Pictures

Look at the pictures below and write about them. What is happening? How does the picture go with the book? What does the picture mean? How do you feel?

Choose as many pictures as you want to write about. Tell what picture you are writing about in your response.

#1: "Tractored Out", 1938. Dorthea Lange, photographer. (Library of Congress)


#2 Arthur Rothstein, photographer, 1936. (Library of Congress)


#3 A black blizzard over Prowers Co., Colorado, 1937. (Western History Collection, University of Oklahoma)


#4 The Dust Bowl and drought devastated some farm families in the early 1930's, such as this 32 year old mother of seven. "Migrant Mother", black and white photograph by Dorthea Lange, Nipomo, California, February, 1936. (Library of Congress)

Billie Jo...is she like you?

Look at Billie Jo's character. Do you think she is like you? Talk about the similarities and differences. Think about her family, home, school, friends, job, etc.

Yes, you MAY say she is pathetic. You just need to explain why. :)

The Setting

Describe the setting of the book. How does the setting of the book become its own character?

The Characters

Pick one or two characters and describe them. How do they act? What do they do? How do you feel about them? Why?

Use examples from the book to support your ideas.

Winter 1934- Surviving the Dust Bowl

To understand the book, the first thing we need to do is understand why people were so poor and what was happening in America. To do this, we will start by going to the website:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/

When you go to this page, look on the left. Click on "People and Events." Read the first two articles under events:
- The Great Depression
- The Drought

Think about these questions:
- What happened during the Depression?
- Why did the Depression happen?
- What did the presidents do to respond to these problems?
- Why was the drought so terrible for farmers?
- How did people cause the problems of the drought?
- How did government try to solve these problems?

Now, please post a response to these articles. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS (OR ANY!). THESE ARE JUST TO GET YOU THINKING. The main points of your response should be to:
a. Connect the article to "Out of the Dust"
b. Connect the article to today
c. Connect the article to your personal life.

You may do any or all of these, as long as you do your part well!

Welcome to the Blog!

Greetings, dear students! I am so glad that you were able to find the blog. I hope that you enjoy posting exciting and interesting responses. Let's go!