Farmers faced tough times. While most Americans enjoyed relative prosperity for most of the 1920s, the Great Depression for the American farmer really began after World War I. Much of the Roaring '20s was a continual cycle of debt for the American farmer, stemming from falling farm prices and the need to purchase expensive machinery. When the stock market crashed in 1929 sending prices in an even more downward cycle, many American farmers wondered if their hardscrabble lives would ever improve.

Before students read Out of the Dust or another novel that takes place during the Dust Bowl, students will gain background information on the Dust Bowl, Dust Bowl Migration, Mass Exodus, and Black Sunday. They will experience the Dust Bowl through a short video and pictures.

This collection uses primary sources to explore John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Either during or after the reading of Out of the Dust or another book that takes during the Dust Bowl, students will play the PBS Dust Bowl interactive activity. During the activity, students will pretend they are living in the states affected by the Dust Bowl. They will get to choose where they live and make decisions like whether or not to expand their farms or even move to California. After they find the results from their game, they will read other accounts of real people during the Dust Bowl. Then, using the results from the interactive activity, they will create their own Dust Bowl story, writing in first person and using correct historical details.

After students have read Out of the Dust, they will create a Glogster. They will write about the theme, use their vocabulary words in writing, write using similes, metaphors, and personification in poetry, compare and contrast Billie Jo's experience to someone else in history, and be able to pick an option from a list. They will use their creativity to make their poster appealing to the reader.

Subject considers how the visual and material world of "nature" has been reshaped by industrial practices, beliefs, structures, and activities. Readings in historical geography, aesthetics, American history, environmental and ecological history, architecture, city planning, and landscape studies. Several field trips planned to visit local industrial landscapes. Assignments involve weekly short, written responses to the readings, and discussion-leading. Final project is a photo-essay on the student's choice of industrial site (photographic experience not necessary).

The Stock Market Crash of 1929
President Hoover’s Response
The Depths of the Great Depression
Assessing the Hoover Years on the Eve of the New Deal

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Identify the challenges that everyday Americans faced as a result of the Great Depression and analyze the government’s initial unwillingness to provide assistance
Explain the particular challenges that African Americans faced during the crisis
Identify the unique challenges that farmers in the Great Plains faced during this period