L I T E R AT U R E G U I D E
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
GRADES 4–8
Out of the Dust
N by n
Karen Hesse
Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the designated reproducible pages from this book for classroom use. No other
part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information
regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Written by Linda Ward Beech
Cover design by Vincent Ceci and Jaime Lucero
Interior design by Grafica, Inc.
Original cover and interior design by Drew Hires
Interior illustrations by Jenny Williams
Jacket cover from OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hesse.
Published by Scholastic Press, a division of Scholastic Inc.
Jacket illustration copyright © 1997 by Scholastic Inc. Used by permission.
Jacket photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints
and Photographs division, Farm Security Administration Collection.
ISBN 0-439-13112-X
Copyright © 2000 by Scholastic, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the U.S.A.
Table of Contents
BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Summary ............................................................................ 3
Characters ........................................................................... 3
About the Author ................................................................ 4
Vocabulary .......................................................................... 4
Thinking About Setting........................................................ 5
Getting Started..................................................................... 5
EXPLORING THE BOOK
Beginning: August 1920 — The Empty Spaces
Summary and Discussion Questions ..................................... 6
Cross-Curricular Activities: Language Arts,
Music, Science..................................................................... 7
The Hole — Following in His Steps
Summary and Discussion Questions ..................................... 8
Cross-Curricular Activities: Art,
Music, Social Studies .......................................................... 9
Heartsick — Finding a Way
Summary and Discussion Questions ................................... 10
Cross-Curricular Activities: Math, Social
Studies, Language Arts, Writing ......................................... 11
SUMMARIZING THE BOOK
Putting It All Together:
Class, Group, Partner, and Individual Projects...................... 12
Evaluation Ideas................................................................ 13
STUDENT REPRODUCIBLES
In the Panhandle ............................................................... 14
Your Way .......................................................................... 15
Story Images ..................................................................... 16
Answers for Worksheets .................................................... 13
Before Reading the Book
SUMMARY
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
The story opens in the winter of 1934, during the devastating dust bowl years of the
Great Depression. Billie Jo and her parents live on a farm in the Oklahoma panhandle.
As Billie Jo nears her fourteenth birthday, tragedy compounds the already difficult conditions of her life; an accidental fire leaves Billie Jo and her pregnant mother seriously
burned. When Ma dies, Billie Jo and her father face even harder times. Unable to communicate with her father and filled with bitterness, Billie Jo takes a train west. When
Billie Jo returns, both she and her father make a commitment to a new start. They visit
Doc Rice to see about the cancer spots on her father’s face and the scar tissue on Billie
Jo’s hands. By December of 1935, Billie Jo’s poem is titled “Finding a Way.”
STORY CHARACTERS
Billie Jo Kelby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . main character
Ma (Pol). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billie Jo’s mother
Bayard Kelby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billie Jo’s father
Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billie Jo’s baby brother
Arley Wanderdale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . music teacher
Vera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arley’s wife
Miller Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . member of Black Mesa boys
Mad Dog Craddock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . singer; Billie Jo’s friend
Miss Freeland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . teacher
Aunt Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pa’s sister
Livie Killian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . friend
Reuben Killian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Livie’s brother
Doc Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . local physician
Mr. Hardly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . storekeeper
Calb Hardly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Hardly’s son
Mr.Tuttle, Joe De La Flor, Mr. Noble,
Mr. Romney, Mr. Chaffin, Mr. Haverstick, Mr. French . . . . . . . neighboring farmers
Reverend Bingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . local pastor
Harley Madden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . church worker
Coach Albright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . basketball coach
Mrs. Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . owner of cereus plant
Haydon and Fonda Nye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . successful landowners
County Agent Dewey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . local official
Buddy Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . father of migrant family
Scotty Moore, George Nall, Willie Harkins,
Elizabeth, Hillary, Lo Raine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . students
Ashby Durwin, Rush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . still operators
Sheriff Robertson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . local law enforcement
Mrs. Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . government agent
Birdie Jasper, Ben Grover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . contestants
Pete Guymon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . driver of produce truck
James Kingsbury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . photographer
Louise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pa’s betrothed
3
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Karen Hesse grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where she
dreamed of becoming many things—an archeologist, an
ambassador, an actress, and an author. Happily for her fans,
Hesse never gave up her dreams of publication and went on
to write award-winning books for young readers including
Out of the Dust. This Newbery award-winning story grew
out of an idea Hesse had for a picture book based on her
childhood. The setting was a hot, dry summer, and the
characters longed for rain. When Hesse shared a draft of the
story with members of her writer’s group, they suggested
that she elaborate on why the characters wanted rain so much. As a result, Hesse
started thinking about times in history when people longed for rain and soon began
researching the Oklahoma Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. She says, “I
became so fascinated by that period of history and the people living then that I put
the picture book aside and started writing Out of the Dust.”
