TOPICS:
- Thomas Jefferson, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- Plains Ecology: Plants, Animals, and Climate
- Native Americans: Land Use and Resource Management
- The Buffalo and the Great Plains Indians
- The Horse and the Great Plains Indians
- Water on the Plains: Wetlands and Aquifers
- John Wesley Powell: Exploring and Planning for Western Development
- Inventions that Made Farming on the Plains Possible
- Western Development: Railroads and the Homestead Act of 1862
- Farming Practices During World War I
Page Two
U.S. History Historical Investigation Teams 1. Historical Question: Why did the Dust Bowl happen? 2. Topic for investigation: ________________________________________________________ 3. Team: (circle your name:: ______________________________________________________ 4. Research notes: ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Page Three 5. Bibliography: (list sources below.) Page Four U.S. History Historical Investigation “The Great Depression” Name _________________________________________ Period ____________ Historical question: Why did the Dust Bowl happen? Use the class notes you take from each group report and formulate a one page answer to this question. Tie together the information into a “big picture” of conditions, attitudes, actions taken, etc., that led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.- ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Page Five In your opinion, how might the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s have been prevented from happening? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Could another Dust Bowl happen? Explain your response. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Lesson Two
U.S. History: Video - “Battle for the Great Plains”
National Audubon Society film - PBS
U.S. History: Video - “Battle for the Great Plains”
National Audubon Society film - PBS
Name __________________________________________________ Period __________ FACTS TO CONSIDER
- The Great Plains is 2,500 miles long and 600 miles wide
- The Great Plains covers one-fifth of U.S. land and is home to three percent of the population
- Twenty different Indian tribes once hunted on the Plains
- The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of land to anyone who could farm the land
- The Missouri River Dam Project flooded 156,000 acres of land and uprooted 90 percent of the Mandan tribe
- Between 1862 and 1890, six million people migrated to the Great Plains
- In the past 100 years, the Great Plains has lost one-half of its topsoil
- ecosystem
- balance of nature
- marginal land
- subsidy
- groundwater
- homesteader
- prairie
- Native American philosophy toward the land
- Lewis and Clark Expedition--connection to the Mandan Indian
- What destroyed the Mandan-Hidatsa tribal life?
- Identify: Wes Jackson: “We came with vision, but not with sight.” Explain. Does Jackson think we’ve learned our lessons after the Dust Bowl days? Explain. Sustainable agriculture--define.
- Discuss what “short-term technological fixes” have been used on the Great Plains.
- Problems for Wildlife: Identify. What do we need to bring wildlife back?
- What does Wes Jackson mean by “becoming native to this place”?
- Cattle/Sheep Ranchers: Some viewpoints.
- What is happening to the population in the Great Plains states?
- Who are Frank and Deborah Popper?
- What is their plan for the Great Plains? (Name and description)
- Why are buffalo (bison) better adapted to the Plains environment than cattle?
- Focus on Lassiter Ranch in Colorado. Describe the ranching practices he follows.
- Wes Jackson: Land Institute, Salina, Kansas. (final comments)
Lesson Three
U.S. History: History Through Literature
“Perspectives from Wallace Stegner”
Selections: 1. “Finding the Place: A Migrant Childhood”
2. “Living Dry”
3. “Thoughts in A Dry Land”
Assignment:
1. Depending on your class size, run off enough copies of these three selections for every
student to have a copy of one. Allow most of a class period for students to read the selections.
2. Divide students into reading response groups based on which of the three selections
they read. In a large class create two response groups for each of the three selections. This puts
only three or four in a group which is a better number than six or seven.
3. Give another class period for students to get into their response groups to discuss the
selections. The teacher can give each group a thought-provoking question to discuss for 10 to 15
minutes. You might also have each response group develop some questions on each selection.
4. If you have two response groups per selection, let the two groups join together to
discuss the selection for another 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Have each group choose one person to give an oral report to the class. The report
should summarize what each group feels is important about the selection.
6. See “A Dozen Ways to Respond to A Book,” for additional lesson ideas.
A DOZEN WAYS TO RESPOND TO A BOOK---
(or what to do when you and the kids are bored with comprehension questions)
1. Commentary/Response Journal--After reading a selection or a chapter of a book have
students divide a page in half. On the left side have them record what is happening in the story
progressively. On the right side have them record how they are responding to the selection--
feelings, memories, reflections, insights, associations that occur while they are reading (see article
“Do We Teach The Way We Read”).
2. Retell story from another character’s point of view.
3. Write a script. Write a dialogue of the characters’ conversation at dinner discussing
the events of the story.
4. Make a diary of one of the characters.
5. Write a poem in response to the story. Write a love poem from one character to
another.
6. Divide the class into groups of four or five for reading response groups. After reading
silently for a specified amount of time, give each group a thought-provoking question to discuss
for 10-15 minutes. The group then discusses the question (see article “How Reading Can Inspire
Writing).
7. Have students draw maps of the events of the story. For stories that take place over a
period of time, have students make time lines of the major events.
8. Write statements concerning the story on strips of paper. Each student draws one and
decides whether the statement is true or false. The student then must prove the decision with
information from the story. Using both literal and inferential questions will provide opportunities
for discussion of answers that are “right there” and those that need a combination of prior
knowledge and search and find strategies.
9. Make a stack of cards with characters’ names on them. Have a child select a card.
The rest of the group act as “reporters” who question the character about his or her feelings,
actions, or intentions in the story.
10. Have children prepare questions about the story they are reading to ask each other
during a group discussion. Children who are permitted to ask questions of each other become
active participants in discussions.
11. Give students the following instructions: You are a reporter from the National
Enquirer and you’ve been given the assignment to interview a character from the story. What
questions would you ask? Once you have formulated your questions do a mock interview with
one of your classmates. Write an article from the interview.
12. Write a newspaper using the characters, settings, and plot from the novel being read.
The following newspaper items could be included in the newspaper:
a) Front page articles about important events in the setting.
b) Feature articles about characters.
c) Editorials from characters about controversies in the book.
d) Advice column answering questions from characters in book.
e) Interview with author and illustrator.
f) Review of book.
g) Letters to editor from characters and about character and events in the book.
h) Cartoons using book characters.
i) Puzzle page using words from book.
j) Business page featuring occupations of characters in book.
k) Sports page featuring characters playing sports that fit their character.
l) Classified ads selling services and items mentioned in the book.
m) Weather report of typical weather for setting of book.
n) Travel information using places from the book.Carol DuPaix Conroe ISD
Lesson Four
U.S. History: History Through the Arts
“Culture During the Depression”
Assignment:
1. Students should choose one area of the arts/pop culture during the Depression and
Dust Bowl era. Research your chosen area/topic and produce a product to showcase that topic.
(See the attached products list.) As you do your research, focus on how the environment is
reflected in the art.
2. General topic suggestions:
New Deal and the Arts
Artists of the Depression
Writers, Playwrights, and Poets
Photography
Music
Movies
Radio
Fashion Styles
Architecture
3. Present your product in a three- to five-minute presentation to the class.
PRODUCTS
Produce video
Court trial
Debate
Panel discussion
60 Minute interview
Socio drama
Exhibits
Photography layout
Propaganda newspaper
Stand-up routine
Creating computer/or board games
Simulation games
Poem
Song
Literary publications
Editorial
Painting
Guidebook
Museum activity (role playing)
Illustration
Mural
Multi-media art
Cartooning
Characters
Sculpting
Create, research and solve a mystery
Statistical analysis
Scrapbook
Slide show
Mosaic
Radio show
Dramatization
Puppeteering
Invention
Scientific experiment
Engineering competition
Experiment
Surrealistic art
Optical illusio
Lesson Five
U.S. History: The Great Depression and the New Deal
“Oral History - Personal Interview”
Student Name _______________________________________________ Period ____________
Person Interviewed _____________________________________________ Age ____________
Relation to you _________________________________________________________________
Where did they live during the Depression/New Deal? __________________________________
What do they remember about the Depression and New Deal? (use back of this page or extra
sheets if necessary) ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How does their view compare with what you have read and heard about this period? Give your
opinion. _______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Suggested Enrichment Activities:
Field Trips:
1. LBJ National Grassland - Decatur, Texas
2. Native Prairies - Forreston, Texas
3. Botanical Research Institute of Texas - Fort Worth, Texas
4. Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
Guest Speakers: Federal, state, and county agencies are possible sources for guest speakers.
1. Federal - Department of Agriculture
a) Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service
b) Soil Conservation Service
Department of the Interior
a) Water Resource Division
2. State - Parks and Wildlife Department
Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC)
Texas State Agriculture Department
3. County - Agricultural Extension Services+
Additional: Extracted from the list of state field offices of The Nature Conservancy.
INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
1815 N. Lynn St.
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 841-3300
ILLINOIS FIELD OFFICE
8 S. Michigan Ave.
Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 346-8166
Bruce Boyd, Director
KANSAS FIELD OFFICE
820 S.E. Quincy
Suite 301
Topeka, KS 66612-1158
(913) 233-4400
Alan Pollom, Director
LOUISIANA FIELD OFFICE
P.O. Box 4125
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
(504) 338-1040
Lisa Creasman, Director
MISSOURI FIELD OFFICE
2800 S. Brentwood Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63144
(314) 968-1105
Rod Miller, Vice President
NEBRASKA FIELD OFFICE
1722 St . Mary’s Ave., Suite 403
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 342-0282
Vincent E. Shay, Director
OHIO FIELD OFFICE
1504 W. 1st Ave.
Columbus, OH 43212
(614) 486-4194
David Weekes, Director
OKLAHOMA FIELD OFFICE
23 W. 4th
Suite 200
Tulsa, OK 7-4103
(918) 585-1117
Brita Cantrell, Director
SOUTH DAKOTA FIELD OFFICE
405 S. 3rd Ave.
Suite 102
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
(605) 331-06719
Rosemary Draeger, Director
TEXAS FIELD OFFICE
P.O. Box 1440
San Antonio, TX 78295-1440
(210) 224-8774
Robert Potts, Acting Director
Bibliography:
Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Battle for the Great Plains. Produced by National Audubon Society, Turner Broadcasting Systems, and WETA-TV, PBS Video, Alexandria, VA, 1992.
Benyus, Janine M. The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Western United States. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
Campbell, Maria. People of the Buffalo--How the Plains Indians Lived. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1976.
Chadwick, Douglas H. “What Good Is A Prairie?” Audubon, November/December, 1995, pp. 36-46+.
Costello, David F. The Prairie World: Plants and Animals of the Grassland Sea. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1969.
Crumbie, R. Edward. Ghost Bears: Exploring the Biodiversity Crisis. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1992.
Cushman, Ruth Carol, and Stephen R. Jones. The Shortgrass Prairie. Boulder: Pruett Publishing Company, 1988.
Dary, David A. The Buffalo Book--The Full Saga of the American Animal. Ohio University Press, 1974.
Elms, Ernest H. Animals of the Western Rangelands. Happy Camp, CA: Naturegraph Publishers, Inc., 1986.
Flores, Dan. “Bison Ecology and Bison Diplomacy--The Southern Plains from 1800 to 1850,” The Journal of American History, Volume 78, Number 2, September 1991, pp. 465-485.
Flores, Dan. Caprock Canyonlands--Journey into the Heart of the Southern Plains. University of Texas Press, 1990.
Friedrich, Otto. “FDR’s Disputed Legacy,” Time, February 1, 1982, pp. 20-26+.
Garraty, John A., ed. Historical Viewpoints--Notable Articles from American Heritage. 6th ed., Volume one to 1877., Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.
Gould, Frank W. Common Texas Grasses--An Illustrated Guide. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978.
Holthams, Gary, ed. A Society to Match the Scenery: Personal Visions of the Future of the American West. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 1991.
Hook, Jason. The American Plains Indians. London: Men-at-Arms Series, Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1985.
Hughes, J. Donald. American Indian Ecology. El Paso: University of Texas at El Paso, 1983.
Jackson, Wes. “Becoming Native to This Place.” Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press, 1994.
Lubbock, Chamber of Commerce. “The Llano Estacado.” Lubbock, Texas.
Manning, Richard. Grassland: The History, Biology, Politics, and Promise of the American Prairie. New York: Viking, 1995.
Matthews, Anne. Where the Buffalo Roam. New York: Grove Press, 1992.
Matthiessen, Peter. Indian Country. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
McCoy, Ronald. “Circles of Power,” Plateau, Volume 55, Number 4. The Museum of Northern Arizona, 1991.
McLuham, T. C. Touch the Earth--A Self-Portrait of Indian Existence. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971.
Mishkin, Bernard. Rank and Warfare Among the Plains Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1940.
Nash, Roderick Frazier. American Environmentalism--Readings in Conservation History. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1990.
Norris, Kathleen. Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.
Parker, Steve. How Nature Works. New York: Random House, 1992.
Sandoz, Mari. Love Song to the Plains. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961.
Sherow, James Earl. Watering the Valley. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1990.
Stegner, Wallace. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
Stegner, Wallace. Where the Bluebird Sings to The Lemonade Springs: Living and Writing in the West. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
Udall, Stewart L. The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation. Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 1988.
U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Eros Data Center, Sioux Falls, SD 57198.
Waldman, Carl. Atlas f the North American Indian. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
Worster, Donald. Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.
