TEACHING OUT OF THE DUST BY KAREN HESSE
PRIMARY SOURCE PHOTOS TO BE USED WITH
OUT OF THE DUST
Source: Library of Congress
PRIMARY SOURCE PHOTOS TO BE USED WITH
OUT OF THE DUST
Source: Library of Congress
Source: Library of Congress
Source: Library of Congress
Source: Migrant Mother Photos
BRAINPOP: GREAT DEPRESSION
BRAINPOP: CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
BRAINPOP: RECESSION
BRAINPOP: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
BRAINPOP: ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
Research Unit
The Dust Bowl
“I” Witness to History
Poem in Two Voices: Heroes of the Depression
February 12, 2016
Dear Parents:
Ms. Archer, Media Specialist at J.E.J. Moore and Ms. White, Hurricane 7th grade English teacher, are joining forces and we will soon be hard at work teaching research skills to the Hurricane English students. The research unit incorporates the "best practices for research" using the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history...The Dust Bowl...to capture student interest. Students will use the “I” Witness to History approach to research the time period, which means students will work in pairs to write TWO “First-Person Accounts” in ONE free verse narrative form to illustrate their understanding of their chosen “HEROES” from this era:
Students will create a performance piece that meets the following criteria:
1. The poem will have two well developed, clearly recognizable voices from the Depression Era.
2. The poem will show an accurate, well researched exchange between the two people from this era.
3. The poem will convey why these two voices are heroes.
4. The poem will effectively use the two-voice format, which means the poem will have some lines said separately, and other line spoken together.
The Presentation of the poems will be on Thursday March 17 and Friday, 18.
Note: A minimum of 15 individual lines per voice must be included in the poem. In other words, The 15 lines do not include repeated lines spoken together.
NOTE: This unit is research based and allows for interdisciplinary connections in both Language Arts and Social Studies.
Prior to writing their “Poems in Two Voices” student will have viewed excerpts from Ken Burns’ documentary entitled The Dust Bowl, read the historical fiction novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, winner of the Newbery Medal for Children's Literature, analyzed primary source photographs, viewed short overviews of key events/people from this time period, and read nonfiction selections regarding the Depression and the Dust Bowl Disaster. Not to mention the time we have scheduled for actual independent library research with Mrs. Archer.
Again, the due date for completed Poems in Two Voices: Heroes of the Depression is Thursday, March 17 for ODD Day classes and Friday, March 18 for EVEN Day classes. The poems will count as a test grade. I have included a copy of the grading rubric. I hope your child has fun immersing themselves in this time period. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the assignment.
Extra credit will be offered for students who perform their “Poems in Two Voice” at the Super Family Night, which will be held on Thursday, March 24 from 5:00-7:00 at J.E.J. Moore Middle School.
Kindest Regards,
Mrs. White
Hurricane English Teacher
The Dust Bowl
“I” Witness to History
Poem in Two Voices: Heroes of the Depression
_____The Poem includes documented historical facts (15 points)
_____The Poem is plausible for the time, person and place: The Dust Bowl/Depression Era (5 points)
_____The poem has two well developed, clearly recognizable voices from the Depression Era, and the poem shows an accurate, well researched exchange between two people from this era (10 points)
_____The poem conveys why these two voices are heroes (10 points)
_____The poem effectively uses two-voice format, having some lines spoken separately, and other line spoken together (minimum of 15 lines per VOICE with a repetition scheme within the poem (10 points)
_____Poems presented on one of the following dates: March 17 for ODD day classes or March 18 for EVEN day classes (20 points)
_____Research Sources are cited (10 points)
_____Student followed the directions for completion of the assignment: Including the completion of the RESEARCH FOLDER (10 points)
_____Students stayed on task, worked well independently and cooperatively in their groups and communicated problems and concerns with the classroom teacher and/or Media Resource teacher (10 points)
_____ /100 Final Grade
Link to GOOGLE DOC
Step 1: Enduring Understanding (These are the main ideas that students should gain from this unit.)
Are the Enduring Understandings clear and accessible to the students?
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In Social Studies, students will be able to identify the effectiveness of attempts to help people during the Great Depression, focusing on the impact of New Deal programs on individuals and the costs and benefits.
In Science, students will use the conclusion from the controlled experiment, to be able to plant gardens or flowers in the future. Students will relate the plants they grow to the struggles of farmers during the great depression. Students will analyze causes of the Dust Bowl and the agricultural equipment and methods of the time. Students will judge which practice had the most impact on recovery of the Great Plains.
In Language Arts, Students will gain an understanding and appreciation for historical fiction and free verse poetry. Students will connect with history by assuming the role of their identified “hero” of the era. This connection will be deepened through research and the creation of a POEM IN TWO VOICES.
In Choir, students will be able to explain music’s role during the Great Depression.
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Step 2: Essential Question/Questions (Engage the students; this should be open-ended and the students should spend the unit trying to answer this question. It should guide students toward the enduring understanding. )
Do the Essential Questions push student thinking?
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Who were the Super Heroes of the Great Depression?
Additional Questions:
· What personal qualities make a person “HEROIC”?
· Is it possible to be a hero during a depression?
· In the face of adversity, what cause some individuals to be “heroes” while other fail?
· What caused the DUST BOWL?
· What role did political figures of the era such as President Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor, play in this period of history?
· How can the major events of history become themes in literature?
· How does nature provide conflict for literature? How does this type of conflict effect “man”? (Present day and historically)
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Step 3: Skills (What skills will the students be assessing during this unit. This should be the focus of your rubric and you should give students a chance to practice during the unit.)
Do students have a chance to practice the skills?
Do the skills connect clearly with the Enduring Understanding?
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In Social Studies, students will be asked to interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives; identify the costs and benefits of specific choices made, including the consequences, both intended and unintended, of the decisions and how people and nations responded. (USII.1d, USII.1i)
In Science, students will cover LS 1 Scientific Method as the main goal. Related goals are as follows: LS4 Student will investigate the characteristics of major plant divisions; LS5 Student will understand the chemical processes of photosynthesis and understand it is the base of all food webs; LS6 Student will understand that living and nonliving components of an ecosystem are dependent on one another; LS1 Students will design a controlled experiment using bean seeds to demonstrate understanding of the scientific method.
In Math, students will be given the opportunity to choose a topic regarding the Great Depression. After gathering research, the students must construct their own graphs based on the research that they have gathered. The students may use a program to help them create their graphs but they may not use graphs that have already been created. Students may construct frequency tables, histograms, line plot graphs, and or circle graphs to display their data. Graphs must contain a title and labels as well as an interpretation of the data contained in the graph. The students’ projects must include a bibliography. We are also encouraging students to include pictures from that era to enhance their project. Math SOL 7.11 The students will use problem solving, mathematical communication, mathematical reasoning, connections, and representations to collect, analyze, display, and interpret data sets using various types of graphs.
Students will also determine patterns and trends within the data sets and the causes of these trends. The students will use the research they conducted to make inferences, conjectures, and predictions based on the analysis of their data sets.
In Language Arts,
· Students will use reading strategies to read and comprehend informational, historical fiction, and free verse poetry texts.
· Students will be able to identify the causes and the effects of events in history and will be able to validate those effects through research by using primary sources and secondary.
· Students will be able to identify the effects the GREAT DEPRESSION and the DUST BOWL had on the people who grew up during this time period.
Prior to writing their “Poems in Two Voices” student will have viewed excerpts from Ken Burns’ documentary entitled The Dust Bowl, read the historical fiction novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, winner of the Newbery Medal for Children's Literature, analyzed primary source photographs, viewed short overviews of key events/people from this time period, read nonfiction selections regarding the Depression and the Dust Bowl Disaster, and performed actual independent library research with Mrs. Archer and Mrs. White in the library.
In Choir, students will focus on critical thinking, vocal technique, diction, and musical expression.
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Step 4: Assessment (Your assessment should be driven by the skills rather than content
Your assessment should be valid and reliable.)
· A valid (meaningful) assessment measures what it is intended to measure.
· A reliable assessment is consistent; with a reliable assessment students should get the same rating regardless of when they took the assessment or who is grading it.
Are the skills being assessed? Or has the text/ content became the focal point of the assessment?
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Social Studies rubric attached to email.
Science rubric attached to email.
Math rubric attached to email.
Language Arts rubric to email.
Language Arts
· After the numerous activities connected with the Newbery Award winning novel Out of the Dust students will work with a partner to create a Poem in Two Voices which will depict their understanding of the essential questions and concept describe in this document.
· Students will perform their Poem in Two Voices for their peers.
· Students will have daily classwork related to the unit, i.e., Do Nows and classwork,
· Cooperative Learning Tasks throughout the unit
· Students will be assessed on the novel Out of the Dust with a unit test which focuses on the essential questions and understanding for this unit of study.
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Step 5: Progression (An explanation of how you will move through the unit)
Does the Progression show proper priorities?
