Surviving Winter in
the Dust Bowl
Mindy Pearson
OTG Science Coach
HCPS Secondary Education
Keeping the End in
Mind…
At the end of Biological Unit of Instruction #1 (BUOI #1),
which covers ecology, plant anatomy & physiology,
energetics, and energy cycling, students should be able to
write on the following LDC prompt:
After reading scientific text, analyzing data,
collecting evidence, and engaging in scientific
discourse, discuss water as limiting factor in an
ecological system and evaluate how its scarcity
would impact producers (at the physiological &
metabolic level: transpiration, photosynthesis, and
cellular respiration) and the subsequent transfer of
energy (trophic levels) and cycling of matter (water
cycle and carbon cycle) through an ecosystem.
BUOI 1: Ecology Component
The purpose of this lesson is to help students
understand the interdependence of organisms,
food chains, the interactions and flow of
energy between trophic levels in food chains,
the dietary requirements for and functions of
macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, and
proteins), and how human practices affect
sustainability, the environment, and policy
decisions.
Day 1
Introduction to the Dust Bowl
Show one of the following to provide students
with a historical context of the Dust Bowl in the
United States Great Plains
1. PBS American Experience-- Surviving the
Dust Bowl)
2. Dust Bowl Photograph Slide Show
3. Dust Bowl Video Clip—The Black Blizzard
http://www.history.com/topics/dustbowl/videos/black-blizzard
Day 2
Surviving Winter in the Dust Bowl
You have 500 gallons of potable water
You have 500 bushels of wheat.
You have a cow. You have a bull.
Your family of four must survive the winter.
Given this information and the data
provided, what do you do?
Construct a paper whiteboard template,
indicating your group’s claim, evidence, &
justification.
Day 2:
Some Data Provided…
Day 3
Whiteboards & Carousel Review
Students will transfer the information on their
paper whiteboard templates to actual
whiteboards.
Students will communicate their claim,
evidence, and justification to other student
researchers during a carousel review.
Day 4
The Dust Bowl Informational
Text & Reflection
Students will read the supplementary
informational text, “The Dust Bowl” and answer
reflection questions 1 and 2 on the Dust Bowl
Reflection Questions and Some Just in Time
Teaching Student Worksheet in order to:
a) Discuss how human practices affected the
sustainability of wheat crops and contributed
to the Dust Bowl
b) Discuss how United States policy decisions
were shaped by lessons learned during the
Dust Bowl.
Day 5
Food Chain Gizmo Data Set, CEJ
Template, & Reflection Questions
Students will analyze the Food Chain Gizmo Data
Set to:
(a) determine how energy is transferred within an
energy pyramid
(b) apply how the Law of Conservation of Energy
applies to a living system
(c) how disease, a limiting factor, at each trophic
level impacts the food chain.
Students will apply their learning on the Dust Bowl
Reflection Sheet and discuss how the loss of
organisms at the first trophic level is devastating to
Day 6- Part 1
Finding the Right Mix of Carbs,
Proteins, & Fats Informational Text
Students will read the supplementary
informational text, “Finding the Right Mix of
Carbs, Proteins, and Fats,” to analyze their
resource management plan and determine
what nutritional deficits and health concerns
their Dust Bowl family might face.
Day 6- Part 2
Succession Diagrams, Great Plains
Photos, and Temperate Grasslands
Informational Text
Students will read the supplementary
informational text, “Succession Diagrams,
Photographs of United States Great Plains
During the Dust Bowl & Today, and Some
Interesting
Facts
About
Temperate
Grasslands,” to determine:
a) what type of succession occurred in the
United States Great Plains during the Dust
Bowl
b) what accounts for the discrepancy in the
climax community described in the diagrams
Day 7
Rabbit Population By Season
Gizmo Data Set, CEJ, & Reflection
Questions
Students will analyze the Rabbit Population
By Season Gizmo Data Set to:
(a)identify causes of seasonal variation in
rabbit population size
(b)determine which factor(s) determine the
ecosystem’s carrying capacity for rabbits
(c) discuss a scenario that might result in the
rabbits’ community to undergo secondary
succession.
Day 8
Dust Bowl Summative Assessment
Students will respond to the following writing
prompt:
Discuss how water acted as a limiting
factor in the United States Great Plains
during the Dust Bowl and how its
scarcity impacted the transfer of energy
through the trophic levels in this farm
food chain.