Hesse, Karen. (1997). Out of the Dust. NY: Scholastic. Geography: Creating a Dust Bowl Map Writing Connection: Writing powerful descriptive settings Art Connection: Gallery Show “Out of the Dust” Music Connection: Informational Text from Folk Songs Positive Character Traits & Values: empathy, generosity, self-worth, and self-preservation Author Karen Hesse uses powerful descriptive language in free verse poems to give the reader a strong impression about living in the dust bowl in the early 1930’s. The main character, Billie Jo paints a vivid picture of her childhood growing up in The reading / social studies connection involves students reading and choosing the 6 most important facts from a non-fiction informational article about the dust bowl. Individually, students will search a minimum of 4 web based articles choosing one article to analyze. Allow students to print the article for this reading strategy. Next, using highlighters, students find the 6 most important facts in the article. Then, the teacher divides students together in small groups based on common articles. Within the group, students discuss their 6 most important facts and why these facts are important. As a group, students find consensus in agreeing on the master list of the 6 important facts. The facts are recorded on large chart paper. Lastly, the small groups share their 6 most important facts with the whole class. Here is a list of non-fiction web based informational articles for students to explore: “The Drought” http://pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/peopleevents/pandeAMEX06.html “Economy, Farming, Storms” http://www.ptsi.net/user/museum/dustbowl.html “Hard Times” Interview and article + explore “Farm Life” (click on at bottom of page) www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/farminginthe1930s.html “Dust Bowl of Oklahoma” + click more stories to read about “ www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/ok/dustbowl_1 “What caused the Dust Bowl?” + view video clip of “Jet Stream” http://weather.about.com/od/weatherfaqs/f/dustbowl.html “Dust Bowl” + click and read “Wind Tunnel” http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/fieldday/kids/wind/dust_bowl.htm “What was the Dust Bowl?” + “Routine Dust Storms on the Sothern and Central Plains” http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Cunfer.DustBowl (recommended for accelerated readers) “The Dust Bowl” http://www.usd.edu/anth/epa/dust.html + see also “Dust Bowl” http://en.allexperts.com/e/d/du/dust_bowl.htm “NASA explains Dust Bowl Drought” http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2004/0319dustbowl.html Geography mapping is a fun way for students to connect information learned about the Dust Bowl through the 6 Important Facts with the actual location of this event. In “Creating a Dust Bowl Map,” Carol Schlenk designed a student activity focusing on the 5 states of the Dust Bowl region including http://www.humanities-interactive.org/texas/dustbowl/student_activity_du As the writing connection, students will write powerful descriptive settings that make the reader feel part of the story setting. Out of the Dust is full of powerful descriptive settings. Using the text on pages 142-146, (Dust Storm, March 1935) help students experience the descriptive language through this pre-writing exercise. Using an organizer, students will illustrate / draw through interpretation, their images experienced in the descriptive language. (This pre-writing activity will also be used for the art connection) Sample Organizer for Powerful Descriptive Settings
Here is the writing prompt: In your mind, remember a place you visited that made a lasting impression on you. Think of the sights; the sounds; the smells; and the feelings of this place. Write a powerful descriptive essay (extended response assessment) about your place. This pre-writing organizer will help students prepare for writing the descriptive essay. Sights of my place: Sounds of my place: Smells of my place: Feelings of my place: Expectations of the student writing assessment include the following: _____You will complete two pre-writing organizers. _____You will use powerful descriptive language. _____You will schedule a private conference with the teacher in one week to discuss the progress of the essay and to share ideas, thoughts, and images. _____You will have two weeks from today to complete the writing assessment. No exceptions will be allowed. ____You will type or computer generate your finished product. _____You may include illustrations / drawings / photographs as appropriate. _____Your writing assessment will be scored using the 6-point rubric. (From ETS, Criterion On-Line Writing Assessment Rubrics, www.ets.org ) Students have already illustrated / sketched their interpretations of the descriptive text. As an art connection, students will now have the opportunity to prepare a piece of artwork for an “Out of the Dust Gallery Show.” Ask students to choose one of their sketches that they would like to develop more fully for the