Free 8th Grade The 1929 Crash Lesson Plan (History)

Topic: The 1929 Crash

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to describe the causes and effects of the 1929 stock market crash.

Materials

• Copies of "The Great Depression" article for each student
• Handouts with statistics and graphs illustrating causes and effects of the stock market crash

Warm-up

• Ask students what they know about the stock market and the 1929 crash. Write their responses on the board.
• Ask students if they have heard of the Great Depression. Ask them to explain what it was and how it affected people's lives.

Direct Instruction

• Show students a chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1920 to 1929. Ask them to identify the peaks and valleys on the chart. Ask them to explain what they think these peaks and valleys might indicate.
• Explain that the peaks on the chart represent periods of irrational exuberance and euphoria in the stock market, when investors were buying and selling stocks at increasingly higher prices, confident that the market would continue to rise indefinitely. The valleys on the chart represent periods of panic and uncertainty, when investors began to panic and sell their stocks, causing the market to crash.
• Ask students to brainstorm reasons why investors may have been so exuberant and willing to pay higher prices for stocks in the 1920s. Write their ideas on the board.
• Explain that one reason for the exuberance in the 1920s was the introduction of new technology, such as the radio, the automobile, and the airplane, which many people believed would lead to greater prosperity and a brighter future.
• Ask students to brainstorm reasons why investors may have panicked and sold their stocks in 1929. Write their ideas on the board.
• Explain that one reason for the panic in 1929 was the collapse of the stock market in October of that year, which led to widespread losses and a decline in consumer confidence.