From the Dust Bowl to Sunny California

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From the Dust Bowl to Sunny California

• Gale Ekiss
• Arizona Geographic Alliance
• Grade 7
• 3 class periods

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Standards

• Arizona
• Geography
• Concept 4 Human Systems
• 7th Grade
• PO 2. Describe the push and pull factors (e.g.,
  need for raw materials, enslavement, employment
  opportunities, impact of war, religious freedom,
  political freedom) that cause human migrations.
• PO 4 Analyze how social (e.g., family), physical
  (e.g., good climate, farmland, water, minerals),
  and economic (e.g., jobs) resources influence
  where human populations choose to live.

• National Geography
• ELEMENT Four. Human Systems
• 9. The characteristics, distribution, and
  migration of human populations on Earths surface

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Standards

• Strand 1 American History
• Concept 8 Great Depression and WWII
• PO 2 Determine the impact of natural and manmade
  crisis of the Great Depression
• ELA Common Core Standards
• Reading Standards for 6-8 for Literacy in
  History/Social Studies
• Key Ideas and Details
• 6-8.RH.1 Cite specific textual evidence to
  support analysis of primary and secondary
  sources.
• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
• 6-8.RH.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in
  charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps)
  with other information in print and digital
  texts.

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Standards

• Writing Standards for 6-8 for Literacy in
  History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical
  Subjects
• Production and Distribution of Writing
• 6-8.WHST.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in
  which the development, organization, and style
  are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• a. Produce clear and coherent functional writing
  (e.g., formal letters, envelopes, procedures,
  labels, timelines, graphs/tables, experiments,
  maps, captions, charts, diagrams) in which the
  development, organization, and style are
  appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• Research to Build and Present Knowledge
• 6-8.WHST.9 Draw evidence from informational texts
  to support analysis reflection, and research.

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• Overview
• Where people chose to live is an important factor
  in understanding the distribution of resources.
  Many factors can contribute to the decisions for
  human migration. Push factors can make an area
  undesirable and pull factors can make another
  area desirable. Crisis such as the Great
  Depression can be a catalyst promoting
  populations to consider these push/pull factors
  that can lead to human migrations.

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• Purpose
• In this lesson students will gain a better
  understanding of how a lack of economic resources
  in one region during the Great Depression
  influenced human migration. And the availability
  of natural resources in another area created
  opportunity for employment and economic gain.

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Materials

• Sunny California song lyrics
• Background to Sunny California song
• Photo Analysis Worksheet
• Setting the Scene Power Point
• Xerox copies of each of the slides in the Setting
  the Scene Power Point
• Life in California Power Point
• Push and Pull Factors of Migration handout
• Map of the Dust Bowl (See Sources)
• Push and Pull Factors in Lyrics to Sunny
  California worksheet
• Letter Writing Assignment
• Route 66 and the Dust Bowl Migration power point
  (optional)

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Objectives

• The student will be able to
• 1. describe push and pull factors in terms of the
  Dust Bowl era
• 2. analyze how social, political, and economic
  reasons impact where people choose to live

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Procedures

• Prerequisite Skills
• Students should have read the information on the
  Dust Bowl in their textbooks. The included power
  point on background to the Dust Bowl can also be
  used to supplement the textbook for further
  understanding of this event.

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Procedures

• SESSION ONE
• 1. Anticipatory Set Show the Setting the Scene
  Power Point. Just have the students look at the
  photos and not interact in any way.

16 slides
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Procedures

• 2. Distribute the Photo Analysis Worksheet.
  Explain the directions on how to complete the
  sheet. Have the students work with a partner.
  Show the Power Point again and as each pair of
  students selects a photo to analyze, give them a
  Xerox copy of the photo. Partners should
  complete the worksheet for one of the photos.
• 3. Take a few minutes to discuss some of the
  analyses done by the pairs.

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Procedures

• 4. Closure Have the students look at a map of
  the region named the Dust Bowl. Have them name
  the states that were affected on the back of
  their photo analysis worksheets.

http//media.maps.com/magellan/Images/okhist4.gif
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PUSH AND PULL FACTORS OF MIGRATION Push
Factors Economic factors Lack of employment or
low paying employment Mechanization of workplace
(machines doing the work) Natural disasters
(earthquakes, floods, droughts, etc.) Social
Factors Lack of health care or sanitary
conditions Lack of equal education Loss of family
or friends Political Factors Unfair court
system Not being able to vote Fear of ones
safety No voice in decision making Pull
Factors Economic Factors Hope for better paying
jobs Work is not as physically demanding More
variety in job opportunities Fewer natural
disasters Social Factors Better health care or
living conditions Better opportunities for an
education Gain of family or friends Political
Factors To gain civil rights and voting
rights Desire to feel safe Having a voice in
decision making

• SESSION TWO
• 1. Anticipatory Set Ask the students who has
  ever moved to a new city or new state. Ask the
  students why did they move. List the reasons on
  the whiteboard.
• 2. Pass out the Push and Pull Factors of
  Migration handout. Discuss the 3 types of
  factors.
• Now look at the list on the whiteboard and see
  where each of the classs contributions would
  fall (economic, social, or political).

