Introduction to Out of the Dust What was the Dust Bowl?

Farms in the West before the Dust Bowl

Japanese farmer in California (not the Great Plains)

How are these pictures similar to the farms you drew How are these pictures similar to the farms you drew? What kinds of words could we use to describe our farms?

What is the Dust Bowl? The Dust Bowl refers to the southern Great Plains of the United States, where dust storms swept across the land during the 1930's What states do you think were affected? Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma

The Great Plains

When people decided to “move west,” they settled in the Great Plains where land was plentiful. The plains were productive when there was plenty of rainfall. But they were also subject to serious drought and bitter winters. A problem with living in the Great Plains: shallow root systems of the new crops made the land vulnerable to the blowing wind. Erosion was made worse by the churning of tractors and plows that loosened the soil and inadequate soil-conservation practices.

The region received the name, the Dust Bowl, after a large dust storm, known as a black blizzard, struck the area on April 14, 1935. This led to a cycle of dry weather, drought conditions and continued dust storms. Can you believe all of this happened at the same time as the Great Depression?

Characteristics of the Dust Bowl During the worst storms, the dust drifted like snow. It halted road and railway travel and made breathing difficult. Work crews sometimes shoveled the railway tracks clear of drifted dust so the trains could pass. Residents sealed windows with tape or putty and hung wet sheets in front of windows to filter the air. Others spread sheets over their furniture, wedged rags under doors, and covered keyholes to keep the dirt out of their homes. Electric lights dimmed to a faint glow along streets during the day. Poor visibility made travel hazardous during a dust storm, as soil drifted across highways and railroad tracks. Some storms sifted dust on ships far out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Let’s look at the farms of the Great Plains AFTER the “black blizzard” and during the Dust Bowl Era.

How are these pictures different from the farms that you drew How are these pictures different from the farms that you drew? What are some descriptive words you could use to describe these scenes?

What do you think happened to the farms when it did rain?

Who lives on these farms? What do you think they look like?

A photographer named Dorothea Lange took a very famous series of photographs of migrant farm workers. What does it mean to migrate or to be a migrant?

This woman is considered “the face” of the Dust Bowl. How old do you think she looks? How do you think she’s feeling about her life and the life of her seven children?

Think about the people in these photographs Think about the people in these photographs? What are some words you could use to describe: 1. their appearance 2. their emotions 3. their feelings about the future

The End of the Dust Bowl In the early 1940's, normal precipitation returned to the southern Great Plains. Crops, grass, and weeds covered much of the land and protected it from blowing with the wind. The dust storms of the 1930's forced farmers and the federal government to use all the technical expertise and financial resources they could command to bring the wind erosion problem under control. The lives of the men, women, and children who lived on the southern Great Plains during the 1930's would be forever marked by the drought and dust that gave the region the name Dust Bowl.

Out of the Dust Written by Karen Hesse Won the Newbery Medal in 1997 It has also won the following awards: Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Booklist Editor’s Choice Booklinks Best Book of the Year New York Public Library 100 Titles of Reading and Sharing Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction And many more!

Out of the Dust This is a novel written in verse which means it looks and reads like poetry! When you listen to the book I want you to think about this phrase: less is more. It’s amazing how clearly the author makes her point in so few words!

Out of the Dust: Themes While we read the book, I want you to focus on the following themes: Dryness/drought Death/Rebirth Survival Family relationships Music Label your comp book with these themes and mark them with a paper clip.

All text about the Dust Bowl is from: Hurt, R. Douglas. "Dust Bowl." The New Book of Knowledge®. 2007. Grolier Online. 5 May 2007 <http://nbk.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=a2041571-h>.