SCENARIO:
The year is 1939. You and your family live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and for at least the last four years, you have been struggling to survive the harsh weather conditions. At this point, severe lung infections have claimed the lives of four of your five family members. Only you and the family cat, Fluffy, survive. Even Fluffy has been making strange coughing noises in the last few days.
You were getting extremely worried, no, terrified, that you might "bite the dust" as well, when all of a sudden, a magical time machine appeared from out of nowhere, and transported you and Fluffy to the present day, 1998. You are completely bewildered, but thankful to the unseen force that literally saved your life.
MISSION:
Now that you are alive and safe, albeit in a state of shock, you want to research as much as possible about what happened to your family in one of the most catastrophic weather events in history. Why were all of your neighbors leaving in droves to California? Would you have gone with them? With all of the new technology now available in 1998, your mission to find out should be no trouble at all. Fortunately for you, the time machine takes you directly to an eleventh grade classroom at Granite Hills High School, where (is this a strange coincidence?) Miss Dalton, the teacher, is teaching the novel, Grapes of Wrath to her seemingly brilliant young prodigies. They are overjoyed to welcome you and your cat Fluffy to the class family. You cannot believe your luck!
You've heard of the novel, but unfortunately you were on a waiting list at the library to borrow the book, so you were never able to read it (that is, before the time machine kidnapped you). You are anxious to see how accurately the novel portrays the disaster... perhaps the class members can help you!
After you have selected one other class member to work with you, use the table below as an aid to help you complete a comprehensive study of the dust bowl catastrophe. Then, on your own, write an essay based on the powerful novel that helped publicize the devastating inequalities and injustices suffered by thousands of migrant families. Is there hope left for the human race in the midst of social and economic desperation? A time machine has temporarily saved you, but what, if anything, will rescue humankind when it collides with crisis in the future?
Instructions/
Steps:
WITH A PARTNER:
1. Research the dust bowl using the following links to websites contained in the table.
2. Compose the one page research article--be sure to take plenty of notes as you are researching the websites, so that you will have plenty of information to report. Include personal reactions. ***Extra pages that include pictures are extra credit!!!!*******
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3. Go to the essay page to obtain essay topics and to write your essay on either of the two topics provided.