Curated OER
Drought
Students gain knowledge about the impact of drought in agriculture. They investigate soil types, water flow, and various erosion conditions which occur during a drought and see how farming practices changed after the 1930's.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Hetch Hetchy: The Story of San Francisco's Water
How did San Francisco supply enough water for its residents over the last two centuries? Learn about droughts and water conservation in California, as well as specific historical events that led to the water system today. Kids read two...
K5 Learning
Luke, Jay and Zach's Winning Game
There's nothing like the thrill of winning the big game! Fourth graders practice reading comprehension skills with a short story and series of questions.
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie: Life and Art
Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: Chocolate Drought
In this chocolate worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write, and...
Curated OER
Of Mice and Men and The Great Depression
Provide a context for Of Mice and Men with a presentation that includes biographical information about John Steinbeck, as well information about the Great Depression and the drought of the early 1930s. The photos of Dorothea Lange,...
Curated OER
Letters From Rifka
Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page instructional activity culminates with each group getting...
National Endowment for the Humanities
John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath": The Inner Chapters
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...
Curated OER
Africa Group Creative Writing
In this Africa writing worksheet, students collaborate in a group and have 25 minutes to write a story using the 6 words provided. The words are: corrupt, drought, grasslands, epidemic, refugee, savannah.
Curated OER
Dust Bowl Story
Students compose narratives describing the difficulties faced by those living in the Dust Bowl. They use resource sheets and photos in this small group activity. Their stories include plots, settings, and characters either taken...
Louisiana Department of Education
Out of the Dust
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...
Curated OER
Grapes of Wrath: Setting up Historical Context
Discuss life in the 1930s in relation to the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, then do a cross-media analysis. Here you'll find background information on film maker John Ford, writer John Steinbeck, and 1930s America. You can compare the...
Curated OER
Ecosystems-The Essential Connection
Young scholars develop their abilities to solve problems both in school and in a variety of situations similar to that they have encountered in life. They define the term ecosystem in nature by comparing them to familiar organizational...
Power Show
Out of the Dust
Is your class reading Out of the Dust? If they are, or if this is your first time teaching Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winning novel, check out the ideas in a presentation that outlines what you and your class can do while reading about...
Curated OER
Antonyms 2
Delve deeper into word meaning by exploring a word's antonyms. For each of the 10 words listed, high schoolers must identify the correct antonym from a list of five options. Example words include boon, rapt, laggard, and imperceptible....
Curated OER
To Kill A Mockingbird: Historical Background
Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" and other images set the stage for a PowerPoint about the Great Depression. Whether used as background for Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, or as part of a historical study, the presentation would...
Teach-nology
Author’s Purpose: Entertain
How does an author entertain his or her audience? Read a short fairy tale and find the most evocative passages to discover more about author's purpose in narrative writing.
Avi Writer
Hard Gold: Teaching Guide
Designed for Hard Gold, a novel in Avi's I Witness series, this teaching guide includes a summary of the story and information about the writer as well as chapter-by-chapter vocabulary lists, text-based reading questions, activities,...
Brigham Young University
Out of the Dust: Guided Imagery
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...
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
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...
Curated OER
Climate Change
Rising sea levels, strong storms, melting ice ... who or what is to blame? Scholars browse the website in preparation for a class discussion or debate about whether human activity is causing climate change. They gain a balanced...
Curated OER
Easy Street
Pupils work together to complete a simulation on drought days. As a class, they discuss their results and compare water usage of the past to current numbers. After reading short excerpts, they answer discussion questions and review as a...
Curated OER
Wild Weather Antonyms and Synonyms Worksheet
Have your language arts class expand their science-related vocabulary with this graphic organizer. They will take the 15 words listed and find an antonym and synonym for each.
K12 Reader
The Great Depression
Try out this reading passage when teaching your class about the 1920s and 1930s. After reading the text, which provides an overview of some major events in these years, learners respond to five related questions.