Here are the big ideas you will learn about in this lesson:

• Documentary photographers captured the social and economic conditions existing in the United States during the Depression.
• Dorothea Lange’s iconic Depression-era photograph Migrant Mother became symbolic of the stark realities farmers faced during the Depression.

You will be using many reading and writing skills to complete this lesson. These are the key skills you will focus on:

• Stating an opinion or presenting a judgment by developing a thesis;
• Providing supporting evidence, arguments, and details;
• Determining the central ideas or information of a primary source;
• Providing an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of a text.

• migrant
• the Great Depression
• renowned
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• the New Deal

In one of many field assignments for the Farm Security Administration, Dorothea Lange took a series of five photographs of a mother with her children in Nipomo, California.

One photograph stood out among the rest, but why?

Throughout this lesson you will make observations and gain skills that will help you answer this question.

Click “View” on the left to scroll through the first four photos in the series. Use the space below to jot down notes to describe the unique features of each photograph.

Click "save notes" before moving on to the next page where you will see the fifth and final photograph. It’s important to record your notes before moving on. You’ll need these notes for your final assignment.

Begin by studying the photograph to the left, the fifth in the series.

• What is your first impression of this photo?
• How does it differ or stand out from the others in the series?
• Why do you think your attention is drawn to certain parts of the image?
• What do you associate with this image? What does it make you think about?

Write your notes in the box below.

Notice the name and date of the photograph.

Dorothea Lange photographed Migrant Mother and the four other images in this series on one day in 1936. Today Migrant Mother is one of Lange’s best-known photographs and is an image that is closely identified with a historical period in United States known as the Great Depression.

What can you assume about the photograph based solely on its name? Why do you think the photograph was named Migrant Mother?

Next, you’ll watch a video and read an essay to learn about Dorothea Lange and the stark realities of this period in American history. You’ll learn about the day in 1936 when Lange took her renowned photograph. Click "View" on the left to watch the video.

After you watch the video, click "View" on the bottom left to read the essay.

Describe the circumstances that led Dorothea Lange to photograph the woman and her children. What was the result of newspapers publishing the photos?

Dorothea Lange photographed Migrant Mother during a dramatic period in American history known as the Great Depression. Brought on by the stock market crash of October 1929 and lasting through the 1930s, the Depression transformed the political and economic landscape of the United States. This video will help you to better understand the Depression era in which Lange worked.

Click “View” on the left to watch the video.

Describe the conditions that prompted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) to create the New Deal. Who opposed the New Deal and why?

You will now check your understanding of the glossary words for the first part of this lesson by placing them in sentences. Click "View" on the left to begin the activity.

Match It #1 - Glossary words: migrant, the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, documentary photography, Dorothea Lange

The Farm Security Administration (FSA), formerly the Resettlement Administration, was a New Deal program created by Congress in 1937. The agency provided loans and relocation support to thousands of farmers in need of immediate economic assistance. To make the case for continued government funding, the FSA created a unit to record the devastation of the Depression. The way to show the effects of poverty and the impact of widespread unemployment was through photography.

Roy Stryker led this special photographic unit of the FSA from 1935 to 1943. In this capacity, he discovered and cultivated the work of some of the most renowned American photographers of the 20th century. These photographers chronicled not only the experiences of farmers during the Depression but also the lives of average Americans of varying backgrounds and walks of life. Under Stryker, the FSA amassed over 164,000 images.

Stryker established specific requirements for the job of FSA photographer. Click "View" on the left to read a document describing Stryker’s requirements. You can also see a transcribed version if the original is too difficult to read.

In this activity, you’ll read "The FSA Photographer" once more, closely, to identify the qualifications of an FSA photographer and determine the new role of photography in 1930s America.

Click "View" on the left to begin the activity.

It's important to save your highlighted answers for each question. Your teacher will review the answers with you before you move on to the final assignment.

You will now check your understanding of the glossary words for the second part of the lesson by placing them in sentences. Click "View" on the left to begin the activity.

Match It #2 - Glossary words: Farm Security Administration, stark, the New Deal, renowned, plight, the Resettlement Administration

In this lesson you learned about the Great Depression, the New Deal, Dorothea Lange, and documentary photography. You will now complete a writing assignment that demonstrates what you've learned.

Your teacher will tell you which assignment to complete—or you may have the option of choosing one of the assignments below. Before getting started, check with your teacher.

Begin by reviewing your notes. Click "review my work" above and view or print out the screen that pops up. Then, print out one of the assignments below.

Assignment 1
Understanding the Great Depression (PDF)
Write a 1-2 page essay on one of the following topics:

• How does Migrant Mother illustrate the realities of the Great Depression?
• Why is Migrant Mother enduring as a work of art? Is the photograph as compelling today as it was in 1936?

Assignment 2
The FSA is Hiring! (PDF)
Write a 1-2 page job description for a FSA photographer.