Then and Now Lesson Plan

GRADE: 5

1. Theme/Title of the day’s lesson with a brief description:
“Then and Now Prices” Students will compare the prices of common everyday items from the 1930s and today. Students will also compare wages between the 1930s and now. Students will determine how long it would take to purchase the items with the designated wages.

2. Materials/resources needed:
Then and now price handout
Current newspapers
Primary documents: pictures of items from the 1930s

3. Goal(s) for today’s lesson:
Students will have an understanding of life in the 1930s by examining prices and wages during this time.

4. Objectives for today’s lesson:
Students will know about prices in the 1930s and compare them with prices today. Students will compare wages of the 1930s to today’s wages. Students will be able to determine how long it would take to be able to purchase items from the list based on the prices and the wages. Students will view pictures of items from the 1920s and 30s and compare them to today's items.

5. Procedures
a. introductory experiences (5 min.)
Ask students to guess how much everyday items cost in the 1930s. Write guesses on board. Ask students for reasons why prices were much lower then they are now.

b. developmental experiences:
1. Pass out Then and Now handout – Explain handout to students: first column everyday items, second column is the price of the items during the 1930’s, and the third column is for the students to fill in the current price of these items.

2. Have students get into groups of three and pass out a newspaper to each student. Explain to students that they will need to search through the newspapers to determine the prices of the items listed. Discuss with students how they might go about searching for the items, such as what sections to look under. (15 min.)

3. Once students are done filling out the handout have discussion about their findings. (5 min.) Some of those 1930s prices look pretty low compared to today's costs, don't they? Why? Look at the Then and Now: Wages table. Do people earn more or less now than they did in the 1930s? How do the prices compare to the wages? How many weeks would it take to buy each of the items on the table of prices? If an item costs less than a week's wages, divide the week's wages by 40 to estimate the hourly wage and figure out how many hours it would take to earn the money to buy the item.

4. Have students work in their groups to determine how long it would take to purchase each item on the list. (15 min.) Collect handouts when finished.

c. culminating experiences: (5-8 min.)
Discuss with students about their findings. Where they surprised to see how long it would take to purchase the items? Pass out pictures of items from the 1920s and the1930s. Ask students what they notice between the two decades. Students should note that items became more modern. Ask for examples of how these items are similar and different from the ones today.

6. Assessments used during lesson:
Each student will turn in his or her handout. Teacher will check for participation in discussions.