ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB 8thGradeUSHistoryInquiry
WastheDustBowla
PerfectStorm?
DuststormCimarronCounty,OKApril1936.PhotographedbyArthurRothstein.LibraryofCongress
SupportingQuestions
1.
2.
3.
4.
WhatwastheDustBowl?
WhichfarmingpracticescontributedtotheDustBowl?
HowdidgeographyandclimateplayaroleintheDustBowl?
HowwerepeopleaffectedbytheDustBowl?
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0
INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
1
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB 8thGradeUSHistoryInquiry
WastheDustBowlaPerfectStorm?
ArkansasSocial
StudiesStandards
Era.7.2.USH.6Constructhistoricalargumentsandexplanationsaboutthelong-termimpactofsocial,
economic,political,andculturalchangesthatoccurredduringthe1920sutilizingevidencefromavariety
ofprimaryandsecondarysources.
Stagingthe
CompellingQuestion
Brainstormadefinitionofaperfectstorm.Createavisualrepresentationofaperfectstorm(e.g.,
cartoonorillustration).
SupportingQuestion1
SupportingQuestion2
WhatwastheDustBowl?
FormativePerformance
Task
FormativePerformance
Task
FormativePerformance
Task
FormativePerformance
Task
Createachartshowing
similaritiesanddifferences
amonghistoricalaccounts
oftheDustBowl.
Createavisualgraphic
comparingfarming
methodsfromthemid1800stothemid-1930s.
FeaturedSources
FeaturedSources
SourceA:PBS:Overview
andpicturesfromKen
BurnsPBSseriesDustBowl
SourceB:History.com:
Articlesandaccompanying
videos.
SourceC:JasonLuskblog:
DealingwithDrought
FeaturedSources
SourceA:Wessel’sLiving
HistoryFarm:Farmingin
the1930s.
SourceB:USDA:A
CondensedHistoryof
AmericanAgriculture1776–
1999.
SourceC:Growinga
Nation:TheStoryof
AmericanAgriculture
SourceA:Columbia
University:Lamont-Doherty
EarthObservatoryarticle
SourceB:NationalDrought
MitigationCenter:Rain
followstheplow.
SourceC:Encyclopediaof
Earth:DustBowl
SourceD:GreatPlains
DroughtAreaCommittee:
report
Whichfarmingpractices
contributedtotheDust
Bowl?
SupportingQuestion3
Howdidgeographyand
climateplayaroleinthe
DustBowl?
Writeaclaimaboutthe
impactofgeographyand
climateontheDustBowl.
SupportingQuestion4
Howwerepeopleaffected
bytheDustBowl?
Writeaparagraphabout
howpeoplewereaffected
bytheDustBowl.
FeaturedSources
SourceA:TheAtlantic:
LettersfromtheDustBowl
SourceB:NewDeal
Network:LettertoMrs.
RooseveltNovember1937.
SourceC:California
OdysseyCSU:DustBowl
MigrationArchives
SourceD:NewYorkPublic
Media:UpfromtheDust
Summative
Performance
Task
Taking
Informed
Action
ARGUMENTWastheDustBowlaPerfectStorm?Constructanargument(e.g.,detailedoutline,poster,or
essay)thataddressesthecompellingquestionusingspecificclaimsandrelevantevidencefromhistorical
sourceswhileacknowledgingcompetingviews.
EXTENSION.ResearchtheeffectsofWorldWarIonfarminginEuropeandtheU.S.,includingcropandland
pricesandgovernmentregulationsonfarmingfromearly1900stomid-1930s.Createaposterontheeffects
ofWWIonfarmingintheU.S.andhowthismayhavecontributedtotheDustBowl.
UNDERSTANDResearchgovernmentalpolicies,economics,environmentalchanges,climate,movementof
people,andlandusageanddeterminetheextenttowhichthesethingsareinterconnected.
ASSESSDeterminehowchangesinU.S.environmentalpolicies,farmingmethodsandpractices,consumption,
andlandusecouldpreventanotherdustbowl.
ACTCreateachartorbrochurecomparingwhathappenedduringtheDustBowlwithcurrentconditionsinthe
westernpartoftheUnitedStatesincludingclimate,erosion,farming,andlanduse.
