U.S. National Archive

"And then the dispossessed were drawn west- from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and
Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Car-loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand
and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. They streamed over the mountains, hungry
and restless - restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do - to lift, to push, to pull, to pick, to cut - anything, any
burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We got no place to live. Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and
most of all for land."
                                                                                                        - John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, 1939
 
 

Back in Nineteen Twenty-Seven,
       I had a little farm and I called that heaven.
       Well, the prices up and the rain come down,
       And I hauled my crops all into town --
       I got the money, bought clothes and groceries,
       Fed the kids, and raised a family.

       Rain quit and the wind got high,
       And the black ol' dust storm filled the sky.
       And I swapped my farm for a Ford machine,
       And I poured it full of this gas-i-line --
       And I started, rockin' an' a-rollin',
       Over the mountains, out towards the old Peach Bowl.        - Woodie Guthrie

As the wind howls through your farmyard in Kansas, you see a huge cloud of dust off in the horizon. You heard of similar cases from relatives in other parts of the Plains but you never thought it would affect you. You see your crops drying up, the intense heat of the sun with no rain in sight, and the enormous dust storms that seem to get worse and worse as each day goes by. You and your family wonder what's happening. Where is the rain? What are we going to do?

Welcome to the Travels Through Time Webquest series created to offer you an in depth look at an important event in U.S. History. In this particular WebQuest you will look at a very challenging and troublesome time- THE DUST BOWL.

U.S. National Archive

• You have been assigned the task of creating a journal for a fictional family who lived through the Dust Bowl. This Journal must include the following items:
• A journal that has a creative cover depicting a scene, either drawn or cut, which best sums up the Dust Bowl in your own opinion.
• A journal that has at least five creative entries that discuss aspects of the Dust Bowl.
• Each entry must be dated, and contain relevant facts gathered through the use of this WebQuest such as time, place, location, and conditions that you and your family experienced.
•  You must follow the guiding questions that go along with the different topics that are offered in this webquest. These questions must also be handed in complete with the Journal.

Follow the "guiding questions" below to complete your task. Search through the websites listed below to create your journal entries. Remember to write out all questions and answer them. Your responses to these questions must be handed in with your finished journal.
 

A.) WHEN DID THE DUST BOWL START?

1.) What year did the Dust Bowl conditions start to impact the United States?
 

2.) Examine the timeline of events and list, in your opinion, the three most important events of the Dust Bowl.

1.) What states, counties and towns were impacted by the Dust Bowl?
 

2.) Out of all the possible States that could have been impacted, why is it that these States were the ones that experienced the most damage during the Dust Bowl?
 

3.) How does geography play a part in the areas that were effected and those that weren't? What common characteristics do you see in areas that were impacted and those that weren't?

1.) What are three reasons why the Dust Bowl occurred?
 

2.) Create a graphic organizer with "DUST BOWL" in the middle circle and list three reasons in smaller circles around the center. Include this chart with the other materials you hand in.

1.) What groups of people did the Dust Bowl affect the most?

2.) How were children affected by the Dust Bowl?

5.) Examine the picture below and respond to the following questions:
 

  A.) What do you see in this picture?        B.) What impact did the storm have on these people?
 

Now examine the pictures at this website: More about the Dust Bowl

1.) Name three ways that people dealt with the Dust Bowl.

2.) What were some of the consequences of the Dust Bowl? (Good and Bad)

3.) How did the Dust Bowl help to transform the lives of Americans living in the regions that were effected?

4.) What steps can be taken to avoid another Dust Bowl from occurring?

More interesting facts can be found at the following sites:

ABOUT YOUR JOURNAL ENTRIES!!!

-Your first journal entry must explain some general facts about yourself and your fictional family. These facts must include your fictional name, number of family members, occupation, location and any other relevant information you wish to include.

- Each journal entry must be at least one paragraph in length and be in a "letter" form. (example: Dear John or Joann)

Also include:

A.) Concerns you have and those of your fellow family members.

B.) Reactions to the Dust Bowl.

C.) How you and your family are dealing with the Dust Bowl and how the Dust     Bowl impacts your daily life.

D.) Some facts and figures about the Dust Bowl used within your journal entries.
 

GRADING RUBRIC FOR YOUR JOURNAL
 

CONCLUSION

Congratulations!! You have completed the Dust Bowl Webquest!!! In parting, remember that the Dust Bowl was a very trying time in American History. Many people lost not only their land but their lives. New and innovative farming techniques have helped to avoid future Dust Bowls, but always remember those who were not so fortunate such as the poor souls who lost their lives during the Dust Bowl of the 1930's and 1940's.
 

TEACHER RESOURCES

Here are some other sites that can be used for classroom instruction on the Dust Bowl:
 
 

Pictures from U.S. National Archive

Pictures also from:
Source: Frank N. Magill, Great Events from History, American Series, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1975.

Quotations from:

Woodie Guthrie

Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck