
You Felt He was Talking to You: FDR’s Fireside Chats and Identity
45 min
Lesson Components
You Felt He was Talking to You – Handout A: NarrativeWalk-In-The-Shoes Questions
As you read, imagine you are the protagonist.
- What challenges are you facing?
 - What fears or concerns might you have?
 - What may prevent you from acting in the way you ought?
 
Observation Questions
- Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt?
 - Why did Roosevelt hold the Fireside Chats?
 - What did Roosevelt say or do in the Fireside Chats that helped the American people cope with the Great Depression?
 - How did Franklin D. Roosevelt help to advance freedom with his Fireside Chats?
 
Discussion Questions
Discuss the following questions with your students.
- What is the historical context of the narrative?
 - What historical circumstances presented a challenge to the protagonist?
 - How and why did the individual exhibit a moral and/or civic virtue in facing and overcoming the challenge?
 - How did the exercise of the virtue benefit civil society?
 - How might exercise of the virtue benefit the protagonist?
 - What might the exercise of the virtue cost the protagonist?
 - Would you react the same under similar circumstances? Why or why not?
 - How can you act similarly in your own life? What obstacles must you overcome in order to do so?
 
- Students will analyze Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats and how they formed a part of his identity.
 - Students will apply their knowledge of identity to their own lives.
 - Students will understand how to embrace their own identity.