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In Social Studies, we will introduce the PBL unit by studying, discussing, and researching the Great Depression. We will focus on the causes, impacts, and the New Deal programs. We will then have time to research New Deal programs and begin to focus on the product. For the project based learning aspect, students will choose an appropriate New Deal program (The Super Heroes!) and create a Super Hero based on the program. They will be expected to research, answer, and create the following based on their New Deal program:
o What was the “super power” of the program?
o Who was it made to help and how?
o Was the program effective? Explain.
I will share with them this is only a starting point and they are not limited to this. They should be authorities on the program they choose. Using the information that they find and the “persona” they choose, they will be given the option of choosing one of the following products to create that describes their New Deal program:
o Emblem
o Shield
o Crest
o Outfit/Uniform
o 3D model
o Comic book
o Student designed project with my approval
In addition to the above product, all students will be expected to turn in an explanation of their products. This explanation will include the program’s “superpower”, the intended population it was create to help and its effectiveness. In addition, students will give information on the impact(s) and costs and benefits of the program. They will also be expected to tell why they chose the final product, along with filling out a reflective worksheet.
In Language Arts, Prior to writing their “Poems in Two Voices” student will progress through the unit as follows:
· View excerpts from Ken Burns’ documentary entitled The Dust Bowl
· Read the historical fiction novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, winner of the Newbery Medal for Children's Literature
· Analyze primary source photographs
· View short overviews of key events/people from this time period
· Read nonfiction selections regarding the Depression and the Dust Bowl Disaster
· Perform actual independent library research with Mrs. Archer and Mrs. White in the library
· Write a Poem in Two Voices with a partner
· Partners Perform Poems in Two Voices
RABBIT DRIVES IN THE DUST BOWL
OUT OF THE DUST PAGESPAGE 6-7
RABBIT BATTLES
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GENERAL OVERVIEW OF DUST BOWL
FDR FIRESIDE CHAT AFTER VISITING THE DUST BOWL
DOROTHEA LANGE: MIGRANT MOTHER SERIES
THE DIONNE QUINTUPLETS
KILAUEA 1934 ERUPTION
Seven Reasons I Teach With Historical Fiction
It piques kids' curiosity. Although I sometimes begin units with chapter books, more often I start with picture books because they're engaging and full of information. Before I read aloud, we make a class list of what students already know about the topic, and then I say: "When I finish reading, I'd like each of you to ask a question related to the story. The only rule is, no question can be asked twice." Afterward, I launch investigations, saying, "Now that we've looked at what happened to one pioneer family, let's find out if their experience was typical or unusual."
It levels the playing field. Some kids come to class with a deep background knowledge to draw upon, while others have just shallow reservoirs. Reading historical fiction promotes academic equity because comparing books from one unit to the next provides kids with equal opportunities to develop historical analogies. I ask, "How is the story we read for this unit similar to and different from the one we read last month?"
It hammers home everyday details. Picture books today provide visual and contextual clues to how people lived, what their speech was like, how they dressed, and so on. When accurately portrayed, these details are like a savings account that students can draw on and supplement - each deposit of information provides a richer understanding of the period.
It puts people back into history. Social studies texts are often devoted to coverage rather than depth. Too often, individuals - no matter how famous or important - are reduced to a few sentences. Children have difficulty converting these cryptic descriptions and snapshots into complex individuals who often had difficult choices to make, so myths and stereotypes flourish. Good historical fiction presents individuals as they are, neither all good nor all bad.
It presents the complexity of issues. If you were to draw a topographical map of an issue, there would be hills and valleys, because most issues are multifaceted. Yet traditionally, historical issues have been presented to children as flat, one-dimensional, or single-sided. Historical fiction restores the landscape of history, warts and all, so children can discover that dilemmas are age-old. My kids often make lists of the costs and benefits of historical decisions. For example, they draw two posters - one encouraging American colonists to join the Patriots, the other urging them to stay loyal to King George. They also write 35- to 45-second infomercials for each side.
It promotes multiple perspectives. It's important for students to share their perspectives, while respecting the opinions of others. Historical fiction introduces children to characters who have different points of view and offers examples of how people deal differently with problems. It also informs students about the interpretive nature of history, showing how authors and illustrators deal with an issue in different ways.
It connects social studies learning to the rest of our school day. Historical fiction, while enhancing understanding of the past, can help you integrate social studies across the curriculum. SOURCE
Front Page
Heroes or Stars Can be used for Heading
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Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
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I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time, I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
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