*Featuredsourcesaresuggestedandlinksareprovided.Itmaybethattheselinksarebrokenandweapologizeinadvanceforthe
inconvenience.
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0
INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
2
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB
Overview
InquiryDescription
ThisinquiryleadsstudentsthroughaninvestigationofTheDustBowl.Byinvestigatingthecompelling
question“WastheDustBowlaPerfectStorm?”studentsgainunderstandingthroughreadingavarietyof
textsandanalyzingphotographstodeterminethemajorcausesoftheDustBowl.Byexaminingthedust
bowlthroughmultiplesocialstudieslenses,studentsrealizehoweachofthesocialstudieslenseshasan
impactontheothers.TheyanalyzethehistoryandpersonalstoriesoftheDustBowltodeterminewhoor
whatwasresponsibleforthishistoricevent.Theformativeperformancetasksbuildonknowledgeand
skillsthroughthecourseoftheinquiryandhelpstudentsdeterminewhoorwhatwasresponsibleforthis
historicevent.Studentscreateanevidence-basedargumentaboutcontributingfactorsandwhetherornot
theDustBowlwasaperfectstorm.
Thisthisinquiryhighlightsthefollowingadditionalstandards:
•
Era.7.2.USH.6Constructhistoricalargumentsandexplanationsaboutthelong-termimpactofsocial,
economic,political,andculturalchangesthatoccurredduringthe1920sutilizingevidencefromavarietyof
primaryandsecondarysources.
Itisimportanttonotethatthisinquiryrequiresprerequisiteknowledgeofhistoricaleventsandideas.Thus,
studentsshouldhavealreadystudiedtheHomesteadActof1862,governmentcorruptionpriortotheProgressive
EraandProgressiveEraconservationeffortsandimmigration.TheyshouldalsohavestudiedWWItechnological
advancesandeconomiceffectsoftheWar.Economicgrowthandprosperityfromthelate1800’sthroughthe
1920’sanddeclineofreforms.
Note:Thisinquiryisexpectedtotakesixorseven40-minuteclassperiods.Theinquirytimeframecouldexpandif
teachersthinktheirstudentsneedadditionalinstructionalexperiences(e.g.,supportingquestions,formative
performancetasks,featuredsources,writing).Teachersareencouragedtoadapttheinquirytomeettheneedsand
interestsoftheirparticularstudents.Thisinquirylendsitselftodifferentiationandmodelingofhistoricalthinking
skillswhileassistingstudentsinreadingthevarietyofsources.Resourcescanalsobemodifiedasnecessaryto
meetindividualizededucationprograms(IEPs)orSection504Plansforstudentswithdisabilities.
StructureoftheInquiry
Inaddressingthecompellingquestion“WastheDustBowlaPerfectStorm?”studentsworkthroughaseriesof
supportingquestions,formativeperformancetasks,andfeaturedsourcesinordertoconstructanargument
supportedbyevidencewhileacknowledgingcompetingperspectives.
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
1
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB
StagingtheCompellingQuestion
Instagingthecompellingquestion,“WastheDustBowlaPerfectStorm?”,teachersmaypromptstudentsbyasking
“Whatisaperfectstorm?”Havestudentscreatevisualrepresentationsoftheirdefinitionforaperfectstormand
explaintotheclass.[Definition:perfectstorm-rarecombinationofeventsorcircumstancesthataggravatea
situationdrasticallyresultinginaneventofunusualmagnitude.]
AnalyzephotographsoftheDustBowl.Havestudentslookatavarietyofphotographs,selectone,andanalyzethat
photograph.Studentssharethephotographtheyselected,statethereasontheyselectedthephotograph,and
explainthephotographbasedontheiranalysis.
TeacherNotes:
GoodsourcesforphotographsaretheLibraryofCongressathttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/,theNationalArchives
andRecordsAdministrationathttps://www.archives.gov/education.TheNationalOceanic&Atmospheric
Administration(NOAA)siteathttp://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nws/dust1.htmlcontainsmanyphotographsofthe
dustbowlfromvariousplacesacrosstheMidwest.Thephotosunder“MeteorologicalMonsters,Dust”contain
specificcitationinformationincludingcaption,date,andlocationofthephotograph.
