Introduction to the Dust-Bowl Unit

Overview: The Narrative

The setting is the American Southern Plains in 1910s. At the time, this country and these
people are experiencing a war with Europe, an increase in wheat prices, and an unusual
increase in rainfall leading to something called the Great Plow Up. Essentially, people swept
into these regions, buying the inexpensive grassland and creating wheat fields virtually
overnight. This influx in harvest created subsequent boom towns, as everyone hoped this
was their chance at the American Dream.
However, shortly after the boom, the Great Plains was devastated by a drought in the 1930s,
which lasted from 1934-1937 (3 years!). Moreover, the constant plowing upset the delicate
balance that the plains had finally created. The native grasslands that grew on the plains had
become susceptible to the dry weather and high winds as the soil used the root system of the
grass as an anchor against the elements. However once these grasslands were harvested,
and the soils were exposed to the elements, 100 million acres across Oklahoma, Texas,
Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico were hit with dust storms that lasted for hours, ultimately
creating a dust bowl that didnt stop for 10 years.
Many of these storms were called black blizzards, one, which lasted for 22 days in March of
1932, and another, which was so large it was seen by Washington D.C and New York City.
The worst of the black blizzards was in April of 1935 and blew across the plains at 65 mph; it
was a day, which was nicknamed Black Sunday (Barclay, 2009; Dust Bowl, n.d., How
teachers can, n.d.).
What were the effects of these Black Blizzards?
Use video and first-hand narrative to discuss a variety of conditions:
! Livestock chocked on the dust
! 60% of population was driven from the region into nomadic-homelessness (most
ended up in cities which were also experiencing deplorable conditions due to the
concurrent great depression)
! Insides of houses became layered with dirt
! Doctors saw patients coughing up lungs full of dirt (many of whom died of
complications or suffocation
What was the eventual solution for Farm Rehabilitation?
Use primary source materials to discuss the New Deal Agencies and the creation for the
Soil Conservation Service, discuss:
! Planting trees and grass to anchor soil
! Plowing and terracing in contour patterns to hold rainwater
! Allowing farmland to lie fallow each year so soil could regenerate
! Restoring of wheat acres back into grassland

Resources
Barclay, S. (2009, July 18). Black Blizzards. Sciences 360. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.sciences360.com/index.php/black-blizzards-14162/
Dust Bowl. (n.d.). History.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl
How Teachers Can Make the Most of "The Dust Bowl" | EDSITEment. (n.d.).EDSITEment. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://edsitement.neh.gov/how-teachers-can-make
most-dust-bowl
Soil Conservation Service
Ken Burn's: The Dust Bowl
First-Hand Narratives
Lesson Plan Overview
This lesson plan will be used as a completion of a larger Dust-Bowl Unit. After the
groundwork lesson describing the effects and cause of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s,
students will work in pairs or independently to create an environment reminiscent of
southern plains, adapted to meet agricultural standards and safety precautions.
Goals
" The environment created by the students should reflect an understanding of the
economical and environmental conditions that created the 1930s dust-bowl and should
reflect the corrective and appropriate agricultural methods that they would implement in
the design
" Students should demonstrate an understanding of the conditions brought upon the
people, livestock, buildings, and equipment through their design of evacuation shelters,
which should attempt to use sustainable and/or repurposed materials.
Activities
Dust-Bowl Unit: Preliminary Lessons (see attached sheet for run-down)
1. Students will work independently or in pairs, and write down the most important
implications that their design must have in order to demonstrate successful
farming practices.
2. Students will also think about how shipping containers and/or similar repurposed
materials can be used within their design in order to act as an evacuation space.
3. Using their list, they will design a farming space (small space representative of the
many acres covering the plains) and reconstruct the boom towns complete with
evacuation spaces.
4. Students will present their design to the class, and then explain their design
choices written-form. They will describe their farm layout, and what the farming
techniques they will choose for their harvest. They will describe the location of
their safe spaces and will describe why they chose their design and any
additional features or understandings theyd like to give.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on their designs. Specifically:
1. The list of implications for successful farming practices and their notes on
designing safe spaces with reusable/repurposed materials created by the
student(s) during the early creative thinking stage as well as their written
presentation of their environment
2. The students design of the farming space should reflect the idea of soil
conservation with only some of the land harvested, and some of the land as
grassland and their written work should exhibit the use of appropriate techniques
3. The design of the safe spaces should reflect knowledge of the conditions of the
dust bowl by including places for not only people, but for livestock and equipment.

Demographic
Facilitator: Teacher
Student: Grade 7
th
-8
th
Grade
Subject: Social Studies/History
Location: USA Middle school (public or private
with access to Minecraft Software)
Duration: 1 week, 1 hour class time (5 classes)
Materials
Following a preliminary lesson on the effects
and causation of the dust-bowl, students will
work with the following material:
1. Minecraft
2. Pencil/Paper and/or computer
(Word)
Learning Theories
Constructivist Theory- knowledge is constructed
via previous knowledge
Problem-Based Learning
Anchored Instruction
Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development- social
and collaborative aspects of play
Inquiry Based Learning- hands-on & minds-on
approach to learning
Additional Resources
See attached sheet on Unit Information
Created By:
Kelsey Buttendorf and Enid Brown for
Narrative in Digital Media Design (Fall 2014,
Professor Emily Reardon)