Read Kansas! Middle School - M-31 Was the Dust Bowl Good for Kansas?
The student will explore the causes and effects of the dust storms as well as the changes resulting from the storms. Students will work with primary source documents, including a 1936 government film, to gather information. They will use this information to build an argument for or against the thesis statement, "The dust storms were good for Kansas." This lesson is written for two class periods.
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Kansas History Standards:
- Benchmark 5, Indicator 1: The student compares agricultural practices before and after the dust storms of the 1930s (i.e., rotation of crops, shelter belts, irrigation, terracing, stubble mulch).
Reading Standards:
- Benchmark 4, Indicator 9: The student uses paraphrasing and organizational skills to summarize information (e.g., stated and implied main ideas, main events, important details) from appropriate-level narrative, expository, technical, and persuasive text in logical order.
Common Core Reading Standards:
- RH.6-8.2: The student determines the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source, provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
Writing Standards:
- Benchmark 4, Indicator 7 The student understands and independently uses appropriate strategies to generate persuasive text (e.g., brainstorming, listing, webbing, working in pairs or cooperative groups, identifying information from print sources).
Common Core Writing Standards:
- WHST.6-8.2(a-f): The student writes informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
