U.S. History Lesson
Counteracting the Devastation of the Dust Bowl – Is that
Constitutional?
Subject /Grade: U.S. History & Government – 9th – 12th
Unit Title: The Great Depression
Lesson Title: Counteracting the Devastation of the Dust Bowl – Is that Constitutional?
Lesson Synopsis: This lesson well help students understand the personal hardships endured by
individuals affected by the Dust Bowl. Students will view brief video stories from Dust Bowl
survivors. The students will also analyze primary sources to initiate further research about the need
for government regulation during the Dust Bowl. They will also examine the Constitution to
determine if they feel the government’s policies were Constitutional. The student’s performance
indicator will be a visual timeline of the Dust Bowl.
Time Frame: Approximately one to two 50 minute class periods.
Content TEKS:
113.41. United States History Studies Since 1877 (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(2) History. The student understands traditional historical points of reference in U.S.
history from 1877 to the present. The student is expected to:
(D) explain the significance of the following years as turning points:… 1929
(the Great Depression begins). ..
(12) Geography. The student understands the impact of geographic factors on major
events. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze the impact of physical and human geographic factors on ….the
Dust Bowl…
(14) Geography. The student understands the relationship between population growth and
modernization on the physical environment. The student is expected to:
(A) identify the effects of population growth and distribution on the physical
environment;
(15) Economics. The student understands domestic and foreign issues related to U.S.
economic growth from the 1870s to 1920. The student is expected to:
(B) describe the changing relationship between the federal government and
private business, …
(16) Economics. The student understands significant economic developments between
World War I and World War II. The student is expected to:
(D) compare the New Deal policies and its opponents' approaches to resolving the
economic effects of the Great Depression;…
(19) Government. The student understands changes over time in the role of government.
The student is expected to:
(B) explain constitutional issues raised by federal government policy changes
during times of significant events, including … the Great Depression, …
(27) Science, technology, and society. The student understands the impact of science,
technology, and the free enterprise system on the economic development of the United
States. The student is expected to:
(B) explain how specific needs result in scientific discoveries and technological
innovations in agriculture, the military, and medicine, including vaccines; and
(29) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use
information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The
student is expected to:
(A) use a variety of both primary and secondary valid sources to acquire
information and to analyze and answer historical questions;
(B) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect
relationships, comparing and contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making
generalizations, making predictions, drawing inferences, and drawing conclusions;
(H) use appropriate skills to analyze and interpret social studies information such
as maps, graphs, presentations, speeches, lectures, and political cartoons.
30) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.
The student is expected to:
(A) create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information;
Related TEKS:
(20) Government. The student understands the changing relationships among the three
branches of the federal government. The student is expected to:
(B) evaluate the impact of relationships among the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government, including Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to increase the
number of U.S. Supreme Court justices …
Guided Questions for Key Understanding:
 What caused the Dust Bowl?
 How did it affect Americans?
 Is it the job of Government to alleviate poor Americans?
 What is the theory of Supply and Demand?
Vocabulary of Instruction:
*Domestic Tranquility
*General Welfare
AAA(Agricultural Adjustment Act) acronym
Shelter belts
*Blessings of Liberty
Supply and Demand
Roosevelt’s Alphabet Soup Soil Conservation
*as pertains to the Preamble of the Constitution
Materials/Resources
Video Clips
Dwight Birdsong - Unhappy people
Chaffin - Dust Pneumonia
Sowers -Feeding the Cattle
Enns – Selling Livestock
Enns – Cattle
Pulliam - Problems w/Erosion
Messer – Preventing It From Being So Dusty
Anticipatory Notes worksheet and answer sheet
Supply and Demand for Dummies information sheet
Questions for Wessels Living Farms worksheet and answer sheet
Wessels Living Farms information sheet
Dust Bowl Fields image
Strip tillage image
PBS TIMELINE Soil Erosion information sheet
Shelterbelt USDF image
THE DUST BOWL Beginning to End….? rubric
Hog Caller cartoon
Let Them Lie in Peace cartoon
Advanced Preparation: in order of use or distribution
Video projection equipment with sound for video clips
Video projection of the Preamble of the Constitution or copies for the students to examine
1 copy for each student of Anticipatory Notes and Anticipatory Notes answer for you
1 copy for every 3-4 students of Supply and Demand for Dummies
Video projection of website http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/crops_17.html
Or 1 copy for every 3-4 students of Wessels Living Farms
1 copy for every student Questions for Wessels Living Farm and Questions for….farm answers for
you
Projection of the images Dust Bowl Fields & Strip tillage
Or 1copy for every 3-4 students to examine
Video projection of website http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/dustbowl/
Or 1 copy for every 3-4 students of PBS TIMELINE Soil Erosion
Projection of the image Shelterbelt USDF
Or 1copy for every 3-4 students to examine
1 copy for every student THE DUST BOWL Beginning to End….?
Projection of one or both cartoons Hog Caller and or Let Them Lie in Peace
Instructional Procedure:
Focus:
 The teacher will pass out the Anticipatory Notes worksheet; one per student.
 Read the directions on the top of the worksheet aloud to the class. Be sure you have printed
the Anticipatory Notes Answers for yourself.
 Allow the students approx 5-7 min to Agree or Disagree with the statements by checking the
appropriate boxes within the worksheet.
 Have a class discussion about each statement allowing them to share their knowledge,
whether right or wrong.
Explain:
They will be looking at some brief videos of people recalling their memories of the Dust Bowl.
Each of these clips will have some pertinence to the questions on the Anticipatory Notes worksheet
so they will need to pay attention and possibly jot notes on the back of the worksheet.
 Introduce the first video clip (approx 34seconds) by explaining the Dust Bowl was one part
of The Great Depression. The man you will hear speaking talks about growing up around
depressed people. Begin video clip Dwight Birdsong - Unhappy people
 Introduce the next clips (the longest clip is 2min 39seconds) as segments that will address
why the people were unhappy. They will reveal the hardships experienced by these people.
Begin video clips in the following order:
Chaffin -Dust Pneumonia
Sowers -Feeding the Cattle
Carlson-Effects on Animals
Enns – Selling Livestock
Enns – Cattle
Explore:
 Discuss the issues that caused the people “unhappiness” in the videos.
o
Sickness, dying animals, no food for the animals
 Ask the students “Is it the job of the U.S. Government to make Americans happy?”
 Project or have copies available of the Preamble of the Constitution. The students are to
examine the Preamble, taking direct quotes from the Preamble and placing them within the
SUPPORTING DOCUMENT column of the Anticipatory Notes worksheet.
o
My suggestions are on the Anticipatory Notes answer
 Encourage the students to explore the meaning of the quotes they have recorded; realizing
they will all have different interpretations. Have dictionaries available or come up with your
own definition for phrases such as “domestic tranquility”.
Explain:
 They do not all have to AGREE with the first statement BUT the government did take it
upon itself to alleviate the suffering caused by the Dust Bowl.
o