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Procedures

• 3. Read the background to the Sunny California
  song and play the audio if possible. Hand out
  the Sunny California song lyrics. Have the
  students read aloud the lyrics and discuss any
  vocabulary that might be unfamiliar.

http//www.loc.gov/teachers/lyrical/songs/californ
ia.html
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Lyrics to Sunny California

• I left Texas one beautiful day
• I made up my mind that I would not stay
• No longer in Texas the place that I love
• Though it was like giving up Heaven above.
• My old dad was growing old
• His body was bent from hard work and toll.
• My mother was sleeping in a gay little town
• Where friends and her loved ones had seen her
  laid down.
• My sisters and brothers they hated so bad
• To see me go West like someone gone mad
• To leave all my loved ones and kiss them goodbye
• Just hoping Id meet them in the sweet by-and-by.
  
• I thought at first that I would not go
• No further West than New Mexico
• But the work it was scarce and the weather was
  bad
• I felt like Id left all the friends that I had.
• We landed at Peori one sad, lonely day
• No place for a shelter but a rag house to stay
• I felt like Arizona was too much for me

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Lyrics to Sunny California

• And the black water splashing til the hearts had
  grown cold.
• Now I know you all heard of this awful fate
• So many were drownded in this awful state
• The state of California where the sun always
  shines
• How I did wish for Texas that old state of mine.
• The black water rolled and the homeless were
  brought
• To this little knoll at Colton for shelter they
  sought
• The radios broadcastin begging people to stay
• Off of the streets and off the highways.
• The rain finally ceased and the sun shined out
  bright
• How I prayed to Heaven and thanked God that
  night.
• For our lives had been spared and all was made
  right
• But I did wish for Texas and the old folks that
  night.
• Further on in California over mountains and
  plains.
• To the San Joaquin Valley we drew up our reins
• For four years today weve lived it just fine
• In the state of California where the sun always
  shines.
• Now in the state of California I guess you all
  know
• The President built homes for people to go

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Procedures

• Distribute the Push and Pull Factors in Lyrics to
  Sunny California worksheet. Have the students
  complete the sheet.
• 5. Closure Discuss the push and pull factors
  according to this song.

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Procedures Session 3

• 1. Anticipatory Set Review with the students
  what are primary sources. Share with them that
  the photos from the earlier power point and the
  one they will be seeing shortly were taken by
  Dorothea Lange. These primary sources are a
  wonderful way to capture the emotion of the time
  period.
• 2. Show the Life in California Power Point.
  After each photos have the students comment on
  the pulls for living in California or pushes
  that would make the traveler regret going to
  California.

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• 3. Distribute the Letter Writing Assignment and
  discuss the directions for the assessment.
• 4. Closure Have students who finish early draw
  illustrations for their letters or work on one of
  the extensions listed below.

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Assessment

• The Photo Analysis Worksheet can be graded for
  completeness.
• The Push and Pull Factors in Lyrics to Sunny
  California worksheet can be graded using the
  answer key.
• The friendly letter can be graded on the scoring
  guide given at the bottom of the Letter Writing
  Assignment.
• Mastery on each of the assignments will be
  considered 80 or higher.

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Extensions

• 1.Have the students locate Route 66 from the Dust
  Bowl areas to California on a US map. Have them
  research how this migration of people changed
  towns along the route.
• 2.Have the students look for other primary source
  photos that evoke emotion in regards to another
  time period. Do the photo analysis worksheet
  again with these photos.
• 3.Students could create a handbill promoting or
  deterring migration to California during the Dust
  Bowl times. A handbill advertising for cotton
  pickers to migrate to Arizona could be used as a
  sample. http//lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collI
  dafctsfileNamesb001/sb001.dbrecNum20

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Sources

• Oklahoma Historical Map The Dust Bowl 1935-1940
  can be found at http//media.maps.com/magellan/Ima
  ges/okhist4.gif
• Photos in both Power Points were taken by
  Dorothea Lange http//memory.loc.gov/
• Sunny California song and its background
  http//www.loc.gov/teachers/lyrical/songs/californ
  ia.html
• Background information from a primary source can
  be found at http//lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?c
  ollIdafctsfileNamesb001/sb001.dbrecNum30 and
  http//lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collIdafcts
  fileNamesb001/sb001.dbrecNum31
• This newspaper article comments on numbers of
  migrants and why farm laborers could not expect
  to find full-time employment in California
  fields.