LITERATURE CONNECTIONS
Other books by Karen Hesse include:
• Just Juice
• The Music of the Dolphins
• Lavender
• Sable
• Phoenix Rising
• Letters from Rifka
• A Time of Angels
VOCABULARY
The words on the following list may be unfamiliar to students. Assign one or two
words to each student. Then ask students to complete a web for their word that
includes a dictionary definition, the sentence from the book with the word, and an
original sentence. Post the webs so that everyone can read and review them.
wagering
riled
distracted
drought
maggoty
spindly
wince
sorghum
antiseptic
chafed
octaves
scowl
loitering
astounded
prime
conjuror
enticed
4
excavating
grime
ponging
duster
festered
infantile paralysis
mash
chaos
musky
squirreled
sod
fidgety
loping
aghast
succulent
resplendent
scoundrels
ignite
divining
knoll
shall
hoarding
gaunt
mottled
diversification
betrothal
stupor
biding
kerosene
lurking
vicarage
circuit
rogue
rapscallions
wagering
To bet on an
unknown
outcome
Jim and Emma were
wagering that our school
would win the game.
"They pledged revenge on
the rabbit population;
wagering who could kill
more." (page 6)
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
THINKING ABOUT SETTING
Remind students that setting, which encompasses both time and place, is an important component in fiction. Explain that the setting for this story is the 1930s in
Oklahoma and Texas. Tell students that during this period, there was a worldwide
economic slump called the Great Depression. It began with the crash of the U.S.
stock market in 1929 and didn’t end until World War II began in 1939. As banks,
factories, and stores closed, millions of people were left without jobs or income.
During this period of economic crisis and hardship, a series of destructive wind and
dust storms struck the southern Great Plains, particularly Texas, Oklahoma,
Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. These storms, ranking among the worst environmental disasters in history, damaged about 50 million acres of farm and grasslands. The affected region became known as the Dust Bowl.
As students read the story, ask them to look for ways in which these aspects of setting—the Great Depression and Dust Bowl—affect the lives of the characters. Have
students also address the question: How do these environmental elements mirror the
lives of the characters?
GETTING STARTED
Try the following strategies as you introduce the book to the class:
• Discuss the title: Out of the Dust. Ask students to write predictions about what it
might refer to and what it might mean in terms of the story. Have students save
their predictions to check after they have read the book.
• Discuss genre. Tell students that this story is both fictional and historical. The
author says, “I think you can classify it as a historical novel. It’s almost docu-fiction, in that doing the research led me to newspapers . . . And a lot of the events
in the book are drawn straight from the newspaper . . . a lot of the characters are
based on real people I read about.”
• Draw students’ attention to the format of the book. Have them read several
pages to discover that the story is written in blank verse, and the poems form a
kind of journal that tells Billie Jo’s story. Share these words from Karen Hesse:
“... when I tried to put my finger on who Billie Jo was, and how she would
speak, I realized she lived a very spare life. And everything she did was considered, because it took so much to survive—to get through one day living with
parents who were struggling. And it seemed the only way to get at that spareness was to tell it through poetry.”
5
Exploring the Book
AUGUST 1920 — THE EMPTY SPACES
WHAT HAPPENS
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Billie Jo writes about a friend who is moving to
California (“where the wind takes a rest sometimes”), about the wind, the sand, the dust, and
her father’s debts. During the summer of ‘34,
Billie Jo makes a little money playing with the
music teacher, Arley Wanderdale and his Black
Mesa Boys. Then, one day in July, her father
leaves a pail of kerosene next to the stove. Her
mother, thinking that it’s water, pours it and
makes “a rope of fire.” As Ma races from the
house, Billie Jo tosses the burning pail outside and accidentally burns them both
badly. A month later, Ma dies giving birth to a baby boy who dies shortly thereafter
as well. As Billie Jo turns 14, she is full of guilt, her mother and brother are gone,
she’s estranged from her grieving father, and she can no longer play the piano
because of burned hands.
