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Monday, January 27
Black Blizzards and the Dust Bowl
By Colleen Messina
If you walked out the door of your house and saw a towering black
pillar of clouds one thousand feet tall, what would you think? This
might sound like a scene from a sci-fi film. However, people saw this
often during the 1930s when these "black blizzards" swept across the
area of the Midwest called the Dust Bowl.
What caused these strange black storms? Farmers in the Midwest
dug up the buffalo grasses that had held down the prairie soil for
thousands of years. These grasses had extensive root systems that held
the soil together. The farmers removed the native grasses so they could
plant crops. Livestock grazed on grass on the rest of the land, too.
Farming and grazing destroyed the natural system that had preserved
soil on the prairies.
Farming and grazing hurt the prairie, but then a terrible drought hit the area too. The misuse of the land and the
severe drought combined to create the Dust Bowl - a vast, parched area in the Midwest. The Dust Bowl affected
one hundred million acres of land. The resulting black blizzards happened when millions of tons of dirt were
swept from the parched, barren fields and swirled up into the air. Scientists called the Dust Bowl of the 1930s the
"decade-long disaster" because these conditions lasted for about ten years.
Over 2.5 million people left the Dust Bowl and migrated west. Those who moved did not have an easy life.
They thought that California would give them a better life, but they were often disappointed. Migrants were told
that there was nothing there for them, or police turned them away at the border. Life in the "promised land" was
not what the migrants expected.
John Steinbeck described a scene from the Dust Bowl in his book The Grapes of Wrath. He wrote about
families who moved west from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, and Arkansas. He wrote,"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." His words captured the tragedy of the Dust
Bowl.
For those who stayed in those states, life in the Dust Bowl was a nightmare. Winds blew at over fifty miles per
hour. People who didn't move away suffered from lung damage, disease, or even death because of the dust in the
air. Plagues of insects and animals also made life even harder.
Livestock had problems. Cattle ended up with "mud balls" in their stomachs. They got mud balls from
dust-coated grass. Many cows died. Dust coated and clogged up barns, homes, and farm equipment. Dust and
sand damaged car engines. The black blizzards were hard on everyone and everything. Every family kept a shovel
close by to dig out buildings and equipment!
Lorene White has a clear memory of the first time she saw a black blizzard. She was fourteen years old in
1932. She lived on her family's farm in western Kansas. She was playing outside and noticed a big, dark cloud
bank. It did not look like a normal rain cloud. She saw birds frantically flying ahead of the storm to get away from
the storm. She remembers how scared her family felt. They had never seen anything like it.
The Dust Bowl and its black blizzards created more economic problems for the country when many people
were already struggling. The Great Depression started before the black blizzards, but the storms caused more
money problems. Farmers no longer made a profit on their crops. They lost their land. The banks and the
government took over their properties.
Many lessons were learned from the Dust Bowl, then and now. Today, meteorologists use computer models to
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Monday, January 27
study the climate of the Dust Bowl. They have learned more about what conditions combined to cause that
disaster. By taking good care of the environment, and especially by using better farming methods, Americans will
never see the terrible black blizzards again.
Black Blizzards and the Dust Bowl
Questions
1. When did the drought happen in the Midwest?
A. in the 1920s
B. in the 1930s
C. in the 1940s
D. none of the above
2. What did the article specifically say that the farmers of the 1930s removed from the prairie?
A. rocks
B. pine trees
C. buffalos
D. native grasses
3. Where was the Dust Bowl?
A. the South
B. the Southwest
C. the Midwest
D. none of the above
4. Which author wrote about the Dust Bowl in one of his books?
A. John Steinbeck
B. William Shakespeare
C. Charles Dickens
D. John Grisham
5. Besides the drought, the Dust Bowl was also caused by poor farming methods.
A. true
B. false
6. Where did many people try to go when they left the Dust Bowl?
A. Mexico
B. California
C. New York
D. Canada
7. The Great Depression started after the Dust Bowl.
A. false
B. true
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Monday, January 27
8. What type of scientists use computer models to study the Dust Bowl?
A. chemists
B. astronomers
C. meteorologists
D. nutritionists
If you lived in the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, would you try to stay there and survive, or would you move away?
Give two reasons for your choice.
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Tuesday, January 28
What Are Earthquakes?
By Cindy Grigg
Caption: This picture shows part of the damage from a major
earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, April 18, 1906.
The outside of the Earth is called the crust. Just like the crust on a
loaf of bread, the Earth's crust has cracks in it. The cracks are called
faults. The crust of the Earth isn't solid at all. It is made up of many
pieces called plates.
The plates of the Earth's crust fit together like a giant puzzle. But
unlike a puzzle, the plates of the Earth's crust are always moving. The
Earth's plates float on a layer of hot, melted rock. This part of Earth is
called the mantle.
Most earthquakes happen where two plates meet. The Earth's plates don't always slide smoothly past each other.
Their rocky edges are jagged and rough. Sometimes they get stuck. The force causing them to move builds up.
Something has to give. The plates may break apart with a huge jerk. Shock waves spread out from the focus of
the earthquake. The focus is the place where an earthquake begins. Some of the shock waves travel to the surface
of the Earth where people are.
What is an earthquake like? The ground starts to rumble and shake in an earthquake. It may crack open.
Sometimes the ground moves. It moves like ripples move across water. The shaking may only last for a few
seconds. But earthquakes can cause awful damage.
