SUBJECT/GRADE : US History/4 th
– 7 th
Unit Title : Dust Bowl
Lesson Title: Life in the Dust Bowl
Approximate Timeframe : 3 class periods
Lesson Synopsis:
This lesson will explore the experiences faced by those who lived in the area affected by the
Dust Bowl. Students will use a variety of primary sources (visual, audio, and print) to learn the hardships faced by those who persevered through the Dust Bowl. Students will then use the resources to evaluate statements about life in the Dust Bowl and finally write a letter in response to the one they have received from a cousin who has little understanding of how the Dust Bowl affected life from day to day.
Content TEKS
4.5 (A) identify the impact of various issues and events on life in Texas such as …the Great
Depression, the Dust Bowl
5.5 (A) analyze various issues and events of the 20th century such as … the Great Depression,
5.9 (B) analyze the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the environment in the United States, past and present.
7.7 (E) analyze the political, economic, and social impact of major events, including …the Great
Depression, … on the history of Texas;
7.9 (C) analyze the effects of physical and human factors such as climate, weather, landforms, irrigation, transportation, and communication on major events in Texas.
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7.10 (A) identify ways in which Texans have adapted to and modified the environment and analyze the positive and negative consequences of the modifications; and
7.10 (B) explain ways in which geographic factors such as …, the Dust Bowl, limited water resources, and … have affected the political, economic, and social development of Texas.

Related TEKS
4.21 (A) differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as … interviews; …; oral, print, and visual material; …to acquire information about the United States and Texas;
(B) analyze information by …, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations, …, and drawing inferences and conclusions;
4.22 (A) use social studies terminology correctly;
4.22 (B) incorporate main and supporting ideas in … written communication;
4.22 (D) create written… material such as journal entries, reports, graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies;
4.22 (E) use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation.
5.24 (A) differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as … interviews; …; oral, print, and visual material; …. to acquire information about the United
States;
5.24 (B) analyze information by …, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations … and drawing inferences and conclusions;
5.25 (A) use social studies terminology correctly;
5.25 (B) incorporate main and supporting ideas in … written communication;
5.25 (D) create written …material such as journal entries, reports, graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies;
5.25 (E) use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation.
7.21 (A) differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as …, media and news services, …, interviews, … to acquire information about Texas;
7.21 (B) analyze information by …, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions;
7.21 (D) identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference that influenced the participants;
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7.21 (E) support a point of view on a social studies issue or event;
7.22 (A) use social studies terminology correctly;
7.22 (B) use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, and proper citation of sources;
7.22 (C) transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate; and
7.22 (D) create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information.
KEY VOCABULARY
Interview vocabulary: oil lamp blacksmith
Newspaper vocabulary: merchant literary “drouth” pulverized
Photograph vocabulary: drought irrigation windbreak cultivating mechanized
RESOURCES

Primary Sources

Audio interviews and computer
 newspaper articles
 photographs
 Woody Guthrie song “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You” and slideshow

Handouts

Interview and newspaper note and reflection forms
 “Can you prove it” statements

Letter from a relative
ENGAGE – 2 options
 option 1

Have students use the Think-Pair-Share process to answer the following question:
What is the most irritating thing about living in your hometown? o The Think-Pair-Share process calls for a student to first think on their own, second pair up and tell their ideas to a classmate, and finally to share with the whole class.
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
Compile answers on the board or a large piece of paper as one portion of a T-chart.

Next, use the Think-Pair-Share process to answer the following question:
What is the best thing about your hometown?

Compile the answers on the T-chart as well. o Do the responses tend to agree or disagree? o Can you create categories for the responses such as entertainment, environment, location, etc.? o Geographers call these push/pull factors. They either push people away from the town or pull them to move there. Which seems to be stronger in the class responses for their hometown, push or pull?
 Let’s act like historians to learn what kind of life people lived in the Dust Bowl and which of the push/pull factors was strongest.
 option 2

You will play the video found on TeacherTube at the following URL. It lasts 2:11: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=The_Dust_Bowl&video_id=22386

The video consists of a slideshow of various Dust Bowl photos set to the music of Woody
Guthrie singing “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You.”

After viewing ask the students these questions (multiple viewings may be necessary) o What is the main idea of the song? o Why are people saying “So long” in the song? o What do people do during dust storms? o Where do these people who are leaving seem to be going? o What is the connection between the song and the photos? o What questions does this video bring up in your mind? How will you answer those questions?
 Let’s act like historians to discover for ourselves just what life was like in the Dust Bowl.

