Lessons from the Dust Bowl: Science and Literature Connection

Famer's Son in Dust Bowl from Library of Congress

Our class is reading Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. It is a beautifully written book about a terrible time in American history, the Dust Bowl, a time in the United States I knew little about.

As I read the sad story of ecological disaster and human resilience, I realized that children needed more background information to understand the story well. Hence I searched the web to find video, images, and text to inform our study.

My research led me to Ken Burn's documentary, The Dust Bowl, which tells the story of the Dust Bow, "America's worst ecological disaster."

When I chose this book from the fifth grade collection, I chose it because of its prose and the fact that I had just taken a trip to America's heartland and knew that I could relay some first-hand information to my students related to the story's setting. What I didn't realize is that this book would provide the meaning for our first science unit, ecosystems.

One reason the Dust Bowl happened was that farmers from the East used their Eastern farm knowledge to farm in the Midwest and West even though the Midwest land and climate were much different than the East. They didn't know and regard the land well enough to make decisions that may have protected the land and crops. This fact led the class to a discussion about knowing your land and protecting resources. We discussed that fact that water and soil are very important issues of concern today and how we might protect and salvage our water and soil so that we have the food and clean water we need?

That discussion led to a broader discussion about resources, resources here on Earth and elsewhere, that will provide a framework for our next unit, Earth and Space Sciences.

Out of the Dust is bringing meaning and rich language to our study of ecosystems. A study that will begin with our favorite places in nature and expand to a broader study of our local ecosystem, related vocabulary, scientific content, knowledge, and skill, service learning, and social competency focus. Rich learning for all of us, students and educators.

Let me know if you have anything to share with regard to this study as I'm growing this approach related to new standards and a new grade level. Thank you.