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...
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
The Grapes of Wrath: Voices from the Great Depression
Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the plight of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression as they read Steinbeck's The...
Curated OER
Grapes of Wrath as a Primary Source
Eighth graders consider the plight of migrant farmers during the Great Depression. In this historical perspectives lesson, 8th graders watch the film based on Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and then discuss the conditions the characters...
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
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...
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Going to the Promised Land
To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...
Curated OER
Constructing Narrative from the Migrant Experience in Literature
Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.
Curated OER
The Dust Bowl Odyssey
Great information, images, and wonderful higher-order thinking questions await your class. They'll discuss, consider, and examine multiple factors related to the Dust Bowl. A cross-media comparison is made between the historical events...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and Now: The Migrant Worker Experience
Young scholars identify the concerns of people caught in desperate times during the Great Depression. They make connections between The Grapes of Wrath and historical images from the Great Depression. Students make connections between...
Curated OER
Going to the Promised Land
Students analyze primary resources and map in order to draw conclusions regarding the migrant-worker experience during the Great Depression. They explain and explain the impact of economic and ecological events on individuals.
Curated OER
Figurin Somepin 'Bout the Great Depression
Students create a scrapbook based on their research of the lives of migrants in California during the Great Depression.
Curated OER
Figuring Somepin 'Bout the Great Depression
Students conduct research from primary and secondary resources in order to help with comprehension of the time period of The Great Depression in American History. The examination of literature is also used in this lesson plan.
Curated OER
Going to the Promised Land (Dust Bowl Migration)
Students examine Dust Bowl migration. For this Great Depression lesson, students research primary sources regarding migration issues in the United States during the Great Depression. Students discuss their research findings and impressions.
Curated OER
Arkansas and the Dust Bowl
Students access and use the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information, American Memory collection and Todd and Sonkin collection for research. They develop research skills and strategies, such as key word searches to...
Library of Congress
Loc: The Grapes of Wrath: Voices From the Great Depression
By examining primary sources, including songs, newspapers, interviews, and photographs of migrant farm workers in California during the Great Depression, students create a scrapbook from the point of view of a migrant worker, providing...