When the Floor Falls Out — Studio Packet¶

Studio Code: USH-03 Subject Area: US History — Unit 3 (Roaring 20s and Great Depression) Suggested Cycle: Year 2, Cycle 2 Duration: 6 weeks

Era Timeline US History Unit Timeline — highlighted segment(s) indicate this studio's historical period.

The Essential Question¶

When the economy collapses and millions of people lose everything, what does the government owe them — and what does it cost to find out?

Week 1 — Getting Started

By the end of Week 1 you need three things:

A rough inquiry angle — your specific version of the essential question above
At least 2 sources identified from the Skinny Recommendations or the Reading Library
A draft Studio Contract ready to share with Reese for feedback

Stuck on your angle? Browse the sources first — an argument usually emerges from the reading, not from staring at the question. Use the thought card prompts further down this page if you need a push.

Why This Studio Matters¶

The 1920s looked, to a lot of Americans, like the country had finally arrived. The war was over, the economy was booming, consumer culture exploded, and jazz was changing music everywhere. F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby in 1925, a novel that captured the decade's glittering surface and the rot underneath. His characters live inside a dream — beautiful, expensive, and hollow — and they keep reaching for something that keeps moving away.

Then the crash came. In October 1929, the stock market collapsed, triggering bank failures, mass unemployment (25% at its peak), and the Dust Bowl. Twelve million families lost their savings. By 1932, Hoovervilles — shantytowns named mockingly after the president — had appeared in every major American city. Hoover believed the government should not intervene directly. FDR disagreed. He won the 1932 election on that disagreement, and the New Deal he built — Social Security, the FDIC, the SEC, federal work programs — still shapes American life today.

This studio puts two questions side by side: What was the dream the 1920s were selling, and who couldn't buy in? And: When that dream collapsed, what did the people left holding nothing deserve from their government? It builds US History standards on economic change and government's role while developing argument writing (W.4) and literary analysis of how Fitzgerald uses the novel to make an argument about American society (R.8).

Active Standards¶

Standard	What You're Targeting
US.6_12.4 + Unit 3	Change over time: how the government's relationship to the economy transformed between Hoover's "rugged individualism" and FDR's New Deal — and what that shift meant for ordinary Americans
US.6_12.5 + Unit 3	Significant contributions: FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothea Lange; the New Deal as a set of policies still shaping modern American life
US.6_12.2 + Unit 3	Multiple perspectives: who the 1920s boom included and excluded; who the New Deal helped and who it left out (Black farmers, women workers, sharecroppers)
9-10.R.8	Literary elements in The Great Gatsby: how Fitzgerald uses symbol, character, and narrative structure to critique the 1920s dream
9-10.W.4	Argument writing: what does the government owe its citizens in economic crisis? Claim, evidence, counterargument, qualification
IR.1–5	Research bundle: active every studio

ELA ↔ SS Crosswalk¶

The Great Gatsby is a dual-use text for this studio. When you analyze it for R.8 — how Fitzgerald uses symbol, character, and setting to make an argument about the American Dream — you are also building evidence for US.6_12.4 + Unit 3, because the novel is a direct window into how 1920s Americans understood prosperity and the gap between the dream and the reality. One Demo of Learning can satisfy both standards at once if your Studio Contract lists both and your analysis addresses both dimensions: the literary technique AND its historical meaning.

The same goes for the FDR Four Freedoms speech (extension): analyzing FDR's argument for R.9 simultaneously builds US.6_12.4 + Unit 3 evidence about how the New Deal philosophy extended into WWII mobilization.

See the ELA ↔ SS Crosswalk for the full map of how texts serve both subject areas across all studios.

Reading List¶

Text	Why It's Here
The Great Gatsby — Fitzgerald	Fitzgerald's 1925 novel captures the 1920s boom from the inside — the parties, the wealth, the illusion — while showing what it cost and who it excluded. Nick Carraway is the reader's guide through a world that looks like success and isn't.
The Jungle — Sinclair	Optional connection: Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel shows the Progressive Era reform impulse that preceded the 1920s rollback. Useful for students arguing about the history of government intervention in the economy.
FDR's Four Freedoms	Extension: FDR's 1941 articulation of what the government owes its citizens — connects the New Deal philosophy to WWII mobilization and provides a primary source for what FDR believed government was for.

Required minimum: The Great Gatsby is the literary core. Students working with the SS argument should also read at least one FDR primary source (the Four Freedoms speech or the First Inaugural Address — "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself").

