Mean Clouds (Grade 7)
by Jerry Stanley
12 / Life had always been hard on the farmers who lived in Oklahoma, and in the 1930s it was especially hard on those who lived in the Panhandle, a barren stretch of rock and red soil sandwiched between Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico. These people owned small family farms of forty to eighty acres and were “dry farmers.” They had no irrigation system, no reservoirs to store water, no canals to bring water to their farms. When there was enough rain, the
Okies in the Panhandle grew wheat and corn
and raised cattle. When there wasn’t enough
rain, they were forced to sell their livestock
and farm machinery and borrow money from the bank. Every year they gambled with their lives, hoping for enough rain to get by.
In 1931 it stopped raining in the Panhandle. The sky became bright and hot, and it stayed that way every day. Cornstalks in the fields shriveled from the sizzling heat. Shoots of wheat dried up and fell to the ground. The farmers were caught in an impossible situation. They were already suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, which had started in 1929 when the stock market collapsed. The Depression
caused the price of wheat and corn to fall so low that it made growing these crops unprofitable. Most farmers had borrowed money to buy their land and had borrowed again against their land in lean years. When the prices for their crops fell, many couldn’t make payments to the banks that held title to their land. By 1932 one thousand families a week in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas were losing their farms to the banks. And now it had stopped raining in the Panhandle, and the crops themselves were failing. / 3
4 / Then when it seemed that things couldn’t get any worse, they did. The year was 1936. It hadn’t rained more than a few drops in the Panhandle for five straight years. One day the wind started to blow, and every day it blew harder and harder, as if nature were playing a cruel joke on the Okies. The wind blew the dry soil into the air, and every morning the sun rose only to disappear behind a sky of red dirt and dust. The wind knocked open doors, shattered windows, and leveled barns.
It became known as the great Dust Bowl, and it was centered in the Panhandle near Goodwell, Oklahoma. From there it stretched to the western half of Kansas, the eastern half of Colorado, the northeastern portion of New Mexico, and northern Texas. In these areas, and especially in the
Panhandle, the dry winds howled for four long years, from 1936 to 1940. Frequently the wind blew more than fifty miles an hour, carrying away the topsoil and leaving only hard red clay, which made farming
impossible.
What does the text say? Reading Comprehension
Summary – Central Idea – Supporting Details – Inferences (RI 1, RI 2)
Write a summary that includes the central idea, supporting details, and inferences that reflect what the text says explicitly.
(The great dust bowl was caused by a change in climate over an extended period of time. It caused farms to dry up and farmers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, already suffering from the Depression of 1929, to lose their farms. The rain stopped in this area of southwest for five years. The winds that followed blew dry soil and caused damage. The winds knocked open doors, shattered windows, and leveled barns. It was a serious deviation from the expected climate and came at a time when the farms and farmers were most vulnerable.)
Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, or ideas in the text. (RI 3)
The author takes the idea of difficulty with farming in the panhandle portion of the US and shows how it gets worse and worse because of the economic depression, no rain and increased wind, describing the conditions that created the Great Dust Bowl.
How does the say it? Critical Reading
Vocabulary (RI 4)
Determine the figurative, connotative, and technical meanings of the words or phrases in the text. Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
Figurative language:
Personification: as if nature were playing a cruel joke on the Okies
Alliteration: shriveled from the sizzling heat
Connotation: a barren stretch of rock and red soil; Cornstalks in the fields shriveled from the sizzling heat. Shoots of wheat dried up and fell to the ground; stock market collapsed; It hadn’t rained more than a few drops in the Panhandle for five straight years
The tone of the piece is doom and gloom.
Technical words:
irrigation system – System for getting water to the plants
reservoirs – artificial lakes
Author’s Point of View and Purpose (RI 6)
Identify the author’s point of view and purpose and explain how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
(The author’s point of view and purpose is an empathetic explanation of the difficult time farmers in the Panhandle area had in the early thirties caused by lack of water, financial difficulties, and climate change resulting in the Dust Bowl.)
The author distinguishes his position from others when the he says, “It became known as the great Dust Bowl.”
Argument – Claims – Evidence (RI 8)
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in the text, assess whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claim.
Claim: (Life had always been hard on the farmers who lived in Oklahoma; people owned small family farms of forty to eighty acres and were “dry farmers.”)
Evidence: (They had no irrigation system, no reservoirs to store water, no canals to bring water to their farms. If there wasn’t enough rain, they were forced to sell their livestock and farm machinery and borrow money.)
Claim: (The farmers were caught in an impossible situation.)
Evidence: (Farmers were already suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, which had started in 1929 when the stock market collapsed. Depression caused the price of wheat and corn to fall so low that it made growing these crops unprofitable. Many couldn’t make payments to the banks that held title to their land. In 1932, one thousand families a week in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas were losing their farms to the banks.)
Claim: (Then when it seemed that things couldn’t get any worse, they did.)
Evidence: (The year was 1936. It hadn’t rained more than a few drops in the Panhandle for five straight years. One day the wind started to blow, and every day it blew harder and harder. The wind knocked open doors, shattered windows, and leveled barns.)
What does the text mean? Generative Reading
Concepts – Generalization – Application
Concepts – deviation and disorder
Generalization – Deviation creates disorder.
Given the concepts that form the generalization, enduring understanding or lesson learned, find most of the evidence in the text that reflects the concepts and the generalization.
