on their simulated lives.

Analyze the factors that contributed to the economic boom and widespread consumerism of the 1920s.

Facilitation Tip

During The Stock Market Game, circulate and challenge groups to explain why their stock prices changed, prompting them to use terms like 'margin buying' or 'speculation.'

What to look for

Present students with a list of 1920s products (e.g., vacuum cleaner, phonograph, automobile). Ask them to identify which were most significantly impacted by mass production and explain why. Then, have them choose one product and write a short advertisement from the era, highlighting its benefits to consumers.

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

Activity 02

• Inquiry Circle
• 50 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Warning Signs

Small groups are assigned a specific economic indicator from the 1920s (e.g., farm prices, housing starts, or consumer debt). They must create a 'fever chart' showing how these areas were struggling long before the crash.

Explain the impact of new technologies like the automobile and radio on American society.

Facilitation Tip

For The Warning Signs, assign each group one sector (e.g., agriculture, banking, manufacturing) to ensure all areas are covered before the full-class discussion.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How did the widespread availability of credit and persuasive advertising in the 1920s create a new kind of American dream, and what were the potential downsides of this consumer-driven economy?' Encourage students to support their points with specific examples from the era.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Hawley-Smoot Tariff

Students read about the 1930 tariff designed to protect American farmers. They work in pairs to predict how other countries would react and discuss how this led to a collapse in international trade.

Evaluate how mass advertising and credit changed American purchasing habits.

Facilitation Tip

In The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Think-Pair-Share, assign roles: one student argues for the tariff’s benefits, another against, to push students beyond surface-level opinions.

What to look for

On an index card, have students answer the following: 1. Name one technological innovation of the 1920s and explain its impact on consumerism. 2. Describe one way advertising changed how Americans shopped.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid presenting the Great Depression as a single-cause event. Instead, use simulations to show how interconnected issues (e.g., bank runs, overproduction) worsened the crisis. Research shows that students retain complex economic ideas better when they experience the pressures of decision-making in a safe, structured environment.

Students will demonstrate understanding by connecting cause-and-effect relationships between 1920s policies and the Great Depression. They will explain how structural problems like unequal wealth distribution and weak banking practices contributed to the crisis, not just the 1929 crash.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Stock Market Game, watch for students who assume the crash alone caused the Depression.

  Use the game’s debrief to ask, 'Was the crash the only problem? What other factors made the system fragile?' Direct students to compare their stock prices to real-world bank failures and agricultural surpluses.

• During The Warning Signs investigation, watch for students who believe only stockholders were affected by the Depression.

  Have students examine bank failure data during the activity and highlight cases where people with no stocks lost savings. Ask, 'How did this ripple beyond the stock market?'

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Inquiry Circle
• Think-Pair-Share