Thisisagoodtimetoteachstudentshowtoanalyzeprimarysources,specificallyphotographs,iftheseskillshave
notbeenpreviouslytaught.TheLibraryofCongressandtheNationalArchivesbothhaveexcellentworksheetsfor
assistingstudentsinanalyzingaphotograph.Theyalsohaveexcellentworksheetsforanalyzingavarietyoftypes
ofprimarysources.ForLOCworksheetslookundereducationathttps://www.loc.gov/education/andclickon
teacherresources.Thereisalsoanonlinetoolforcompletinganalysisworksheets.Theteacher’sguidesand
analysistoolforstudentscanbedirectlyaccessedat
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/guides.html.TheNationalArchivesalsohasdocument
analysisworksheetsunderSpecialTopicsandToolsathttp://www.archives.gov/education/special-topics.html.
Thephotographanalysiscanbedirectlyaccessedat
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/photo_analysis_worksheet.pdf.
ConsiderthepowerofmusicforenteringintoanongoinghistoricalconversationonthestoryoftheDustBowl.
TeacherscouldplaytheWoodyGuthriesong“SoLongIt’sBeenGoodtoKnowYou”andhavestudentsshare
imagesandideasthatarecreatedwhilelisteningtothesong.
SupportingQuestion1
Thefirstsupportingquestion—“WhatwastheDustBowl?”—hasstudentsreadingfeaturedsourcescontaining
backgroundinformationontheDustBowl.Theformativeperformancetaskasksstudentstochartsimilaritiesand
differencesamongthetextsandshowtheseonagraphicorganizer(e.g.,t-chart,table).Thefeaturedsourcesfor
thisquestionareamixofprimaryandsecondarysources.Asstudentsreadthesourcestheycanaskthescaffolding
questionssuchas:Whowrotethis?Wherewasitpublished?Whywasitwritten?Whowas/istheintended
audience?Whenwasthispublished?andWhenwasitwritten?Studentscanalsocorroboratetheinformationfrom
thesourcesbyaskingquestionssuchas:Whatdoothertextssay?Dothetextsagree?Ifnot,why?Whichsourcesa
mostreliable?Whatareotherpossiblesourcesforinformationonthistopic?
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
2
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB
TheLibraryofCongress(LOC)andtheNationalArchiveshavesomeexcellentworksheetsandresourcesfor
teachingstudentshowtoanalyzeavarietyoftexts(photographs,maps,charts,videos).Thissupportingquestion
offersanopportunitytoteachnotetakingskills,summarization,pre-writing,revision,andcitingevidence.
ThefollowingsourceswereselectedtoprovideabroadoverviewandbackgroundknowledgeoftheDustBowl.
•
•
•
FeaturedSourceAistheOverviewtextandphotographsaccompanyingTheDustBowlafilmseriesbyKen
BurnsshownonPBS.Theoverviewtextisavailableat
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/about/overview/.AccompanyingthePBSseriesis,"TheDust
Bowl:AnIllustratedHistory,"writtenbyDaytonDuncanwithaprefacebyKenBurns,andpublishedby
ChronicleBooks.
FeaturedSourceBcontainsthreevideos:DustStormsStrikeAmerica,MigrantMotherPhoto,andthe
BlackBlizzard.Thesevideosrangefrom2½to4minutes.Thereisalsotextprovidingbackground
informationandinsightontheDustBowlfromHistory.compublishedin2009byA+ENetworksand
availableathttp://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl.
FeaturedSourceCisablogarticleonTheDustBowlbyJasonLusk,FoodandAgriculturalEconomist
availableathttp://jaysonlusk.com/blog/2014/1/6/dealing-with-drought.Theblogarticleisincludedas
wellasasecondblogarticlewrittenthefollowingdayaftertheauthor,Mr.Lusk,receivedmanycomments
andfamilystoriesinresponsetotheoriginalpost.Thatpost,“MoreontheDustBowl”canbeaccessedat
http://jaysonlusk.com/blog/2014/3/3/more-on-the-dust-bowl.Mr.Luskhasgivenhispermissiontouse
thesearticles.Ifyouusetheseinclass,pleasegivecredittoMr.Lusk.