EXPLORE
The students will investigate the experiences of both those who remained and left the area. The investigation involves audio, visual, and print resources. Each resource will help the students understand the mindset of the people. The audio resources come in the form of interviews with people who participated in the PBS program, or from the files found on the Library of Congress website. The visual resources will need to be copied and displayed.
The information gathered from the resources will go onto note pages where the students will find questions for each source.
 Audio resources –

Audio resources – Students will listen to the testimony of some people who lived through the Dust Bowl . They will then respond to questions on each resource. The teacher may set up listening stations at various computers or play them for everyone to hear at once.

Resources on staying in the Dust Bowl from KACV interviews – links are listed in the resources section (p. 16)
Stagner – Dust Bowl Memories, video length 2:48 (from Dimmitt)
Miller – Dealing with Dirt, video length 1:46
Lyles – Dust Storm, video length 3:21 (from Channing)
Nobel - Avoiding the Dust, video length 1:26
Enns – Cattle, video length 0:47
Tomverling- Dust Bowl, video length :52 from Progressive)

Print resources – Students will read and respond to newspaper articles that reveal the affects of the Dust Bowl on everyday life. o Miami Daily News o Tulia Herald o Canadian Record

Visual resources – Students will use photos to infer the effects of the Dust Bowl as well as the experiences of those who left the region affected by the Dust Bowl. The photos might be hung like posters around the room or placed in stacks for groups of students to work with.
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EXPLAIN
Guide a discussion of the reflection portions of the notes. Ask students to vocalize what they have learned about what the people had to endure and how they adapted. Finally have them write down their ideas in the reflection notes.
ELABORATE
“Can you prove it?”
Students will use the ten photographs to either prove or disprove several statements pertaining to life in the Dust Bowl.

Organize students into small groups

Provide each group with copies of the 10 photographs and a copy of the statements.

After deciding whether each statement is true or false, direct them to cut them apart and glue them onto a T-chart labeled “True about the Dust Bowl” and “False statement about the Dust Bowl.”
EVALUATE
Students will write a letter in response to one they “receive” from a relative in Miami, Florida who has read the same newspaper article students saw earlier. The letter should answer each question asked by the relative and include examples from their research to explain their answers.
Standard English and letter writing form are expected.
. interview and newspaper note and reflection forms below
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Earl Stagner Dust Bowl Memories time- 2:48
Tough things he went through Did he persevere or give up in the Dust Bowl?
My proof:
Genevieve Miller Dealing With Dirt time- 1:46
How did the dust get into houses?
What effects did dust have on her life?
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Grace Lyles Dust Storm time- 3:21
How does she describe the look, size, effects, and length of a dust storm?
In what ways did the dust affect day to day life?
Does she think you can fully understand the experience of living through the Dust Bowl? Why or why not?
Nobel Avoiding the Dust time:-1:26
How did the dust affect life at night and at school?
What does this tell you about the air inside the classroom?
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Norma Tomverlin Dust Bowl time- 0:52
How did she take shelter from a dust storm while going home from school?
Reflection Using what you have heard, in what ways did the people have to change their lives to live with the dust?

Newspaper resource Notes
Miami Daily News: two stories
How did they react to a rainstorm?
What did they do to try to make it rain? Did it work?
What do you think was the purpose of the “Last Man Club?”
Tulia Herald:
What words did the paper use to describe the dust storms of that week?
Did the dust storms affect rodeo attendance?
Canadian Record:
What is the main idea of the article?
How did the dust storms affect these events?
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Reflection on Newspaper sources
In what ways did people react to the dust storms?
Do these articles show the people giving in or fighting back against the dust? What did they say that helps you reach that decision?

Elaboration Exercise
Can you prove it?
For each statement use one of the photographs to prove it as True or False. Record the number or numbers of the photos you use as proof for each statement.
True or
False
Photograph number or numbers statement
All roads were paved.
People had electricity in their homes.
Farmers could get no plants to grow.
Homes were painted.
The dirt piled up only about three feet high.
People kept large herds of cattle.
Water was available.
Only farms were affected by the Dust Bowl.
Lumber could be easily bought.
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True or
False
Photograph number or numbers statement
Fences could be covered by sand.
People stayed indoors all the time.
Farms were small.
Tractors were used by everyone.
Very little vegetation remained on the land.
Windmills were in use.
Some farms were abandoned.
Children worked alongside parents.
The wind blew hard.

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True or
False
Photograph number or numbers statement
Everyone owned a car or truck.
There was some success in getting crops to grow.
People carried on with daily life like we do.
Attempts were made to block the wind from gardens.
Irrigation was attempted.
Dust blew in the air every day.
In the spaces below write your own statements. Be sure to mark
True or False and the photo that proves it.