QUESTIONS TO TALK ABOUT
C OMPREHENSION AND R ECALL
1. How does Billie Jo ask her mother for something she wants? (She catches Ma
off guard when she’s distracted.)
2. How does the dust come between Billie Jo’s parents? (They argue about the
crops, their debts, what to do.)
H IGHER L EVEL T HINKING S KILLS
3. How do the Kelbys show they are good neighbors? (They give food to the
needy; Billie Jo returns 4 cents to Mr. Hardly.)
4. Why won’t Ma let Billie Jo play the piano for the show Sunny of Sunnyside?
(Possible: She’s worried it will keep Billie Jo from doing well in school; she’s a little
jealous; she thinks Billie Jo will leave to do things that she can’t do.)
5. How would you describe Billie Jo? (Possible: smart, talented, obedient,
honest)
6. Why does Billie Jo like playing with the Black Mesa Boys so much? (She gets
to play the piano, has a feeling of belonging.)
7. How is the dust like fire? (The wind roars like fire; it’s destructive and consumes everything.)
8. Why does Billie Jo’s father take Ma’s money and get drunk? (He’s in despair;
Ma is burned and in pain; the dust has ruined the crops; he is in debt.)
9. Why does Billie Jo feel the Reverend Bingham had to hear Ma play the piano to
truly know her? (Ma expressed herself through the music, as does Billie Jo.)
6
10. How is the loss of her hands another kind of death for Billie Jo? (She can’t play
the piano—the thing that makes her most happy.)
L ITERARY E LEMENTS
11. Mood: What is the mood of most of Billie Jo’s poems? (somber, worried)
12. Repetition: Why does the author repeat phrases in the poem called “The
Accident”? (To emphasize the horror that Billie Jo feels as the events unfold)
P ERSONAL R ESPONSE
13. Would you like Billie Jo as a friend? Explain your answer.
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
LANGUAGE ARTS: Elements of Poetry
Remind students that poets often use figures of speech, such as
similes, in their work. Remind students that a simile is a comparison of two unlike things, often in a phrase introduced by
like or as. Give as an example: “a long-legged girl with a
wide mouth and cheekbones like bicycle handles.” Point out
that in this simile, cheekbones are being compared to bicycle
handles. Then have students tell what is being compared in
these similes:
• “the dust turned toward the house like a fired locomotive”
• “winds came, bringing a red dust like prairie fire, hot and peppery”
• “his legs like willow limbs”
Invite students to identify and write down other similes they come across as they
read. Have students discuss the similes they have found with the class.
MUSIC: Words and Tunes
Billie Jo plays songs with the word “baby” in the title because her mother is having a
baby. Challenge students to think of other song titles with “baby” in them. Students
might share the songs with the class by singing them, playing them on an instrument, or playing a tape or CD.
SCIENCE: Dust Storm Story
Have students read nonfiction books to learn more about dust storms. Questions they
might focus on include: Where do these storms occur? How much dust do they carry?
How strong are the winds that carry them? What causes such storms? What role do
people play in causing them? How do they affect the environment? Suggest that students prepare diagrams or models to show how land is affected by dust storms.
TEACHER
TIP
If possible, show students photographs of
dust storms and the migrants who fled them
during the 1930s.
7
The Hole — Following in His Steps
WHAT HAPPENS
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Billie Jo’s father begins digging a hole which
she thinks is a pond. He also takes a job to
earn some money. Despite her despair,
Billie Jo is still awed by a night-blooming
cereus and a local art exhibit. She and
her father even manage to enjoy a party
in honor of the President’s birthday. A
migrant family turns up at school and
lives there until their baby comes. Billie Jo
wishes she could keep the baby. She practices the piano so she can enter a local contest
where she wins third prize. But after that, her
hands hurt and she thinks they are no good anymore.
Billie Jo is out when a terrible dust storm hits. She gets
home safely and then sits up throughout the night waiting
for her father who is out looking for her.
