Children of the Dust Bowl

Children of the Dust Bowl 1

Children of the Dust Bowl: A Study of Courage A Multi-genre Project Reflection

Betsy Baldwin RE5130 Appalachian State University Children of the Dust Bowl 2

Reflection

Teachers must remain learners in order to remain interested and interesting. New ideas and different approaches to learning encourage learners (teachers and students) to step outside their comfort zones. In doing so, energy, a new excitement, may be realized.

Such was the case for me in discovering the potential for creativity in a multi-genre project. No longer would I assume that the end product for absorbing and relaying information need be a traditional “report” or research paper. What a relief to realize that true understanding of informational text could be revealed through many different and creative forms.

Though the process of creating different genres was engaging, it was also demanding. Much reading and a thorough understanding of my subject matter, the Dust

Bowl, had to precede any meaningful writing. The different genres and the theme which could tie them together couldn’t be realized until I had read and digested information, from many sources, about the Dust Bowl and the children who survived that time. Only then could I begin to imagine the audience for whom I might write and the genres that might interest that audience.

As I read, studied and brainstormed, I realized that my original subject, the Dust

Bowl, was too broad so I narrowed my subject to focus on the children who experienced the Dust Bowl. I was particularly intrigued by the migrant children who, with their parents, had fled the dust storms and devastation of the Midwest for Woody Guthrie’s Children of the Dust Bowl 3

“promised land” of California. Although I chose to focus on the plight of the children of the Dust Bowl, I realized my audience would be families, parents as well as children. The lessons learned from the lives of these “Okies” are lessons of tolerance, and intolerance, persistence, strength, hope and courage. I was changed by my readings and musings. I also found a new poetic voice as I interpreted information through my chosen genres.

My objective for student learning, in this multigenre project, is for students to acquire a working knowledge and understanding of the era, the social issues, the economic issues and the environmental issues which contributed to the black times of the

Dust Bowl. I hope my students will develop writing skills in several different genres, demonstrate visual literacy as they tie the genres together and be able to identify their audience. By creating original texts, in different forms, I hope students will integrate their new found knowledge and interpret it through their writing. In doing so, I hope that students will internalize the truths gleaned through the study and make meaningful connections to themselves and their world. By allowing choice, choice of genres and choice of audience, I hope to give students an opportunity to assume ownership of their learning. I also hope that choice provides for different learning styles and interests, thereby meeting the needs of different student abilities and different learning styles.