edHelper.com
The Great Depression
(1929-1945)

Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal

Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.14

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    foreclose, foreclosure, jobless, recovery-getting, reopened, untilled, banking, outdoor, wage, production, firewood, agency, firms, camps, election, dealt
     content words:    Franklin D., New Deal, Unemployment Relief Act, Civilian Conservation Corps, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Home Owners Loan Corporation, Federal Housing Administration, National Industrial Recovery Act, Public Works Administration, Agricultural Adjustment Act

Print Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal
     Leave your feedback on Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Alphabet Soup for a Sick Nation - Roosevelt's New Deal
By Toni Lee Robinson 		  
1     In the election of 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised Americans a "new deal." Most people weren't quite sure what that meant. But the Depression had sunk cold fingers of poverty deep into the lives of common people. Most people were ready for almost any new deal. Roosevelt won forty-two of the forty-eight states.
 
2     The new President lost no time getting his New Deal underway. His first act dealt with the banking crisis. On the day before he took the oath of office, 5,000 banks had closed. The whole bank system teetered on the edge of collapse. Roosevelt announced a "bank holiday." All the banks in the nation were closed.
 
3     The President said that the records of banks would be inspected. Federal funds would be issued to those that were sound. They would then be opened for business. Those found to be on shaky ground would stay closed until they were healthy again. People felt that their money was safe in the reopened banks. They began to trust banks again. That ended the banking crisis.
 
4     Next, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress. He launched a stream of bills to put the New Deal in place. His first goal was relief for those in need of food, jobs, and homes. The next step was aiding recovery of business and farming. Then, Roosevelt planned reform--fixing parts of the economy that hadn't worked very well.

Paragraphs 5 to 12:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper