Out of the Dust

By

Karen Hesse

Name______

Date______

“Dust Storm Disaster”

by Woody Guthrie

On the fourteenth day of April of nineteen thirty five,

There struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky:

You could see that dust storm coming the cloud looked deathlike black,

And through our mighty nation, it left a dreadful track…

This storm took place at sundown and lasted through the night,

When we looked out this morning we saw a terrible sight:

We saw outside our windows where wheat fields they had grown

Was now a rippling ocean of dust the wind had blown.

It covered up our fences, it covered up our barns,

It covered up our tractors in this wild and windy storm.

We loaded our jalopies and piled our families in,

We rattled down the highway to never come back again.

Building Background

Please use this page to take notes about what you learn about the Dust Bowl and the Depression Era from class discussion and video clips. Also, briefly respond to the following questions after watching the videos.

How did you feel?

Do you think you would have survived such a storm?

What about your family?

Look at the photographs of the Dust Bowl on the previous page. Think about these and write a reaction paragraph. What do these pictures tell you? How do they make you feel? What have you learned about this time period by looking at these pictures?

Pages 1-20.

Open Mind Activity/Picture of Head

At the beginning of a novel, authors usually introduce the main characters. As we read, we will discover more about some of these characters and come to know some of them very well. This activity is similar to a Sketch to Stretch activity. After reading the first twenty pages, choose a character that you can relate to or that you are interested in learning more about. Inside the head, draw a symbol or symbols that represent(s) the character you chose. Afterwards write a brief paragraph on the next page telling why you chose that character and how the symbol relates to what you have learned so far.

Pages 21-51

Science/Research

After reading these pages we need to do some research on concepts we have been reading about, but may not be familiar with. You may choose to do this alone or with a partner. There will be encyclopedias and books available, but I would like for you to research the Internet first to find some of these answers. Please write what you find in the space below.

Please cite where you find your information. The following questions are as follows:

1.  What are the causes of dust storms?

2.  What kind of destruction can they cause?

3.  Where in the United States did the Dust Bowl storms mostly occur?

4.  What would it look like if a dust storm were happening where you live?

Please use the following website to help you find the information. You can also do a search on the Internet using a search engine such as google.com, msn.com, or yahoo.com.

http: www.drylands.nasm.edu:1995/dust.html

Pages 55-74

Literature Portrait

A lot takes place in the story during this section. This is when an accident happens that changes Billie Jo’s life forever. A literature portrait is similar to a story quilt. Choose a quote from this section that you think is important or that relates to a character. Write your quote and the page number where you found it in the middle of the picture frame provided on the next page. Around the outside of the frame, draw symbols that relate to your quote or to a theme of the book. Also, draw a picture inside the frame that relates to the quote and write a brief summary on why you chose this quote or why it is important to you.

Pages 75-95

After reading this section, please respond to the following questions below.

How would you feel after the accident?

Would you blame yourself?

Would you blame your father? Why?

Pages 99-149

Poetry Activity

Out of the Dust is written in free verse poetry. Karen Hesse has written other poetry much like this. Use the following sources to see other examples of free verse poetry.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/features/p/poetry/national-month.html/001--12955

Katz, Bobbi. Poems for Just Us! Scholastic, 1996

Prelutsky, Jack. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children

Sword, Elizabeth H., A Child’s Anthology of Poetry, Ecco Press 1995

Other individual poems that can be used are:

Eve Merriam’s How to Ear a Poem

Mary O’ Neil’s The Colors Live

Or some of Sylvia Cassedy’s works

After viewing these examples, choose your favorite poem to share with the class later. You will read it aloud and explain why you chose (vivid imagery, reminds you of something in your life, good word choices, etc.) it. Then I would like for you to present it to the class in any arts-based way you would like.

Some examples are as follows: dance, drama, music, dramatic reading, etc. Keep your presentation short (2-3 minutes). Please put a copy of your poem in the back of your packet.

Extra Credit: You may write a free verse poem of your own for extra credit (This is optional).

Pages 153-189

Tableau

A tableau is when you select a scene from the book and act it out. I would like you to choose a scene from these pages and be prepared to act it out in front of the class for us to guess which scene it is. The characters are posed, sometimes with props, to show what happened. There are no speaking parts. Each group will have a person to explain the scene after the audience has tried to guess. You may pick as many peers as you need to help you perform your tableau.

List the page number and provide a short description of the scene. List the characters you will need and explain why you chose the scene.

Diorama

After researching a little about dust bowls, choose either the setting of the book or the time period and create a diorama out of a shoebox. Use a variety of materials to represent the time period of the Dust Bowl or the setting of the novel and display them in the box. Afterwards, write a brief paragraph below discussing which you chose and tell what you used to represent the time period or setting. You may choose to do this with a partner, however each of you will write a paragraph on your own. Please mention your contributions to the project.

Pages 193-227

Some people may not have enjoyed the ending of the novel because it wasn’t interesting enough or satisfying to the reader. This novel had a real life ending. What do you think about the end of the book? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Why? What ending would you had given the novel? We will discuss the ending and our questions in small groups of four. Afterwards, please collect your thoughts from the discussion and write down what was discussed in your group.

Unit Rubric

Activity/Criteria /

Your Points/Total Possible Points

Building Background

Notes reflect thoughtful observation of videos and discussions / /5points

Photograph Response Activity

Answers are complete to each question
Responses are clear and show understanding of time period / /5 points

Open Mind Activity

Correct information about character is included in paragraph
Symbol chosen shows a direct correlation to character / /10points

Research Activity

Responses are complete and each question is answered correctly
Student is able to search the internet as a research source
Student is able to find an internet site through a given URL address
Student is able to find relevant information by searching other sources beyond the internet
Sources are cited correctly / /15points

Literature Portrait Activity

Quote chosen relates to a character
Symbols represent a theme of the novel or relate to the quote
Picture relates to quote and character
Summary shows understanding of character and rationale for quote chosen / /20points

Written Activity for pages 75-95

Thoughtful response to questions / /5points

Poetry Activity

Student will be able to identify free verse poetry
Supporting reasons are given for why a particular poem was chosen
Presentation exhibited original and creative thought
Presentation was an art-based response to the poem
Extra Credit: Student wrote their own free verse poem / /25 points
/10points

Tableau

Scene selected is from the assigned section
Description of scene is an accurate depiction of the story
Explanation of characters chosen is clear / /10points

Diorama

A variety of materials is used to show the time period or setting
Diorama is displayed correctly in a shoe box for class viewing
Explanation shows understanding of time period /setting / /20points

Written Activity for pages 193-227

Thoughtful responses to questions
Discussion notes reveal understanding of story and the real life ending / /10points

Total

/ Total Points
/125