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Grade 5 Social Studies · World 4: Hard Times · Level 34
The Crash of 1929
Explain the crash simply.
Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.
What children learn in Level 34
- The good times of the 1920s didn't last. To see why, you need one word: stock. A stock is a small share of a company. If the company does well, the stock's price usually rises.
- In the late 1920s, stock prices climbed and climbed. Many people borrowed money to buy stocks, sure that prices would keep rising.
- In October 1929, prices began to fall, and people rushed to sell. Prices fell even faster. Many people lost everything they had put in. That was the stock market crash.
- The trouble spread. People couldn't repay loans, so banks failed. With no savings, people bought less. Businesses sold less, so they laid off workers.
- The crash didn't cause all this alone, but it began the worst economic time in American history: the Great Depression.
Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:
- SS5H3.a — Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens.