The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Transcription

1 Whirlwind Activities Because THE DUST BOWL is so rich in educational themes and we know that teachers have a limited amount of time, we have developed a series of quick, adaptable activities for classroom use. Each "whirlwind" contains a brief overview along with activity ideas you can use to create lessons tailored to your individual class curriculum and teaching style. The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same The Dust Bowl was one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in American history when a grassland ecology that took thousands of years to develop was overturned less than fifty. The result was a devastation of the land and economic ruin for thousands of farmers. But the Great Plains recovered, thanks mostly to better farming methods, advancing technology, and a new source of water, the Ogallala Aquifer. But now, it seems, the same mistakes are being made and this once seemingly inexhaustible source for water is rapidly being depleted. In addition, studies show that it is being polluted by water runoff carrying pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides. The Keystone Pipeline also poses a potential threat of leaking oil seeping into the aquifer the same way surface water replenishes it. Have students view the last segment in THE DUST BOWL entitled The Western Gate Ask them to identify parallels they see between the development of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and the potential for a similar occurrence if the Ogallala Aquifer were to run dry or be rendered useless. Divide students into small groups to do further research on the Ogallala Aquifer. Information can be found at High Plains Underground water Conservation District North Plains Water District and this article from Scientific American magazine Have students formulate a policy for managing the Ogallala Aquifer. In their report they should provide a geographic profile of the Great Plains (climate, growing seasons, elevation, precipitation, vegetation, etc.); a brief history of farming methods before and during the Dust Bowl problems and solutions; description of the current conditions and concerns surrounding the Ogallala Aquifer and any parallels they see with farming methods during the 1930s; and recommendations for changes in agricultural practices that would reduce the risk of or prevent potential problems like another Dust Bowl. How much Government? For the wheat farmers of the Great Plains, in the mid-1930, it was like a perfect storm. They had over produced, creating a glut of wheat in the market and prices dropped. A draught dried up the land and the ever-present winds took all the top soil. The country was amidst its worst economic depression. To aid the farmers, the Roosevelt administration offered relief, reform, and recovery but just as there is today, there was debate over how much the government should be involved. Have students discuss general differences between liberals and conservatives. To get students started you might provide the following descriptions. Make a list of descriptive terms for each political ideology. Liberals believe that government is created to help all individuals succeed by providing services and regulations to help the less fortunate. Government can solve many of the problems in society and the economy. 1

2 Conservatives believe in individuals taking personal responsibility for their actions and companies prosper best in a free market with little or no government regulation. Individuals are best suited to solving the problems of society and the economy. Provide students with some background on how government attempted to address the problems of the Dust Bowl by showing the video segment from Episode 2, Relief. Organize students into small groups of 3-5 to discuss the following examples of government regulation using the discussion guide which follows. The federal government establishes the Civilian Conservation Corps putting young unemployed men to work in national and state parks and national forests to plant trees in the Great Plains that would act as wind breaks against fierce dust storms. Several officials in the Roosevelt Administration believe the Dust Bowl wreaked too much devastation on land that was not suited for farming in the first place. They propose buying the land of all affected farmers and let them start over someplace else. The federal government has passed a law that requires all farmers to return to using the lister plow that makes deeper rows in the ground. The law outlaws the one-way plow that pulverizes the soil. Supporters of the law say using only the lister will help prevent soil erosion, whereas the one-way plow exposes the dirt to wind and water erosion. Critics say that the lister is too slow to cultivate mass tracts of land and mandating its use limits farmers freedom and ability to grow crops. Congress passes the Agricultural Adjustment Act paying farmers subsidies not to plant crops and to kill off excess livestock to reduce agricultural surpluses and raise the prices on agricultural products. Companies which processed farm products would be taxed to pay for these subsidies. Various farming groups lobby Congress to declare martial law in severely affected counties to force farmers to follow government practices or have their land taken away from them. Discussion Guide: Why might some people feel such a regulation is needed? Who might benefit? How might the policy restrict some people s rights? Who might be negatively affected? Identify whether the regulation is a conservative or liberal. Explain if and how your ideological position influenced your answers. Assign each student one of the examples above and have them write a brief essay answering the following: Do you feel this law should stay as it is, be amended, or repealed? Explain how and why. You can use this same template to discuss more current laws and policies proposed by liberals and conservatives to deal with stimulating the economy, balancing the budget, or social programs. 2

3 It wasn t just History, it was Personal The Dust Bowl was an epic of human pain and suffering a crucible of dust, drought and Depression, when normally self-reliant fathers found themselves unable to provide for their families; when even the most vigilant mothers were unable to stop the dirt that invaded their houses from killing their children by dust pneumonia; when thousands of desperate Americans were torn from their homes and forced on the road in an exodus unlike anything the United States has ever seen. Have students access the image library from THE DUST BOWL website as well as American Memory from the Library of Congress You can have students randomly review the collections or you can select photographs and reproduce them for student viewing. Ask students to record their thoughts of what they ve viewed in a free write activity, writing down everything they can think of in a short period of time. Then have them write a diary entry for one of the people in the photographs that describes the experiences people are having in the photos. Okies During the ten years of the Great Depression, California s population would grow more than 20 percent. Half of the newcomers came from cities, not farms; one in six were professionals or white-collar workers. Of the 315,000 who arrived from Oklahoma, Texas, and neighboring states, only 16,000 were from the Dust Bowl itself. But regardless of where they actually came from, regardless of their skills and their education and their individual reasons for seeking a new life in a new place, to most Californians and to the nation at large they were all the same. And they all had the same name Okies. For many, the only employment available was as migrant workers, where they were exploited by the contactors and farmers. Prominent writers, such as John Steinbeck, wrote articles in local newspapers and national magazines depicting the prejudice and rejection many of these people endured. Introduce the Okies to students by showing the video segment from THE DUST BOWL entitled Okies. As students watch the segment, have them do a free write activity taking down their first impression to the images they see of the people and what they hear. Encourage them to not self-edit, but just write down descriptive words that come into their minds. After showing the video segment, ask student volunteers for examples of their descriptive words. Write of these examples on the front board or overhead. Next have students identify each word with a plus (+ for a positive connotation) and a minus (- for a negative connotation). Add up how many comments were positive and negative and ask students what do they think that means? Now have students work in pairs to write down aspects of these people that made them different from the people who rejected them and aspects that made them similar. Remind students that sometimes these reasons were based on economic and social reasons. As a culminating activity, have students write a letter to local or national magazine from the perspective of one of the following: a farmer who hires migrant workers, a police chief from a small California border town, a social worker from the Farm Security Administration, a farm workers union organizer, an unemployed worker in a rural community, or a business owner in a small town in the farm region of California. In their letters, students should include some background on the problem, the concerns of both the migrants and the native people, and suggest ways for all groups to find common ground and acceptance. 3

4 Dust Bowl Multimedia Art Work Dramatic events like the natural disasters, wars and hard economic times provide artists and writers with ample material to create vivid and moving pieces that tell the emotional stories of peoples lives and experiences during these times. Writers, such as John Steinbeck, photographers such as Dorothea Lang and Arthur Rothstein or the painters such as Alexander Hogue, filmmakers such as Pare Lorentz, and musicians such as Woody Guthrie all told the stories of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression in their own way. Have students construct a multimedia presentation (either in traditional poster-presentation form or as a digital multimedia project) of their impression of the Dust Bowl. They may use examples from literature, photographs, artwork and music to complete their project. First show them excerpts from THE DUST BOWL to give them an overview of the events, an understanding of the devastation, and the misfortune and endurance of the millions of people who lived through it. Provide excerpts from novels such as Steinbeck s, Grapes of Wrath, photos from Dorothea Lang and Arthur Rubinstein, the paintings of Alexandra Hogue, and the music of Woody Guthrie. Have students construct a montage or collage of the Dust Bowl experience. They may incorporate photos, excerpts from literature, newspapers or magazines, song lyrics. Students can also formulate a similar presentation using digital media. Students should write a brief analysis interpretation of their artwork The Art of Dust Bowl: Creating an Art Museum Exhibit One of the first casualties of the Great Depression was the art market. Wealthy collectors, lacking in disposable income, stopped buying art. As artists sought new markets among the masses, the concept of people s art evolved. In paintings, drawings and prints, artists depicted urban and rural scenes coexisting with all types of people farmers, factory and office workers, construction workers and miners suggesting the connections between them. Provide students with a little background on American art during the 1930s, especially art produced under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration. Then have students view art that depicted the disastrous effects of the Dust Bowl from the library and Internet sources. Online browsers can find artwork through the Images tab, key words Art of the Dust Bowl or Paintings of the Dust Bowl. Organize students into small groups to develop a museum exhibit on one artist s work, with a brief biography of the artist, analysis of how the Dust Bowl is represented in the artist s work, examples of the art work, and the possible impact on audiences. Students can present their exhibits as a traditional museum exhibit on poster board or a digital presentation online. Will Rogers on the Dust Bowl Perhaps no single American s view on the Depression and Dust Bowl was more popular than humorist Will Rogers. Born in Claremore, Oklahoma, in 1879, Rogers quickly rose through the ranks of vaudeville and into radio and movies. His cowboy philosophy narrations, peppered with wit, satire and selfeffacing humor, quickly endeared him to a nation ravaged by the Great Depression. Begin the activity by discussing with students the impact of present-day radio and television political satirists such as Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart. Next, have students listen to Rogers s monologue on the Dust Bowl ( listed as Part 3.) 4

5 Have students take notes on Rogers thoughts about environmental protection in the 1930s paying particular attention to his views on the spread of dust storms throughout the Midwest and the impact on Americans. Have students assume they are farmers on the Great Plains affected by the Dust Bowl and write fan letters to Rogers either agreeing or disagreeing with his message. They should include quotes from Rogers s monologue to support their point of view. Students can present their letters in an oral presentation to the class or post them online as an audio blog. Photography of the Dust Bowl Era During the 1930s, photographers working for the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information (FSA-OWI) took more than 160,000 photographs, many depicting the Dust Bowl. These photos provide a unique historical record of the period, one that makes the era come alive for later generations. Divide the class into groups of four to five students. Explain that they will be selecting the single Greatest Dust Bowl photograph for inclusion in a national exhibit of 1930s-era photography. Have students browse the photo collection on the Dust Bowl website and on the FSA-OWI website at Once the group has agreed on a photograph have them write an assessment that identifies the photograph s title, photographer, location and date and explains why the photo deserves the title of Greatest Dust Bowl photograph with persuasive reasons for supporting their choice. Have each group present their photograph to the class. The Plow That Broke the Plains Pare Lorentz s 1936 masterpiece The Plow That Broke the Plains, was produced for the Resettlement Administration to raise awareness about the Dust Bowl and New Deal. It also was intended to raise awareness of the environmental catastrophe. Virgil Thompson s musical score and Thomas Chalmers s narration make the film nearly lyrical in nature. Before having students view the film, divide the class into two groups and assign one group to writing favorable critiques, and the other writing unfavorable critiques. Have students view the film. A quality copy can be found at the FDR Library, ( Students should critique the film on the following points: A comparison of whether Plow matches historically with facts and information they have studied. The artistic quality of the film (photography, narration, music, etc.) The effectiveness of the film in telling the story of the Dust Bowl and government efforts to provide relief and reform to the Great Plains farmers. In their critique essay, students should state their position about the film, and point to evidence helps prove their opinion. 5