Goals and Objectives
Students will gain a perspective of reason and right through the lives of several families and their attempt to renew life. The use of photographs will allow students to analyze and interpret what life was like during the migration from the Dust Bowl region into the newly populous areas of California and the hardships faced during their stay.
California State Content Standards
11.6.3 Discuss the human toll of the Depression,
natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practices and their effects on
the depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left
and right, with particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees and their
social and economic impacts in California.
CCSS. ELA-Literacy. WHST. 11-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
CCSS. ELA-Literacy. WHST. 11-12.6. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS. ELA- Literacy. RLA. 11-12. 6. Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
CCSS. ELA-Literacy. WHST. 11-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
CCSS. ELA-Literacy. WHST. 11-12.6. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS. ELA- Literacy. RLA. 11-12. 6. Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
Lesson Introduction
Students will respond to the following prompt, reflecting upon the information previously learned of the Great Depression:
Following the Great Crash of 1929, much of the nation plunged into a world of fear. Bleak and barren, the Great Plains became an area shrouded in dust and abandoned by it's tenants. Using the provided picture, analyze the emotion and meaning behind it's purpose. What does this photo symbolize? Are there any underlying meanings/interpretations? Why does this photograph speak to you as it does? Explain.
Following the Great Crash of 1929, much of the nation plunged into a world of fear. Bleak and barren, the Great Plains became an area shrouded in dust and abandoned by it's tenants. Using the provided picture, analyze the emotion and meaning behind it's purpose. What does this photo symbolize? Are there any underlying meanings/interpretations? Why does this photograph speak to you as it does? Explain.
Vocabulary
Some key vocabulary terms of this lesson include:
"Okie"-
Migration-
John Steinbeck
Grapes of Wrath
Dorthea Lange
The mentioned terms will be implemented through source analysis, as well as touched upon prior to beginning this unit. Students will have already heard or seen the use of these terms in context with the content material.
"Okie"-
Migration-
John Steinbeck
Grapes of Wrath
Dorthea Lange
The mentioned terms will be implemented through source analysis, as well as touched upon prior to beginning this unit. Students will have already heard or seen the use of these terms in context with the content material.
Content Delivery
The use of photography helped to capture what words couldn't speak in times of tragedy and triumph. Following the opening activity featuring the photo analysis prompt, the instructor will provide students with a refresher of questions and statements allowing students to demonstrate prior knowledge of the evolution of technology at the turn of the century, the rise of the WPA works, and influences of Dorthea Lange during the Great Depression. Once competence and understanding of prior knowledge is demonstrated, the instructor will distribute the attached handout for students to organize and record their ideas, opinions, and emotions in respect to the images portrayed.
Student Engagement
Using the provided databases found under the resources tab on this page, students will select 5 photographs of preference from any of the databases provided. Once they have selected their photographs, the provided photo analysis handout is to be completed for each referenced photo. This allows for the students to be able to organize photos to their liking, in a more "accessible" manner, ready at the request. After the completion of their handouts, students will be provided with roughly 5 minutes of discussion amongst their peers asking questions such as, "Why did you choose these images?", or "What do you see in this image?" to better facilitate understanding and exploration of the underlying.
Lesson Closure
The teacher will close the lesson by allowing students the opportunity to reflect and comment on their findings and personal opinions behind the influence photography had in documenting the more horrifying elements within our nations history.
Student Assessment
As mentioned before, students will complete a photo analysis handout to better organize their thoughts and ideas, while gathering others through group discussion.
Formative: The teacher will gather a sense of competency through the personal questioning of the motive and thought processes behind the student's selections. Guiding questions such as "how, or why?" will be asked to generate critical thinking as well as a greater sense of understanding of what is expected of them for the completion of this assignment.
Summative: Following the completion of their handouts, students will be grouped into 3's, where they will collectively create a digital presentation of their findings and understanding of the images selected. Sample directions will be provided to students explaining what is expected of them.
Formative: The teacher will gather a sense of competency through the personal questioning of the motive and thought processes behind the student's selections. Guiding questions such as "how, or why?" will be asked to generate critical thinking as well as a greater sense of understanding of what is expected of them for the completion of this assignment.
Summative: Following the completion of their handouts, students will be grouped into 3's, where they will collectively create a digital presentation of their findings and understanding of the images selected. Sample directions will be provided to students explaining what is expected of them.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers, and Special Needs Students
The use of visuals and transcript will allow for those with special needs, striving readers, and english language learners to rely on more than just the spoken word to grapple with the content. For the more visual oriented student, the photographs provide an opportunity to evaluate the nature of the life and hardships faced during the migration efforts. For the English Learners, minimal language is utilized in a spoken nature, but rather through critical thinking and analysis the student will be able to assess the scholarship presented.
Lesson Resources
Databases: