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...

"You're bound to get idears if you go thinkin' about stuff." Readers are asked to think about what they see as the important turning points in The Grapes of Wrath. Groups are then asked to think about what scenes could be eliminated if...

Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Judy Garland. Jack Benny, The Lone Ranger, Edward R. Murrow. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman. The second lesson in a unit devoted to The Grapes of Wrath establishes for readers the cultural and...

A perfect companion for anyone reading The Grapes of Wrath, this 20-page packet instructs and directs readers' attention to all the key elements in John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. The questions for Chapter one direct...

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...

From the stock market crash of 1929 to the New Deal and FDR, this presentation covers it all. Examine the causes, effects, politics, and culture of the Great Depression. Images, block text, and embedded hyperlinks make this a great...

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...

From desolate images of the Dust Bowl to the text of FDR's Fireside Chats, scholars consider the effects of the environmental disaster during the darkest days of the Great Depression. Further activities, such as jigsaw discussions, allow...

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.

Open-ended questions that cause readers to think critically and deeply about a text are hard to craft. Never fear! A collection of great discussion questions for John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, or The Pearl is...

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...

Keeping readers on track with John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath can present a challenge. A teacher's guide is packed with worksheets designed for each chapter of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, ideal for assessing comprehension as...

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.