QUESTIONS TO TALK ABOUT
C OMPREHENSION AND R ECALL
1. If Arley thinks Billie Jo can play the piano again, why doesn’t she try right
away? (Possible: it’s painful; she’s too depressed; she’s given up.)
2. How does Arley try to rebuild Billie Jo’s confidence? (He asks her to play at the
dance revue.)
3. What are some of the ways Ma’s absence affects Billie Jo? (She can’t ask her
things, can’t do things with her like the dinner at school, can’t share things like
the test results, is haunted by her memory.)
4. How do the “guests” at the schoolhouse affect Billie Jo?(She wants the baby to
live, gives them clothes her baby brother never wore.)
5. Why does Billie Jo enter the contest?(to prove to herself she can play again, to
believe in herself again)
6. Why is Billie Jo suspicious about her father’s interest in night school? (She
thinks he’s interested in the women in the classes.)
H IGHER L EVEL T HINKING S KILLS
7. Why is the blooming cereus plant so moving to Billie Jo? Why can’t she watch
it in the morning? (The plant blooms at night despite the drought and wind—a
sign of beauty and hope, but the petals wilt and die in the morning. They burn in
the sun like Ma burned in the fire.)
8. How do you think Billie Jo feels about Mad Dog? Why? (She seems interested
in him—he’s a good singer, he looks at her, but not her deformed hands.)
9. Why does the art exhibit move Billie Jo so? (She wants to know more about
the world, about how people express themselves, about ideas. She, too, is an
artist—a poet and a musician.)
8
10. Why is Billie Jo so concerned about her father’s coming to look for her in the
dust storm? (She doesn’t want to lose another parent or be responsible for the loss
of one.)
11. How does the weather affect Billie Jo’s feelings? (Dust and drought cause
despair; rain and snow bring hope.)
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
12. In the poem “Motherless,” Billie Jo says she is eager to go. Where do you think
she will go? Why? (Answers will vary.)
L ITERARY E LEMENTS
13. Mood: What mood does the poem “Real Snow” suggest? (quiet joy, pleasure,
calm, soothing)
14. Character: How do you know Billie Jo is proud? (She plays the piano even
when her hands hurt; she doesn’t want people to feel sorry for her.)
P ERSONAL R ESPONSE
15. What advice would you give to Billie Jo?
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
ART: Media and Messages
Billie Jo mentions different media—oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal—in her poem
about the art exhibit. Suggest students choose one medium and use it to illustrate
one of Billie Jo’s poems. Ask students to think beforehand about which medium will
best convey the meaning, mood, and tone of the poem. Have students read the
poem they have illustrated when they present their artwork to the class.
MUSIC: Setting Poems to Music
Point out to the class that Billie Jo is both a poet and a musician. Challenge students
to put some of her poems to music. Suggest that students choose a poem, then find
music suitable to go with it. Some students may want to write their own music. Hold
a class concert to share students’ work.
SOCIAL STUDIES: What About Wheat?
Remind the class that like many of his neighbors, Billie Jo’s father grew
wheat. Explain that wheat is one of the most important food crops in
the world and point out that the Great Plain states—the Dust Bowl —
is a major wheat-growing region in the United States. Assign students to work with partners to research questions such as these:
What does the wheat plant look like? What are the uses of
wheat? How is wheat grown? What are the different kinds of
wheat? Where else in the world is wheat grown? Students
can present their findings in labeled diagrams and maps.
9
Heartsick — Finding a Way
WHAT HAPPENS
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Despite their alienation, Billie Jo worries
about spots on her father’s face. The
weather continues to plague them. Billie Jo
finds some comfort in a friendship with
Mad Dog, but she can’t make her hands—
or heart—play the piano. Finally, filled
with bitterness because she can’t communicate with her father and loneliness
because she misses her mother, Billie Jo
leaves home and gets on a boxcar. She
gets off in Arizona and returns home to
find her father waiting at the train station. They both go to the doctor—he for his
cancer and she for her hands. Another woman, Louise, comes into her father’s life,
and Billie Jo can see that Louise makes her father laugh. By Thanksgiving of ‘35,
Billie Jo has things to be thankful for, and she titles her last poem in the book
“Finding a Way.”
QUESTIONS TO TALK ABOUT
C OMPREHENSION AND R ECALL
1. Why are people migrating out of Oklahoma? (They can’t survive because of
the dust; other places seem more inviting.)