KACV interview links
Stagner – Dust Bowl Memories, video length 2:48 (from Dimmitt)
Miller – Dealing with Dirt, video length 1:46
Lyles – Dust Storm, video length 3:21 (from Channing)
Nobel - Avoiding the Dust, video length 1:26
Enns – Cattle, video length 0:47
Tomverling- Dust Bowl, video length :52 from Progressive)
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The Tulia Herald April 11, 1935
Engleman & Engleman, editor.
The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex),
Vol. 26, No. 15, Ed. 1, Thursday,
April 11, 1935, Newspaper, April
11, 1935; digital images,
(http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67
531/metapth45812/ : accessed June
19, 2012), University of North
Texas Libraries, The Portal to
Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Swisher County Library ,
Tulia, Texas.
Rodeo Attracts Big Crowds Saturday
Last Saturday was one of the worst days imaginable for any outdoor attractions because of the severe dust storm, but this did not prevent hundreds of visitors from coming to town to see the boys and men ride the wild horses, cattle, and buffaloes, and watch the men lasso and tie the elusive calves.
The Free Rodeo is becoming widely known all over the Panhandle, and riders and ropers from far away towns are present every Saturday. The opinion of those boys is that we have some animals that are pretty tough to ride.
This is an attraction that one never tires of seeing and visitors are heard to express their appreciation of the efforts of Tulia merchants to entertain visitors to their town.
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Merchants are glad to offer this method of entertainment, and want every visitor to talk the Free Rodeo with their neighbor and invite them to see the big show every Saturday.

The Canadian Record April 4, 1935
Noble, Joseph M., editor. The
Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.),
Vol. 45, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday,
April 4, 1935, Newspaper, April 4,
1935; digital images,
(http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67
531/metapth125904/ : accessed
June 19, 2012), University of
North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County
Library, Canadian, Texas. link to Miami Daily News http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19350501&id=Ti4uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lNU
FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6450,6761870
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 1
Dust storm. Note heavy metal signs blown out by wind. Amarillo, Texas.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b27000/8b27500/8b27557v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 2
Autos have to turn on lights to penetrate gloom of dust storm. Amarillo, Texas.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b38000/8b38200/8b38289v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 3
Abandoned farm in the dust bowl area. Oklahoma.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b38000/8b38200/8b38292v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 4
Dust bowl farmer raising fence to keep it from being buried under drifting sand. Cimarron
County, Oklahoma.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b38000/8b38200/8b38287v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 5
Dumas, Texas. Dust blowing on main street.
Vachon, John, 1914-1975, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8d09000/8d09900/8d09994v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 6
Fighting the drought and dust with irrigation. Cimarron County, Oklahoma.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b38000/8b38300/8b38306v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 7
This farmer took the roof off his barn to make a windbreak for his garden. There was no rain. Cimarron County, Oklahoma.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b27000/8b27500/8b27551v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 8
Sand piled up in front of outhouse on farm. Cimarron County, Oklahoma.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b38000/8b38300/8b38341v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 9
Fighting sand. Childress County, Texas Panhandle. Cultivating weedless cotton fields in
Great Plains to break crust and prevent blowing sand from cutting young cotton plants.
Lange, Dorothea, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b32000/8b32400/8b32415v.jpg
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Experience of the Dust Bowl photo # 10
Young cotton growing in mechanized field. Hall County, Texas. Anyone who inspects one of these giant mechanized farms must realize that it foreshadows a fundamental change in
American agriculture.
Lange, Dorothea, photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b32000/8b32400/8b32433v.jpg
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Dear Cousin,
Things are going well here in Miami. Florida. We have had good weather and my job is going well, but I keep hearing strange news from your part of the country.
Newspaper articles I have been reading describe the problems with dust and drought as being quite serious. I saw in the Miami Daily News the other day where people went crazy running out into the streets just because of some rain. The story just under it talked about people setting off bombs to make it rain. I can’t imagine it being so dry that folks try such unusual things just to get some rain. You must be living through some hard times. What is a dust storm like? How long does it last?
It must be hard to wait through one of those things. What do you have to do to survive in the dust if you get caught outside? When a dust storm is over what do you do? It can’t be all that bad. I suppose you just have to dust the furniture a bit more than normal. What has happened to the land? The last time I came out there to visit green grass and fields full of green plants could be seen for miles. Baseball season has begun around here. I play third base. Do you guys play sports, ride bikes, go swimming, and hang out with friends all day? A little dust can’t have changed life all that much. I look forward to hearing from and getting some answers to my questions. Enjoy your day.
Yours truly,
Cousin Terry
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