SupportingQuestion2
Forthesecondsupportingquestion—“WhichfarmingpracticescontributedtotheDustBowl?”—studentscreatea
visualgraphiccomparingfarmingmethodsfromthemid-1800stothemid-1930s.Inadditiontotheresources
fromtheprevioussupportingquestion,thefeaturedsourcesprovidestudentswithadditionalmaterialsthatallow
themtolookatavarietyoffarmingtechniques,technologicaladvancesinfarmingandequipment,andtheresults
oftheseadvances.Graphicorganizersandtemplatesfornotetaking,notetakingstrategies(Cornell,2column,
outlining)mayassiststudentsindevelopingtheskillsnecessarytotakegoodnotes,aidinreadingcomprehension,
anddeveloptheirwriting.
FeaturedSources:
• FeaturedSourceAisWessel’sLivingHistoryFarm.“Farminginthe1930s”availableat
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/farminginthe1930s.html.
• FeaturedSourceBisACondensedHistoryofAmericanAgriculture1776–1999availableasaPDF
documentathttps://www.usda.gov/documents/timeline.pdf
• FeaturedSourceCisGrowingaNation;theStoryofAmericanAgriculture
https://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/1930.htm.
SupportingQuestion3
Thethirdsupportingquestion—“HowdidgeographyandclimateplayaroleintheDustBowl?”—asksstudentsto
makeaclaimexplainingtherelationship(s)amongfarmingpractices,geography,andtheenvironment/climate.In
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
3
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB
additiontothepreviousfeaturedsources,thesourcesforthistaskprovidestudentswithnewinformationthat
allowthemtoexaminetherelationshipbetweenthegeographyofaregionandtheenvironmentorclimatewhile
analyzingtheimpactoffarmingpractices.Studentsgaininsightintotheinterconnectednessofhumanactions,
climatechangesandgeographyontheenvironmentfromtheprevioussupportingquestionandtheformative
performancetasks.Graphicorganizersandtemplatesfornotetakingandnotetakingstrategies(Cornell,2-3
column,outlining,cause/effect,sequenceofevents)mayassiststudentsinorganizinginformationanddeveloping
theskillsnecessarytocontinuedevelopingreadingcomprehension,takegoodnotes,anddeterminethemost
importantinformation.Aftertheyhavereadandanalyzedthesourcematerial,studentswillmakeaclaimabout
theimpactofgeographyandclimateontheDustBowl.Theclaimshouldbeadeclarativestatement,something
suchas“IncreasingtemperaturescontributedtopoorharvestandsoillossinmiddleAmericainthe1930s.”This
claimwouldthenbefollowedwithinformationservingasevidencetosupportingtheclaim.
FeaturedSources:
• FeaturedSourceA“DidduststormsmaketheDustBowldroughtworse?”isaLamont-DohertyEarth
Observatoryarticleavailableathttp://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/dust_storms.shtml
• FeaturedSourceB“RainFollowsthePlow?”isfromtheNationalDroughtMitigationCenterandavailable
athttp://drought.unl.edu/DroughtBasics/DustBowl/RainFollowsthePlow.aspx
• FeaturedSourceC“DustBowl”EncyclopediaofEarthhttp://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151818/
• FeaturedSourceD“ReportoftheGreatPlainsDroughtAreaCommittee”isavailableat
http://newdeal.feri.org/hopkins/hop27.htmhttp://newdeal.feri.org/hopkins/hop27.htm
SupportingQuestion4
Forthefourthsupportingquestion—“HowwerepeopleaffectedbytheDustBowl?”—studentssummarizethree
letterswritteninthe1930sfromeverydaypeoplestrugglingintheDustBowl.Inadditiontothesourcesfromthe
previoussupportingquestions,thefeaturedsourceshereprovidestudentswithnewmaterialsthatallowthemto
understandhowlifechangedforavarietyofpeopleduringtheDustBowl.Everyonehadtoadapttothe
environmental,economic,andsocialchangesthatoccurredduringthelate1920sthroughthe1930s.