Deviation: (“dry farmers”) (In 1931 it stopped raining in the Panhandle. It hadn’t rained more than a few drops in the Panhandle for five straight years. The stock market collapsed. One day the wind started to blow, and every day it blew harder and harder.)
Disorder: (When there wasn’t enough rain, they were forced to sell their livestock and farm machinery and borrow money from the bank. Cornstalks in the fields shriveled from the sizzling heat. Shoots of wheat dried up and fell to the ground. 1932 one thousand families a week in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas were losing their farms to the banks. The wind knocked open doors, shattered windows, and leveled barns.)
Teacher’s Edition
Guided Highlighted Reading: “Mean Clouds”
Directions: With a highlighter, follow the prompts of the teacher; highlight what the prompts instruct you to highlight.
In paragraph 1, find and highlight the description of the Panhandle. (a barren stretch of rock and red soil sandwiched between Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico)
In paragraph 1, find and highlight the reasons farming there was called “dry farming.” (no irrigation system, no reservoirs to store water, no canals to bring water to their farms)
In paragraph 1, find and highlight the vivid verb meaning ‘bet’ or ‘risked’ that the author uses in the last sentence of this paragraph to show how much of a chance the farmers were taking. (gambled)
In paragraph 1, find and highlight the author’s claim. (Life had always been hard on the farmers who lived in Oklahoma; people owned small family farms of forty to eighty acres and were “dry farmers.”)
In paragraph 1, find and highlight the evidence to support the above claim. (They had no irrigation system, no reservoirs to store water, no canals to bring water to their farms. If there wasn’t enough rain, they were forced to sell their livestock and farm machinery and borrow money.)
In paragraph 2, find and highlight the author’s claim. (The farmers were caught in an impossible situation.)
In paragraph 2, find and highlight the evidence to support the above claim. (…already suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, the stock market collapsed, most farmers had borrowed money to buy their land and had borrowed again against their land, many couldn’t make payments to the banks that held title to their land. And now it had stopped raining in the Panhandle, and the crops themselves were failing.)
In paragraph 2, find and highlight the cause of farmers’ crop failures and of farmers’ losing their farms. (it stopped raining)
In paragraph 2, find and highlight the result of the lack of rain on the farmers’ crops. (Cornstalks in the fields shriveled from the sizzling heat. Shoots of wheat dried up and fell to the ground.)
In paragraph 2, find and highlight what was happening to farmers by 1932 because of the lack of rain. (one thousand families were losing their farms to the banks)
In paragraph 3, find and highlight what happened in 1936 to make things even worse. (One day the wind started to blow, and every day it blew harder and harder)
When an author gives human qualities to inanimate objects, it is called personification. In paragraph 3, find and highlight the example of personification in lines 6-7. (as if nature were playing a cruel joke on the Okies)
In paragraph 4, find and highlight the name given to the period from 1936 to 1940. (the great Dust Bowl)
In paragraph 4, find and highlight the final effect of the great Dust Bowl. (made farming impossible)
On the map, circle the area known as the Dust Bowl. (the gray area)
Look through the entire passage and find and highlight examples of deviation. (“dry farmers” In 1931 it stopped raining in the Panhandle. It hadn’t rained more than a few drops in the Panhandle for five straight years. The stock market collapsed. One day the wind started to blow, and every day it blew harder and harder,)
Look through the entire passage and find and highlight examples of disorder. (When there wasn’t enough rain, they were forced to sell their livestock and farm machinery and borrow money from the bank. Cornstalks in the fields shriveled from the sizzling heat. Shoots of wheat dried up and fell to the ground. 1932 one thousand families a week in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas were losing their farms to the banks. The wind knocked open doors, shattered windows, and leveled barns.)
Question Directions: Review these questions before doing the highlighting with your teacher. Answer the questions after highlighting.
1. Which statement about the Panhandle in the 1930s is true?A. People had only recently started farming on the Panhandle.
B. The farmers on the Panhandle ate most of what they raised.
C. The farmers on the Panhandle did not have a lot of experience.
D. There were few natural sources of water in the Panhandle.
2. In the first paragraph, how does a discussion of farming in Oklahoma most directly affect the rest of the selection?
A. It shows how the Great Depression affected the farmers of Oklahoma.
B. It discusses how the farmers in Oklahoma watered their crops.
C. It gives background information that sets up the discussion of the Dust Bowl.
D. It discusses the impact of the Great Depression on the farmers of Oklahoma.
3. What does the selection suggest about “dry farming”?
A. It uses irrigation systems.
B. It requires a lot of fertilizer.
C. It is done near canals.
D. It depends on adequate rainfall.
/ 4. According to the selection, how did the Great Depression affect farmers?
A. They lost money in the collapse of the stock market.
B. They could not afford to purchase irrigation equipment.
C. They no longer made a profit growing wheat and corn.
D. They were unable to sell their crops in
other areas of the country.
5. What damage caused by the Dust Bowl winds was most serious for farmers?
A. the loss of farm buildings
B. the loss of topsoil
C. the loss of water for crops
D. the loss of visibility
6. Which conclusion is based on the information in the selection?
A. Many farmers lost their farms even before the worst of the drought.
B. Farmers started making a profit again after 1940.
C. Most of Oklahoma lost its topsoil in the 1930s.
D. The farmers would have been more successful if they had had larger farms.
7. According to the map, which of these states had the most land in the Dust Bowl?
A. Oklahoma
B. Kansas
C. New Mexico
D. Texas
Teacher’s Edition