Great Depression Budget Activity

This lesson is a great way to engage your students by having them experience the choices many families had to make during the Great Depression. Students use actual prices from the Great Depression to make a budget that will provide basic necessities for their family of 5. Students will not have enough money to purchase everything their family has previously purchased and will have to make some tough choices as they create their budget. I have had students work independently and with a partner over the years. Partner work often creates some great debates over which items are necessary. After students create their budget, their is a wrap up assignment where students answer follow up questions about how they created their budget. This lesson has always been a fun one in my classroom over the years, I hope your students will enjoy it too.