Ask the students “What did the people in the clips mention that the government did to
their cattle?.... Why?” You may need to review the following clips:
Sowers -Feeding the Cattle
Carlson-Effects on Animals
Enns – Selling Livestock
Enns – Cattle
o

Be sure to reiterate the severity of the Depression issues and the Dust Bowl is just one portion of the
problems in the United States that the government will attempt to “fix”
Mr. Enns’ clips discuss the SURPLUS of cattle. Mrs. Sowers talks about canning the meat whereas
Mr. Enns talks about burying the meat while people in town were starving. Contradictory…. Such is
life. But explain different areas did different things and at different times.
Discuss the 2nd & 3rd statement on the Anticipatory Statements worksheet.
o
Encourage them to write notes from the clips within the SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS column of the
worksheet.
Explore:
 Encourage students to group with 2 or 3 other students for the following exploration of the
definition of Supply and Demand
 Pass out the information sheet Supply and Demand for Dummies (1 copy for each group of 3-4
students)
o


After they have read the information sheet, have each group come up with their own scenario of
Supply and Demand. They can either write it on a piece of paper or deliver it orally.
Pass out the Questions for Wessels Living Farm document (1 copy for each student).
o

Please feel free to omit this information sheet and have your own discussion that defines Supply and
Demand.
Please have the Questions for Wessels Living Farm answers document available for you.
Student will now look at the government implementation of Supply and Demand policies by
examining the following web page that will allow them to complete the Questions for Wessels
Living Farm worksheet.
o http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/crops_17.html

with the owners permission I have copied this page as Wessels Living History Farm and included
it as an attachment under the MATERIALS/RESOURCES section of this lesson plan in case
internet is not available

Discuss their answers and encourage them to add quotes to the Anticipatory Statements
worksheet.
Explain:
 Introduce the last two clips by explaining they will discuss another form of legislation,
preserving the soil. Please explain to the students there were hundreds of programs offering
relief and reform, but this portion of the lesson will focus on the reform issue of soil
conservation and shelter belts. Begin video clip Pulliam - Problems w/Erosion
o

While viewing clip have the students write down the type of equipment that caused the Dust Bowl on their
Anticipatory Statements worksheet under the 5th statement
Project or pass out images Dust Bowl Fields and Strip Tillage
o
Call on students to discuss the difference in the four images.
Explore:
 Discuss Soil Conservation by examining the following PBS Timeline.
o http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/dustbowl/

focus on the dates 1931, 1934 Dec, 1935 April 27
 with the owners permission I have copied the above sections as PBS TIMELINE Soil
erosion and included it as an attachment under the MATERIALS/RESOURCES section
of this lesson plan in case the internet is not available.
o Discuss the numbers within the document to make them real – example 35 million acres
is approximately the size of Florida or Wisconsin; 100 million acres would be those two
states combined plus some! That is A LOT of soil.
o Discuss the “alphabet soup” acronym on the page

o
SCS Soil Conservation Service
Add additional quotes to the Anticipatory Statements for the 5th statement
Explain:
 Inform the students along with farming techniques like strip tillage the government also
introduced shelterbelts to secure the soil. View the last segment in which shelterbelts are
discussed.
o Begin video clip Messer – Preventing It From Being So Dusty
Explore:
 Project or pass out the image Shelterbelt USDF
o Call on students to evaluate the image.
o Students should add documentation to their final statement of the Anticipatory Statement
worksheet with information garnered from the Shelterbelt USDF image.
Evaluate:
 Collect each student’s Anticipatory Statement worksheet and Questions for Wessels Living Farm
worksheet. You could give a grade for these and use the material for a formal assessment.
Performance Indicator:
 Create a visual timeline utilizing the rubric THE DUST BOWL Beginning to End….?
Closure:
 Project the Hog Caller cartoon and or the Let Them Lie in Peace cartoon and have the students
to discuss the images. Are the images negative or positive toward government policy?