In large earthquakes, buildings, roads, and bridges may give way. Gas lines may break, causing fires. In
mountain areas, an earthquake can cause a landslide or mudslide. This happens when giant amounts of rocks, dirt,
and mud slide down the mountain. An avalanche is when giant amounts of snow slide suddenly down the
mountain. When these things happen, they can destroy buildings. They can cover large areas with mud, dirt, or
snow. Everything in their path is flattened. If an earthquake happens under the ocean, it causes giant waves
called tsunamis. When a tsunami comes to land, the giant wave of water can cause great damage.
Every year there are more than half a million earthquakes in the world. Most of them are small. People don't
even notice them. Many others cause just a little damage. A few earthquakes are big enough to cause much
damage and many deaths. Our Earth is dynamic. This means it is active, and it is always changing. Earthquakes
are one of the most powerful changes that happen on Earth.
What Are Earthquakes?
Questions
1. The place where an earthquake begins is called the ______.
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Tuesday, January 28
2. What is the Earth's mantle?
A. pieces of the Earth's crust
B. a layer of hot, melted rock
C. the place where an earthquake begins
3. Where do most earthquakes happen?
A. under the ocean
B. on a mountain
C. where two plates meet
4. The Earth's crust is made up of ______.
A. many pieces called plates
B. puzzle pieces
C. hot, melted rock
5. If an earthquake happens under the ocean, it causes giant waves called ______.
6. The word dynamic means ______.
A. causing earthquakes
B. having many pieces
C. active and always changing
7. The Earth's crust is solid.
A. false
B. true
8. Earthquakes may cause ______.
A. no damage at all
B. giant waves called tsunamis
C. landslides or mudslides
D. all of the above
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Wednesday, January 29
Big, Black Blizzards!
By Colleen Messina
What would you do if you saw a big black cloud? What if it was one
thousand feet tall! You might say, "Wow!" You might be surprised!
These storms happened a lot in the 1930s. They were called black
blizzards. They were in the Midwest. They were in a spot called the
Dust Bowl.
Why did these storms happen? Farmers in the Midwest dug up the soil.
They got rid of native grass. That grass had been there for a long time.
The grass helped the prairie. It kept the soil moist. Farmers took it away
so they could plant crops. Cows also grazed on the grasses. Farming and
grazing made the prairies drier.
Then, a drought happened. A drought is when very little rain falls. The soil became even drier. The wind blew
hard. Then, soil and dust was swept into the air! The soil and dust made the storm look black. These storms
affected a lot of land. The area became even drier and dustier. It was called the Dust Bowl. These conditions lasted
for about ten years.
Black blizzards made life terrible. People got sick. Animals got sick. Cows ate grass with dust on it. It gave them
mud balls in their stomachs. The weather was hot. The temperature went over one hundred degrees in the summers.
The dust hurt machines. Car engines got clogged. Barns and houses were damaged. Families kept shovels close by
to use after a black blizzard. Sometimes they had to dig out their houses!
Some people moved away from the Dust Bowl. They went west. Many went to California. However, life was still
hard there. Some people told them to go away! This was hard on families. They had a lot of money problems. This
time period was called the Great Depression. It was a hard time for the country. Many people were poor.
People learned a lot from the Dust Bowl and from the black blizzards. Today, farmers take better care of the land.
They hope that the black blizzards will never happen again!
Big, Black Blizzards!
Questions
1. When did the black blizzards happen?
A. in the 1920s
B. in the 1890s
C. in 2008
D. in the 1930s
2. What kind of farm animal did the article say grazed on the prairies?
A. goats
B. sheep
C. cows
D. horses
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Wednesday, January 29
3. What was the weather like in the Dust Bowl in the summers?
A. rainy
B. cold
C. hot
D. snowy
4. What replaced the native grasses on the prairie?
A. flowers
B. scrubs
C. trees
D. crops
5. How long did conditions in the Dust Bowl last?
A. one hundred years
B. fifty years
C. about ten years
D. one year
6. Where did some people go when they left the Dust Bowl?
A. Canada
B. Alaska
C. California
D. Mexico
7. Which tool or utensil did many families in the Dust Bowl use often to help them after a black blizzard?
A. forks
B. spoons
C. shovels
D. rakes
8. Many people were poor during the Great Depression.
A. True
B. False
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Thursday, January 30
Tsunami: What a Wave!
By Brandi Waters
Do you ever think about what goes on at the bottom of the ocean? It is
probably a lot more than you think! Volcanoes can start at the bottom of the
ocean. Earthquakes can happen there, too. No big deal, right? No people. No
buildings. No danger. No one can get hurt out in the middle of the ocean,
right? Wrong. A powerful earthquake or volcanic eruption can kill many
people, even when it happens in the middle of the ocean! When they happen at
the bottom of the ocean, they make the water move. Rippling waves rush out
from the spot where the earthquake or eruption took place. The waves move
out in every direction. They can move as fast as four hundred fifty miles per
hour! These waves are called tsunamis. When tsunamis get close to land, they
get much taller. This is because the ocean is not as deep near the shore. Some
waves can be up to one hundred feet tall! These giant waves can do a lot of
damage when they crash onto the shore. They can destroy buildings. They can
cause flooding. They can cause people to drown. Tsunamis are very
dangerous.
Tsunami: What a Wave!
Questions
1. A tsunami is ______.
A. an earthquake
B. a series of strong waves
C. a volcano
D. all of the above
2. Tsunamis begin ______.
A. at the bottom of the ocean
B. when a powerful earthquake happens underwater
C. when a volcano erupts underwater
D. all of the above
3. When tsunamis get close to the shore, they ______.
A. move faster
B. get taller
C. move slower
D. get wider
4. Tsunamis can move as fast as ______.
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Thursday, January 30
5. What kind of damage can a tsunami cause?
Which do you think is more dangerous: an earthquake on land or tsunami caused by an earthquake? Give
reasons to support your answer.