gallery show. If these sketches just do not work for the student, it is acceptable to visit several on-line sites displaying images of the 1930’s Dust Bowl. They may choose to make their own interpretation of one of these pictures. Here are websites to visit for artwork of the 1930’s Dust Bowl: http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/dustbowl/dustbowlpics.thml http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/dustbowl/abphotos.html The mediums used for this art connection experience will be pencils and charcoal. A canvas sized 18 x 24 or larger should be provided to students. (Final pieces will be matted and framed for the gallery show) The artwork should portray the student’s interpretation of the Dust Bowl. When students have completed their artwork for the gallery show, the pieces will need to be matted and framed. Ask your art teacher to help with the matting and framing. This service may also be provided by a business in the community. If you have a parent or grandparent that is involved in wood working, they may want to help prepare the artwork as well. Next, students will write one to three paragraphs explaining and describing their art work. Final copy should be typed or computer generated and placed in a clear plastic sheet protector. Individual student writings will be displayed with their artwork as part of the gallery show. When all the artwork is matted and framed, and the art work descriptions are completed, you are ready to have a gallery show so students can share their work and tell about the images they have drawn in telling a story about the Dust Bowl. Invite school board members, administrators, parents and grandparents, other teachers and students to visit the gallery show. Through the free verse powerful language of character Billie Jo, the reader experiences the positive character traits and values of empathy, generosity, and self-worth. Using the reading strategy of inquiry, encourage students to find and cite direct passages from Out of the Dust that support Billie Jo’s feelings and understandings of empathy, generosity, and self-worth. Here are a few examples to get started: From p. 16: “we’re all whittled down to the bone these days…but still when the committee came asking, Ma donated; three jars of apple sauce and some cured pork, and a feed-sack nightie she’d sewn for our coming baby” (generosity, empathy, self-worth) From p. 121: “Everyday we bring fixings for soup and put a big pot on to simmer. We share it at lunch with our guest, the family of Migrants who have moved out from dust and Depression and moved into our classroom.” (generosity, empathy, self-worth, self-preservation) From p. 164: “A woman opened her home to us, all of us, not just me and my father, but the entire funeral procession….we tumbled inside, gasping,our lungs burning for want of air.” (generiosity, empathy, and self-worth) As part of service learning and giving back to the community, following the viewing of the “Out of the Dust Gallery Show,” students are encouraged to demonstrate the positive character trait of generosity by donating the entire gallery collection. Community resources such as the Historical Society, the Songwriter Woody Guthrie wrote and recorded songs and ballads of the “Dust Bowl.” The songs and ballads are information using descriptive language to portray the hardships of the 1930’s. As a music connection, students are encouraged to visit the Woody Guthrie website at http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/radio/c_w/guthrie.html. The student may listen to the recording of “Pretty Boy Floyd.” Lyrics to other songs and ballads of the 1930’s are found at http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/3448/dbblues.html?20075. Here is a sample from the recording Dust Bowl Ballads titled “Dust Bowl Blues.” “I just blowed in, and I got them dust bowl blues, I just blowed in, and I got them dust bowl blues, I just blowed in, and I’ll blow back out again. I’ve seen the dust so high that it blowed my fences down, I’ve seen the dust so high that it blowed my fences down, Buried my tractor six feet underground. I spent ten years down in that old dust bowl, I spent ten years down in that old dust bowl, When you get that dust pneumony, boy, it’s time to go.” These dusty blues are the dustiest ones I know, These dusty blues are the dustiest ones I know, Buried head over heels in the black old dust, I had to pack and go. An’ I just blowed in, an’ I’ll soon blow out again.” By exploring the powerful descriptive settings displayed in Woody Guthrie’s music of the 1930’s, students gain additional images providing connections in learning through music. When students complete their study of the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s they will have received many connections in learning through an integrated unit of study addressing the content standards of English / Language Arts, History / Social Studies, Art, and Music. In addition, the Character Education expectations outlined in the NCLB initiative are addressed. |