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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dust In The Distance

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students are introduced to the events of the Dust Bowl. Using a map, they locate and label all of the states surrounding and including Oklahoma. After also labeling the counties in Oklahoma, they use the internet to research the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dirty Thirties: The Dust Bowl

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the events and reactions surrounding the Dust Bowl crisis during the 1930's. They discuss how the events of the Great Depression affected America's democracy and how it transformed America.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out of the Dust

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders read a book of poems called "Out of the Dust". In groups, they research the Dust Bowl and how it affected people living through the Great Depression. Using the text, they identify the theme and key turning points and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dust Bowl and the Ogallala Aquifer

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students research the characteristics of the Great Plains as an agricultural area. They examine farming techniques from the past and how those farming techniques are used today. They investigate the present uses of the Ogallala Aquifer.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visions in the Dust: A Child's Perspective of the Dust Bowl

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine primary source material of the Depression to correlate the fictional text "Out of the Dust" with actual visual, auditory, and manuscript accounts as found in the American Memory collections.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explain that a person's experiences influence their life, write a time line of their life, and analyze Dorothea's photographs and list descriptive words.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dust Bowl

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students discover the causes of droughts. In this Dust Bowl lesson, students follow the provided steps to complete a hands-on activity that demonstrates drought conditions. Students write summaries about the Dust Bowl.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out of the Dust -- Part II

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discover that literature can be a great way to gather information about the past. Using various types of text, they research its historical data and determine if it is correct. They write two papers to respond to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arkansas and the Dust Bowl

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Learners access and use the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information, American Memory collection and Todd and Sonkin collection for research. They develop research skills and strategies, such as key word searches to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to a Unit on the 1930's Depression in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners view and discuss photographic images of the Dust Bowl by Dorothea Lange. They discuss who Dorothea Lange was and why she took the pictures, the conservational factors that contributed to the Dust Bowl and migrant workers and the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate/Dust Bowl

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students read the novel " Out of the Dust" and identify environmental issues. They select one of those issues to research and create a slideshow explaining their research and present it to the class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impact of the Dust Bowl as Shown Through Photography

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine and discuss photographs and paintings of the Dust Bowl era. They write a journal entry describing what it would be like if they stepped into one of the photographs, and create a Powerpoint presentation on the Dust...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impact of the Great Depression on Texas

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine and discuss photographs taken during the Great Depression and the impact of the Great Depression on the U.S. They write research reports and create a mural depicting the lives of rural and urban families in the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Research Lesson on the Dust Bowl

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders connect art (photographs) to the historical period and conjecture about conditions during this era in American history, sharing ideas in class discussion. Each student completes a project on a period depicted in one of...
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Great Depression and the 1990s

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site includes a unit about the Great Depression. Students will create a creative writing based on Dorothea Lange's 1936 "Migrant Mother" photograph. They will also write a position paper on the United States' current welfare issue....
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Dust Bowl Days

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Seven-instructional activity collection of lessons and suggested activities for instructing early learners about the Dust Bowl using a variety of primary sources (songs, letters, photos, etc.).
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Primary
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: A Photo Essay on the Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
Series of annotated photographs that document the realities of Depression-era America.
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Primary
Calisphere: University of California Libraries

University of California: Calisphere: Great Depression: Dust Bowl Migration

For Students 9th - 10th
Primary source photos showing the devastation of the Dust Bowl and refugee migration to California.
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Activity
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Riding the Rails: Timeline of the Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
This timeline of the Depression begins in October of 1929 and highlights significant statistics or events, sometimes month by month, through November of 1940 when Roosevelt is re-elected for his third term. From bank collapses to dust...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Texas Council on Economic Education:texas Economics Eras & Individuals [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
A 10-lesson, 83-page unit targeting Grades 4 and 7. Lessons cover various eras in the history of Texas, including boom and bust towns; the eras dominated by cattle, fences along the frontier, cotton, and oil; the Dust Bowl and the Great...
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Unit Plan
Other

The Weekly South Dakotan: South Dakota History for 4th Grade

For Students 3rd - 8th
From the very beginning and through the twentieth century, this comprehensive collection of lessons will enrich students studying the history in between and the effects on South Dakota.
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Website
Other

Kingwood Library: American Cultural History: 1930 1939

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent website offering information about life in the 1930s. Learn about art, literature, books, literature, fashion, people, music, education, and radio of the era of the Depression and the New Deal.
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Handout
Texas A&M University

Ocean World: The Dust Bowl and Aftermath

For Students 9th - 10th
Description of the Dust Bowl from a geological and climatological perspective and the human impact on these processes. Includes maps, photos, references, and links to related material.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Esc 20: How Did Weather Change the Lives of Thousands of Texans? [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this lesson unit, students learn about how the Great Hurricane of 1900 and the Dust Bowl in the 1930s affected Texas, then research a major weather event for a project.