H IGHER L EVEL T HINKING S KILLS
2. How do you think Mad Dog feels about Billie Jo? Why? (He cares for her, he
visits her, walks with her.)
3. Why does it take so long for Billie Jo’s father to see Doc Rice about the spots on
his skin? (Possible: he’s afraid, stubborn, in denial, doesn’t care or realize that it’s
important to Billie Jo.)
4. Why is Billie Jo angry with her father? (He fails to communicate with her or
try to understand her; he is ignoring the cancer spots.)
5. What does Billie Jo learn about her parents when she runs away? (Her mother
held on as long as she could; her father is like sod— “steady, silent, deep, holding
on to life, with reserves ... to sustain him ... and anyone else.”)
6. Who does Billie Jo have to forgive for her mother’s death? (She has to forgive
her father for leaving the kerosene near the stove and herself for “all the rest.”)
7. What does Doc Rice’s advice about Billie Jo’s hands tell you about her injury?
(She can overcome it; it’s as much in her mind and heart as her hands.)
8. What does Billie Jo learn about her father? (She’s like him in several ways; for
example, they both have dreams and both miss Ma.)
9. How does Louise show she’s wise when it comes to Billie Jo? (She doesn’t tell
her what to do; doesn’t rise to Billie Jo’s baiting; doesn’t try to come between Billie
Jo and her father.)
10
L ITERARY E LEMENTS
10. Character:: In what way is Nature a character in this book? (It affects the
other characters, affects events; has a life and will of its own.)
P ERSONAL R ESPONSE
11. How does Billie Jo define hard times? How would you define them?(Billie Jo
says hard times are about losing spirit and hope and what happens when dreams
dry up. Students’ responses will vary.)
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
MATH: Money Matters
Ask students to compare what money bought in the 1930s with its buying power
today. For example, what would the $33 raised at the President’s Ball buy then?
What would it buy now? The price of the art exhibit was 10 cents. What would an
art show cost today?
SOCIAL STUDIES: Migrants on the Move
Have students reread the poem titled “Migrants.” Then have them learn more about
the migrants during the Great Depression. You might read aloud or show a film version of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Students can also consult reference
books or use internet sources such as www.historychannel.com. Help students focus
on the underlying causes of human migration, whether they be the migrants of the
1930s or those of today. Students might create a chart showing different migrant
groups in the twentieth century and the causes for their migration.
LANGUAGE ARTS: Colorful Language
The poems in the book offer many wonderful opportunities to explore different poetic devices. For example:
metaphor—“heaven’s shadow crept across the plains”
personification—“soothed the parched lips of the land”
repetition—“certain the grass would grow again,
certain the weeds would grow again,
certain the wheat would grow again, too.”
Select an individual poem that features a good example of a particular poetic device
to study more closely. Read the poem aloud and discuss as a class the technique the
writer used and how it works in the poem. Then invite students to find more examples in the other poems.
WRITING: A Thanksgiving List
After students read Billie Jo’s poem
“Thanksgiving List,” ask them to write
one of their own. Remind students that
Billie Jo wrote in blank verse, but they
might wish to choose another form for
their own poem.
TEACHER
TIP
Draw students’ attention also to the
author’s use of format to create rhythm
in poems such as “The Dream.”
11
Summarizing the Book
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
You might choose from the following activities to help students summarize and
appreciate Out of the Dust.
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
CLASS PROJECT: Double Timeline
Remind the class that Billie Jo mentions a number of news events in her poems.
These include: the birth of the Dionne quintuplets, the eruption of the volcano
Kilauea in Hawaii, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. Work with the class to create a double timeline. On one side students should list important story events. On
the other side, they should list events in the world or national news. Students can
research and add to the events mentioned in the book.
Billie Jo plays
at the Palace
Jan ’34
Billie Joe's father
takes job at
Wireless Power
The
Accident
July ’34
Oct ’34
Sept ’34
Dionne
Kilauae
Quintuplets Volcano
born
erupts
Art
Exhibit
Dec ’34
Jan ’35
President
Roosevelt's
Birthday
GROUP PROJECT: A Literary Discussion
Bring groups of students together to discuss these questions:
• Is this a hopeful book? Why or why not?
• What is the worst problem that Billie Jo faces? Why do you think so?
