The Three Rs: Relief Recovery Reform

In this activity, students will define numerous New Deal programs as falling under one of the three strategies proposed by President Roosevelt as “relief”, “recovery”, or “reform”. Students may choose the events that they researched from the Programs of the New Deal activity or choose entirely new programs. For each storyboard, students should create a visualization of the program and include whether the program falls under “relief”, “recovery”, or “reform”. As shown in the example, students should also display a text box which shows “relief”, “recovery”, or “reform”. This activity will help students understand the effects of the New Deal, both on the American people and infrastructure.

Relief

CWA - Civil Works Association

The Civil Works Association provided relief to Americans by providing them with jobs that focused on the repair of bridges and roads.

Recovery

TVA - Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority was created by the Federal Government in 1933 and helped to provide recovery to the Tennessee Valley with electricity generation, flood control, irrigation, and economic development.

Reform

FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The FDIC's goal was to give Americans confidence in the American banking system following the Wall Street Crash. The FDIC reformed the banking system by insuring depositors of insurance banks in case the banks were to go bankrupt again.

Extended Activity

For this extended activity, students should research contemporary programs established by the Federal Government. For each of the programs students research, they should complete the activity again where they need to describe what the program does and whether it is a relief, recovery, or reform. Students should be encouraged to select programs that either impacts their lives directly or is focused on a topic that is of interest to them.