Trailblazer angles: - Gatsby throws lavish parties and invites everyone — but almost nobody actually knows him. Using the novel, explain what Fitzgerald is saying about the American Dream: what it promises, who it's actually for, and what it costs people who believe in it. - Herbert Hoover believed Americans should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps — that government aid would make people dependent and weaken the national character. FDR disagreed. Using historical evidence, explain what the Depression revealed about the limits of "rugged individualism."

Maverick angles: - Fitzgerald's Gatsby was published in 1925 — four years before the crash. But reading it now, you can see the crash coming. What does the novel reveal about the 1920s economy that people living through it weren't willing to see? What were the warning signs? - The New Deal helped millions of Americans — but it explicitly excluded Black farmers, domestic workers, and many women. Using the historical record, evaluate the New Deal: was it a genuine transformation of American society, or a rescue program for white working-class men? - Dorothea Lange's photograph "Migrant Mother" (1936) became the iconic image of the Great Depression. Analyze it as a primary source: What choices did Lange make? What does the photograph argue? What does it leave out? Why did it become the image of the Depression rather than thousands of other photographs from the same period?

Phoenix angles: - Fitzgerald wrote that "the rich are different from you and me." Hemingway responded: "Yes, they have more money." Using Gatsby and the historical record of the 1920s and Depression, argue which one was right — and what the difference between their views reveals about how Americans understand wealth and failure. - The United States has now had multiple major economic crises (1929, 2008, 2020). Each time, the government has had to decide what it owes its citizens. Using the Depression/New Deal as your primary case and at least one more modern example, argue whether the American government has learned anything about what it owes the people it serves in a crisis — and what the evidence says about whether those lessons stick.

Six-Week Arc¶

Week	Phase	What You're Doing
1	Launch	Open with this line from Gatsby: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Read the first chapter. Then read FDR's First Inaugural: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." What do these two documents — written 8 years apart — say about what Americans were reaching for? Submit your Studio Contract.
2	Dig	Deep read your chosen texts. For R.8: How does Fitzgerald use Gatsby's parties, the green light, and the Valley of Ashes to make an argument about the American Dream? For the SS strand: research the specific policies Hoover chose and what FDR replaced them with. Who got New Deal help and who didn't?
3	Build	Draft your deliverable. Your central question: what did the 1920s dream cost, and what did the government owe when it collapsed? Use specific evidence from both the literary text and the historical record.
4	Shape	Peer review and advisor conference. Find the assumption in your argument you haven't examined. Is your claim about the government's obligation based on evidence — or on what you already believed before you started? Revise to strengthen the evidence or qualify the claim.
5	Finish	Complete demonstration of learning. Polish deliverable. Prepare for exhibition.
6	Publish	Exhibition. Reflection. Archive.

Demonstration of Learning Options¶

Mode	Prompt for This Studio
1 — Written Assessment	In 500–700 words: Analyze how Fitzgerald uses one symbol from The Great Gatsby (the green light, the Valley of Ashes, Gatsby's parties) to make an argument about the American Dream. What is he saying? What evidence does he use?
2 — Extended Writing	Argument essay (700–1,000 words): What does the government owe its citizens when the economy collapses? Use the Depression and New Deal as your primary evidence. What were the stakes of getting this wrong — and did FDR get it right?
3 — Verbal Conversation	Advisor conference: Walk through both the novel and the historical period. What was the 1920s dream? Who was included and excluded? When it collapsed, what happened? What did the New Deal change — and what did it leave unchanged?
4 — Visual/Creative	Comparison exhibit: Map the 1920s boom and the Depression crash on a visual timeline. Show who thrived, who struggled, and who was left out at each stage. Annotate: What did the New Deal change for each group?
5 — Multimedia/Performance	Documentary or recorded presentation: "The Dream That Crashed" — using Gatsby, Dorothea Lange's photography, and New Deal primary sources to tell the story of 1920s America for a general audience. Must demonstrate US.6_12.4+5 and R.8 evidence.
6 — Portfolio Annotation	Curate prior work and annotate for US.6_12.4+5 and R.8+W.4 evidence. Commentary must use 2.0/3.0/4.0 language from the relevant skinny and connect your prior work to this studio's essential question.

