Creator: PBS/Ken Burns | visit site
Grade Range: 6 - 11
This interactive based on the Ken Burns film, The Dust Bowl, takes you on a journey showing what life was like during the Dust Bowl of the southern Great Plains. Make decisions affecting your farm along the way as you "play it safe" or strive for greater profit. Take advantage of the other portions of this site, including videos, a photo gallery, and biographies of Dust Bowl survivors. The video about the Dust Bowl with Ken Burns as a guest resides on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.
In the Classroom
Use this tool as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce your unit about America in the 1930’s. Share on a projector or interactive whiteboard, then have students explore the interactive on their own. Be sure to share a link to the site on your class webpage for students to explore at home. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, <a href="/single.cfm?id=13619">reviewed here</a>. Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of life during the time of the Dust Bowl. Use a site such as podOmatic, <a href="/single.cfm?id=8094">reviewed here</a>.
At Home
Share this site with son or daughter to deepen understanding of the difficult times faced by residents of the Great Plains during the 1930’s. If you have relatives with first-hand information, be sure to contact them to hear their stories.
Tags
roosevelt, agriculture, 1930s,
Subjects
American History, Earth Science/Geology, Science, Social Studies, Social Studies,