Teaching the Great Depression Using Bud Not Buddy

Teaching the Great Depression Using Bud, Not Buddy By Janet Frazier FRMS 7331 Multiple Text Assignment October 23, 2009

Introduction: l Bud, Not Buddy is a heartwarming book about a young colored boy during the Great Depression. He escapes from a foster family in search of his real father, whom he has never met. In the process, he encounters many kind souls that help in his search—each one having a specific purpose in his journey. Eventually, he finds his way to where he is going and is met with a great surprise. It is a wonderful way to introduce students to the Great Depression and the culture and struggles of African-American citizens during that time period.

Table of Contents Picture Book Slide 3 Songs Slide 4 Artwork Slide 5 Poetry Slide 6 Slide 7 (additional resources) Webquest Slide 8

Adler, David A. The Babe and I Illustrated by Terry Widener Gulliver, 1999 ISBN 0152013784 As an introduction to Bud, Not Buddy, the teacher would read this book aloud to the class. A discussion would ensue as to the struggles presented by the narrator. l This picture book brings into account other people who struggled during the depression from a child’s point of view. It is written on a 2 nd – 4 th grade level. This book could be used as a springboard for students to interview someone who lived during that time period. They could then use the picture book idea to create a picture book of their own based on the interview that they conduct. l

http: //www. library. csi. cuny. edu/dept/ history/lavender/cherries. html or http: //www. voicesacrosstime. org/com e-all-ye/ti/2006/Song%20 Activities /07 LLLGreat. Depression. html l These websites offer songs that were popular during the Great Depression. This would be a great way for students to experience the music that Bud may have experienced in the club where he spent time. Students could listen to songs, study lyrics, and even write a song (or lyrics to a song) themselves.

http: //www. english. illinois. edu/maps/ depression/artgallery. htm l The art of the Great Depression gives a vivid picture of what life was like and the impressions of that time period. Many of the art pieces are portrayals of the harshness of the times. These pictures would give a student ideas about the feelings of the time. Use this exploration to have students draw a picture expressing what life is like for them TODAY!

http: //famouspoetsandpoems. com/the matic_poems/depression_poems. html Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse ISBN-13: 9780590371254 l I found an abundance of poetry about the Great Depression. The book is about the Great Depression and written in poetic verse; the website gives various poems. As we did with the book Night, an excellent way to get the students’ impression of Bud, Not Buddy would be to have students write a poem about the Depression using statistics from cited sources (at least 2).

http: //www. americanpoems. com/poets/donaldjusti ce/7837 http: //poetrypoem. com/cgibin/index. pl? poemnumber=7949&sitename=depre ssion&poemoffset=0&displaypoem=t&item=poetry l These are additional poetry sources that could be used with the poetry assignment.

http: //education. iupui. edu/webquests /budnotbuddy/index. htm#Task l This webquest would be a great way to get students really involved in the 1930’s scene. They are asked in the task to be reporters for a newspaper during that day. They use the web to research and write about a topic that was important during the time period.