Students’summaryshouldincludespecificinformationasevidencetosupportclaimsabouttheeverydaylivesof
thepeoplewhowrotetheseletters.Thesummarywillserveasagoodpracticeforstudentsforthetypeof
argumentationneededinthesummativetasks.Teachersmayalsowanttoselectotherlettersfromthecollections
belowandjigsaworcreateothergroupingactivitiesforreadingandwritingabouttheletters.Asingleletterfrom
eachofthecollectionslistedbelowisprovidedasafeaturedsourceforthistask.
FeaturedSources:
• FeaturedSourceCollectionA“LettersformtheDustBowl”printedinTheAtlanticMonthlyavailableat
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1936/05/letters-from-the-dust-bowl/308897/
• FeaturedSourceCollectionBMrs.RooseveltNovember1937.
http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/fm1137.htm
• FeaturedSourceCollectionC“DustBowlMigrationArchives”fromtheCaliforniaOdysseyCSUis
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
4
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB
availableathttp://www.csub.edu/library/SpecialCollection/Dustbowl/index.html
SummativePerformanceTask
Atthispointintheinquiry,studentshaveexamineddiscrepanciesinavarietyofhistoricalaccounts,changesin
farmingmethodsandtechnologicaladvances,therolesofgeographyandclimate,andwaysinwhichavarietyof
peoplewereaffectedbytheDustBowl.Studentshaveshowncomprehensionofmultiplesourcesbycorroborating
evidence;theyhaveanalyzedrelationshipsamonggeographicregions,technologicaladvances,migration,and
climatechangesbycreatinginfoandvisualgraphics,writinglettersandsummaries,andpresentingtheir
conclusionstoothers.
Studentsshouldbeexpectedtodemonstratethebreadthoftheirunderstandingsandtheirabilitiestouseevidence
frommultiplesourcestosupporttheirclaims.Inthistask,studentsconstructanevidence-basedargumentusing
multiplesourcestoanswerthecompellingquestion“WastheDustBowlaperfectstorm?”Itisimportanttonote
thatstudents’argumentscouldtakeavarietyofforms,includingadetailedoutline,poster,visualpresentation,or
essay.
Students’argumentswilllikelyvary,butcouldincludeanyofthefollowing:
● TheDustBowlwasaperfectstormbecauseindustrializationandtechnologicaladvancescausedfarming
methodstochangeatthesametimethegeographicareawasexperiencingadroughtandtopsoilwaseroding.
● TheDustBowlwasaperfectstormbecauseaperfectstormisararecombinationofeventsorcircumstances
thataggravateasituationdrasticallyresultinginaneventofunusualmagnitude.Thedroughtcombinedwith
newfarmingmachinesandmethodsofincreasingcropproductionsetthestagefortheDustBowl.
● TheDustBowlwasnotaperfectstormbecauseasfarmerschangedtheirmethodsoffarmingtoincreasecrop
productiontheycouldseetopsoilwaseroding,cropsneededmorewater,dustwasincreasing,andpeople
werebeingaffectedinadverseways.
Toextendtheirarguments,teachersmayhavestudentsresearchtheeffectsofWorldWarIonfarminginEurope
andtheU.S.,includingcropandlandprices.Researchgovernmentregulationsonfarmingintheearly1900sto
mid-1930s.WriteaninformationalessayinwhichyoudiscusstheeffectsofWWIonfarmingintheU.S.andhow
thismayhavecontributedtotheDustBowl.
StudentshavetheopportunitytoTakeInformedActionbydrawingontheircomprehensionoftheintricate
balanceandrelationshipamongpeople,technology,geography,andtheenvironment.Tounderstand,studentscan
makeaninferencewhetheranotherdustbowlispossible.Toassesstheissue,studentsanswerthequestion“Has
theUnitedStatesinstitutedenoughchangesinenvironmentalpoliciesandfarmingmethodsandpracticesto
preventanotherdustbowl?”Toact,studentscreateachartorbrochurecomparingwhathappenedduringtheDust
BowlwithcurrentconditionsinthewesternpartoftheUnitedStatesincludingclimate,erosion,farming,andland
use.Sharethefinalproduct.DustBowlDroughtcomparisonsofseveraltimeperiodscanbefoundat
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/drought/drght_history.html.
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
5