Deliverable Ideas¶

"The Green Light" — A literary analysis essay on The Great Gatsby: What does the American Dream look like in this novel? What does Fitzgerald say about who it's available to and what it costs to pursue it? Connect the novel to the actual 1920s economy.
"Rugged Individualism vs. The New Deal" — An argument essay: Was FDR's New Deal the right response to the Depression — or did it change the relationship between government and citizens in ways that created long-term problems? Take a clear position with historical evidence.
"Who the New Deal Left Out" — A research exhibit: The New Deal helped millions of Americans but deliberately excluded Black agricultural workers and domestic laborers due to political compromises with Southern Democrats. Document who was left out, why, and what this reveals about reform in America.
"Migrant Mother" — A primary source analysis and visual essay: Using Dorothea Lange's Depression photographs as your central source, analyze how photographers shaped how Americans understood the Depression. What did they choose to show — and what did they leave out?
"Then and Now" — A comparative analysis: Connect the 1929 crash and New Deal to a more recent economic crisis (2008 financial crisis, COVID economic collapse). What did the government do differently? What stayed the same? What does the comparison reveal about what Americans believe the government owes them in a crisis?

Scale Tasks¶

2.0 — Foundation¶

Define: Roaring 20s, Great Depression, New Deal, rugged individualism, Dust Bowl, Social Security, Harlem Renaissance
Correctly summarize the plot and main characters of The Great Gatsby
Identify the major New Deal programs and who they were designed to help
Describe the basic cause-and-effect chain from the 1929 crash to the Depression

3.0 — Target¶

Analyze Fitzgerald's use of at least two literary elements (symbol, character, setting, narrative structure) to make an argument about the American Dream
Connect the novel's themes to the actual historical context of the 1920s: what did Fitzgerald see that his contemporaries were ignoring?
Evaluate the New Deal: who did it help, who did it exclude, and what does that pattern reveal about how American reform works?
Build an argument about what the government owes its citizens in a crisis — with a clear claim, specific historical evidence, and acknowledgment of the strongest counterargument

4.0 — Transfer¶

OR: Argue that The Great Gatsby is (or isn't) still a relevant critique of American economic culture — using evidence from both the novel and contemporary America
OR: Evaluate whether the pattern of New Deal exclusions (helping some people but not others for political reasons) reflects something structural about how American reform works — using at least one more example beyond the New Deal
OR: Construct a framework for what a government owes its citizens in economic crisis — applying it to the Depression and at least one other economic crisis to test whether it holds

Skinny Recommendations¶

If you're struggling with...	Pull this skinny
Analyzing literary elements (symbol, character, theme)	R.8 Literary Elements
Writing an argument essay with historical evidence	W.4 Argument Writing
Managing a multi-source research process	IR.1–5 Research Bundle
Writing an explanatory essay about cause and effect	W.3 Explanatory Writing
Reading and analyzing informational primary sources	R.9 Informational/Argumentative

When You're Stuck

Your Thinking — "What do I actually believe about this question — and what changed my mind?"

The Argument — "Does my evidence actually prove my claim, or does it only suggest it?"

Getting Unstuck — "What do I know for certain? Start there."

Your Studio — "What does a 3.0 on this standard actually look like in my work?"

Why This Is Relevant Today?¶

The Great Depression is the last time the American economy failed so completely that it collapsed the basic assumptions most people had about how economic life worked. The debates it produced — What does the government owe people when the economy fails them? How much should the government regulate markets to prevent the next crash? What's the right balance between economic freedom and economic security? — have never been settled. They're the debates behind every argument about the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. The 2008 financial crisis — banks failing, homeowners losing their houses, unemployment spiking — was the closest the U.S. has come to repeating 1929, and the response (bail out the banks, stimulus packages, expanded unemployment) was a direct application of the New Deal framework. The COVID-19 economic shock produced the same arguments again. If you want to understand why Americans argue so bitterly about the government's role in the economy, the Great Depression is where to look. See USH-01: When the System Fails for the earlier reform tradition this studio builds on.

Exhibition Format¶

Suggested format: Gallery walk or formal presentation.

Students display or present their deliverable to classmates, advisor, and invited guests (parents, other teachers). Format for formal presentations: 5-minute presentation, then 2 questions. Gallery walk: students circulate, leave written feedback, then the class debrief focuses on comparing different angles on the same essential question.

What gets scored at exhibition: - C.1 — Presenting your argument or analysis clearly to an audience that hasn't read your sources; handling the format professionally - C.6 — Responding to questions about your evidence and reasoning; engaging with a challenge to your claim