Dust Bowl Days

On the fourteenth day of April of nineteen thirty five,
There struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky:
You could see that dust storm coming, the cloud looked deathlike black,
And through our mighty nation, it left a dreadful track...
This storm took place at sundown and lasted through the night,
When we looked out this morning we saw a terrible sight:
We saw outside our windows where wheat fields they had grown
Was now a rippling ocean of dust the wind had blown.
It covered up our fences, it covered up our barns,
It covered up our tractors in this wild and windy storm.
We loaded our jalopies and piled our families in,
We rattled down the highway to never come back again.

— Woody Guthrie (1912-1967)
From "Dust Storm Disaster"

If you were the speaker in the poem, how would you feel and what would you do?

INTRODUCTION:

Of Mice and Men is a fictional novel based on the real life problems of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression. Many of these people were victims of a disabling drought which turned the western states into a “Dust Bowl.” Your job as a public policy analyst is to identify the problems of these people, describe the conditions they had to live under and discuss possible solutions to these problems.

TASK:

Using the six step PPA Analyst, each student will skim the hyperlinked articles and select an article of special interest. From your article you will produce a report that

1. Includes a short summary of the article. Be sure to identify the way in which the article deals with the problems of farmers in the dust bowl region.

2. Include six completed worksheets that are hyperlinked below.

3. Use your research to include some of the choices these farmers were forced to make.

4. Describe some possible remedies the government could offer to these farmers.

5. Present your findings in a written report.

PROCESS :

You will work in groups of three. Each member of the group will present a one page summary of the article of his/her choice. Group members will discuss their articles with one another and describe the situation faced by the farmers during the dust bowl days. By brainstorming, each group will develop three possible options that the government could offer. Each group member will be responsible for presenting his/her findings in a written report.

a. TIPS Worksheet 1 (Define the problem)

b. TIPS Worksheet 2 (Gather evidence of the problem)

c. TIPS Worksheet 3 (Identify causes of the problem)

d. TIPS Worksheet 4 (Evaluate existing public policy solutions)

e. TIPS Worksheet 5 (Develop original public policy solutions)

f. TIPS Worksheet 6 (Choose the best solution)

RESOURCES:

http://www.usd.edu/anth/epa/dust.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/sfeature/index.html

dust bowl

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/sfeature/index.html

http://www.humanities-interactive.org/texas/dustbowl/

EVALUATION:

You will be evaluated according to the following rubric:

CONTENT: UNITY
A. Develops a main idea and accurately addresses all six steps of Public Policy Analyst	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
B. Contains necessary and relevant ideas about the social problem of prejudice.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
ORGANIZATION:
C. Is organized on a logical and sensible manner	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
D. Uses transitions effectively to connect ideas.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
LANGUAGE:
E. Uses language appropriate to the audience and occasion.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
F. Uses vivid, precise, nouns and verbs, and modifiers.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
CONVENTIONS:
G. Avoids spelling errors.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
H. Avoids grammar errors.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
I. Avoids usage errors.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
J. Avoids punctuation and capitalization errors	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
K. Avoids errors in manuscript form.	1 2 3 4	x 4=___
1=needs substantial improvement 2=needs improvement 3=good 4=outstanding

The following Standards are addressed by this WebQuest:

ELA STANDARD 1

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

ELA STANDARD 2

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

Students will read and listen to oral, written and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS

Analyze the development of American culture, explaining how ideas, values, beliefs, and traditions have changed over time and how they unite all Americans

Describe the evolution of American democratic values and beliefs as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State Constitution, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents

CONCLUSION:

You have discussed the problems of the farmers during the dust bowl period. You have used the public policy analyst to identify the causes of this problem and have worked in groups to develop solutions to these problems.