Reading Assignment:
The Grapes of Wrath
 Steven
M. Moore
 ED 629-01
 Dr. Helms
 Social Studies Lesson
Unit/Grade Level/Lesson
Unit: The Dustbowl Region of the
1930s in the United States
 Grade Level: Sixth or Seventh Grade
 Lesson: Reading of the Grapes of
Wrath with background information
on the Author and the setting.

Objectives


(Taken from p.40 of the
To analyze
different
perspectives on
the Dustbowl using
a variety of
sources
Organize historical
information in text
format and draw
own conclusions
ODE SS Standards)

Present a position
and support it with
evidence and
citation of sources

Work effectively in
a group
Web Sites for Information
on John Steinbeck



John Steinbeck Page
http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~
wsimkins/steinb.html
John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/joh
nstei.htm
Center for Steinbeck Studies
http://www2.sjsu.edu
/steinbeck/
Web Sites for Information
on the Dustbowl

1930’s Dustbowl
http://www.ptsi.net/user
/museum/dustbowl.html

National Drought
Mitigation Center
http://www.drought.unl.
edu/index.htm
Student Poster Activity


Create a poster
similar to that used in
the Grapes of Wrath
to recruit new
workers
The students should
work in groups to
maximize the use of
1930’s propaganda
Materials Needed





Posterboard
Markers/Color
Pencil to outline
Willingness to work
with your team
Needs to have a
picture, neat letters,
& proper grammar
Student Writing Activity



Students in a group of
four
Each student in a group
writes a fictional story
based in the Dustbowl
region
The papers must be
inter-related to each
other; i.e.: the
students move together
but show the story
from their point of
view.
Materials Needed



Spend 15 minutes in
your group
brainstorming the
fictional story
Each student writes the
brainstormed events
from their own point of
view
Students shall compare
stories to see how they
inter-connect
John Steinbeck
Life in California
John Steinbeck was
born on February 27,
1902 to John Ernst and
Olive Steinbeck.
He grew up at this
house in Salina,
California.
The Early Years
1919-1925- Attended classes at Stanford
University. Originally an English major, he
pursued his interests rather than following a
particular course of study. He dropped out
for several months to work at many different
jobs.
1925- Steinbeck left Stanford for good
without graduating.
Life in New York
November 1925- He left California to pursue a
writing career in New York. He worked at a
variety of jobs including construction work on
Madison Square Garden and reporting for the
New York American.
1926 -A lack of acceptance of his writing in New
York led Steinbeck to return to California.
Home to California
While back home in California, John
Steinbeck started writing a number of
novels about his childhood home of
Salina.
•1929 Cup of Gold-first novel
published
•1932 The Pastures of Heaven
•1933 To A God Unknown
The California Novels
•1935 Tortilla Flat - his first
popular success
•1936 In Dubious Battle
•1937 Of Mice and Men and
The Red Pony
•1938 The Long Valley
•1939 The Grapes of
Wrath - Steinbeck’s
greatest critical success
•1940 Films of
Of Mice and Men
and Grapes of
Wrath were released.
The Return to New York
After separating from his first wife,
Steinbeck moved to New York in
1941, publishing several more books
leading up to his death.
•1942 The Moon is Down
•1945 Cannery Row
•1947 The Wayward Bus and
The Pearl
•1950 Burning Bright
•1952 East of Eden
•1954 Sweet Thursday
•1961 The Winter of Our Discontent
Non-Fiction Writing
1938 Their Blood is Strong- about migrant labor problems
1941 Sea of Cortez- written with Edward Ricketts
1942 Bombs Away- World War II accounts
1943 War Correspondent for New York Herald Tribune
1948 A Russian Journal- story of his 1947 Russian trip
1952 The Log from the Sea of Cortez
1958 Once There was a War- 1943 war dispatches
1962 Travels With Charley- journal of 1960 tour of the US
Awards and Honors
1938 -The New York Drama
Critics Award for the play
version of Of Mice and Men
1940- The National Book
Award and The Pulitzer Prize
for The Grapes of Wrath
1962 - Awarded the Nobel Prize
for Literature
1964 - Presented with the United
States Medal of Freedom by
President Lyndon Johnson
The Nobel Prize
for Literature
“The ancient
commission of the
writer has not changed.
He is charged with
exposing our many
grievous faults and
failures, with dredging
up to the light our dark
and dangerous dreams
for the purpose of
improvement.”
Nobel Prize Acceptance
Speech 1962
The Dust Bowl
What was the Dust Bowl?
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted
about ten years affecting the
southern Plain States. Oklahoma,
Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico
were some of the most hardest hit
and devastated lands.
What Caused the Dust
Bowl?
The Dust Bowl was caused by poor
farming practices and years of
consistent drought.
Poor Farming Practices
Plains grasslands had been deeply
plowed and planted with wheat.
During the years when there was
plenty of rainfall, the lands produced
good crops. But as the droughts of
the early 1930s deepened, the
farmers kept plowing and planting
making the land very infertile for
new crops.
Clouded Terror!
The Plains winds
whipped across the
fields raising large
and thick clouds of
dust to the sky. The
sky could darken for
days. Even the most
well sealed homes
could have a thick
layer of dust on the
furniture. The dust
could be compared
to heavy drifting
snow.
Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie was a popular folk singer
in the 1930s through the 1940s. He
wrote songs that told stories about the
heartland of America. Guthrie was born
July 14, 1912, in Okema, Oklahoma. He
lived through the Dust Bowl, writing
songs to entertain the Dust Bowl
refugees he traveled with on the road.
In the 1940s, Guthrie recorded a series of
songs he called the Dust Bowl Ballads.
Here is an example of one of his
ballads, called Dust Bowl Blues
Dust Bowl Blues
By: Woody Guthrie
I just blowed in, and I got them
dust bowl blues, (repeat)
I just blowed in, and I’ll blow
back out again.
I guess you’ve heard about ev’ry
kind of blues, (repeat)
But when the dust gets high, you
can’t even see the sky.
I’ve seen the dust so black that I
couldn’t see a thing, (r.)
And the wind so cold, boy, it
nearly cut you water off.
I seen the wind so high that it
blowed my fences down,(r.)
Buried my tractor 6 feet
underground.
Well, it turned my farm into a
pile of sand, (r.)
I had to hit that road with a
bottle in my hand.
I spent ten years in that old dust
bowl, (r.)
When you get that dust
pneumony, boy, it’s time to
go.
I had a gal, and she was young
and sweet, (r.)
But a dust storm buried her 16
feet. (Continuing before song completes will end it)
Dust Bowl Blues (cont.)
She was a good gal, long, tall, and
stout, (r.)
I had to get a steam shovel just to
dig my darlin’ out.
These dust bowl blues are the
dustiest ones I know,
These dust bowl blues are the
dustiest ones I know,
Buried head over heels in the black
old dust, I had to pack up and go.
An’ I just blowed in, an’ I’ll soon
blow out again.
From: http://blueslyrics.tripod.com
Dust Bowl Refugees
Like the Joads, many
people tried to flee
the Plain States. Many
coming from Kansas,
Oklahoma, Texas,
New Mexico, Nevada,
and Arkansas moving
west to California.
There were many
homeless families
who went to look for
jobs.