The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...

To conclude their study of Out of the Dust, the 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, individuals craft a narrative essay based on one of the themes in Karen Hesse's novel.

Imagine using a six-sided cube to encourage readers to analyze a topic in greater depth. Create a cube, label each of the six sides with one of Bloom's comprehension levels, and you're ready to launch a discussion of a text. Although...

Here's a great resource packet to use with a study of The Grapes of Wrath. Individuals select historic photos from the Library of Congress's American Memory Collection and create a photo report album to represent a scene from John...

Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...

Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...

New ReviewWhat were living conditions like in the United States during The Great Depression, and how do those conditions compare with today? That's the question young scholars consider as they prepare to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men....

Images of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression are haunting in the suffering they show. Young historians use photographs—both iconic and lesser known—to tell about the human experience during this time. A series of photographs, as...

Teach young scholars how to, in the words of Dorothea Lange, see life without a camera by looking at her life through the lens of a short video. Viewers are introduced to Lange's life, her work, and some of her famous photographs.

A picture often has hidden stories to tell. Looking at the iconic Migrant Mother photography by Dorothy Lange, individuals examine the human toll of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression at large. Other documents, including a statement...

For many farmers displaced by the Great Depression and the droughts of the 1930s, California represented the American Dream: a place to find work, to establish a new life, and to provide for their families. The reality they found, as...

John Steinbeck's award-winning The Grapes of Wrath brought to life the challenges faced by the migrants uprooted by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Lauded by some for his work, others, especially California growers, were...

Paul Taylor's interviews and Dorothea Lange's photographs bring to life the unimaginable devastation of the Dust Bowl. After watching a short video from PBS, viewers are asked to imagine how they would react, whether they would stay or...

Challenge readers of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to create a museum exhibit that uses artifacts to focus on one issue raised by the award winning story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Joads.

The dry Oklahoma landscape in America's Dust Bowl sent many farmers in search of the promised land. A teacher's guide to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath discusses the characters' desire for a better home along with other themes and...

The Grapes of Wrath may be the most famous novel set during the Dust Bowl, but what other stories cover the same time? The unit focuses on the Karen Hesse novel Out of the Dust. Learners keep a timeline of the Dust Bowl, maintain a...

A K-W-H-L chart is a great way to scaffold prior knowledge. As class members begin their reading of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, they chart what they already know about the Great Depression and...

A guided imagery exercise is a great way to get readers thinking about writing. As part of their study of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, class members listen to a reading of one of the poems from...

Encourage good reading habits with an activity that asks class members to examine the title and cover of Out of the Dust, and then make predictions about the setting of and events in the tale.  

As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.

To prepare for a reading of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, class members complete an anticipation guide that focuses attention on themes readers will encounter in the novel.

Add a great resource to your collection of The Grapes of Wrath curriculum materials. A thorough packet contains loads of useful suggestions, whether you use the novel as an anchor text, as a reading circle option, or as independent reading.

Elementary pupils are introduced to the Great Depression as a critical period of hardship in United States history. They engage in collaborative assignments researching the Dust Bowl, the New Deal, US presidents, and presidential libraries.

John Ford's 1940 film version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is the subject of a 23-question worksheet designed to accompany a viewing of the film. The questions not only focus viewers on events, but also ask them to make...