• How much of what happens can Billie Jo control? How much is out of her hands?
• What does Billie Jo learn?
• What predictions would you make for her in the future?
• Why do you think this book won the Newbery Medal?
PARTNER PROJECT: Weather Reports for Cimarron County
Students can work with partners to make up daily weather reports for the people of
Oklahoma. Assign a different time in the book to each team. Have students base
their reports on descriptions from the book as well as additional research on dust
storms and drought. In addition to telling what the weather will be like, students
might add tips on how to dress, what activities will be suitable, or how to take precautions. Have students present their reports as radio broadcasts.
12
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT: A Cause and Effect String
Have students reread the poem titled “The Path of Our Sorrow.” If necessary, explain
that the Great War was World War I. Then have students use the poem to make a
cause and effect chart showing why and how the Dust Bowl was created. Display
students’ finished charts.
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
EVALUATION IDEAS
Invite students to help develop a rubric to assess their work on the projects. A sample rubric for the Weather Reports might include the following questions:
• Did the students include enough facts and details to make their forecasts convincing?
• Did the students demonstrate an understanding of how the weather would affect
the characters in the story?
• Did the students show originality in their radio broadcasts?
• Did the students show care in their preparation and execution of the assignment?
Answers for Worksheets
page 14: 1 and 2. Check to see that students follow directions correctly. 3. Texas; 4.
Oklahoma City; 5. South; 6. It looks like the handle of a pan.
page 15: 1. She’s stubborn and wants to be sure I get my education. 2. Ma is
becoming bitter. It shows in the way she sets her mouth. 3. My fingers leave traces
in the dust. 4. I couldn’t make myself heard in the wind. 5. We left our homes when
the air was clear. 6. James Kingsbury, photographer from the Toronto Star, came to
Joyce City looking for an unusual or interesting story. 7. I couldn’t speak. 8. I could
see that Daddy liked and needed her.
page 16: 1. Both Billie Jo and her mother play the piano. It gives Billie Jo great pleasure. 2. The dust storms ruin crops, homes, and people’s lives. 3. Billie Jo’s father
keeps planting wheat, but it gets destroyed by the dust and drought. 4. Billie Jo hops
on a boxcar to run away from the dust, her father, and the guilt.
13
Name: ____________________________________________________
In the Panhandle
The story takes place in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Use the map to answer the following questions about this area.
Keyes
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Felt
CIMARRON
COUNTY
Texhoma
Guymon
Goodwell
Amarillo
TEXAS
Cim
arro
Enid
n River
NORTH
Oklahoma City
Norman
OKLAHOMA
Lubbock
1. Bille Jo lives in Cimarron County which is in the westernmost part of Oklahoma. Shade that area
with a pencil.
2. The Black Mesa Boys play in Keyes, Goodwell, and Texhoma. Circle these towns on the map.
3. Aunt Ellis lives in Lubbock. In what state is that? __________________________________________
4. What is the capital of Billie Jo’s state? ____________________________________________________
5. Mad Dog goes to sing in Amarillo. In what direction is that from where he and Billie Jo live?
______________________________________________________________________________________
6. Look carefully at the shape of Oklahoma. Why do you think part of it is known as the Panhandle?
______________________________________________________________________________________
14
Name: ____________________________________________________
Your Way
Billie Jo often uses colorful language in her poems. Read each of the passages on this page. Then, in
your own words, write what Billie Jo means.
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
1. “She’s (Ma) an old mule on the subject of my schooling.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. “Ma is bittering. I can see it in her mouth.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. “My fingers leave sighs in the dust.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. “The wind took my voice and busted it into a thousand pieces”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. “On the first clear day we staggered out of our caves of dust”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
6. “James Kingsbury, photographer from the Toronto Star, ... came to Joyce City looking for some other
piece of oddness”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
7. “. . . my throat felt like a trap had snapped down on it”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
8. “I could see there was room for her (Louise) in Daddy”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
15
Name: ____________________________________________________
Story Images
Explain why each of the following things is important to Billie Jo’s story. Then pick one of the items
and write a poem that explains how this image is important to the story. The poem can be told from
Billie Jo’s point of view or from your own perspective.
2.
3.
4.
Scholastic Literature Guide: Out of the Dust © Scholastic Teaching Resources
1.
16