The Dust Bowl  (pages 17-29)
3rd-4th grade reading level

Discussion Director:
*Your job is to come up with questions that your group can talk about .  Include:
-1 MCEOG
-1 Character (on your own)
-1 Problem / Solution (on your own)
-1 Sequence (on your own)
-1 Author's Purpose (on your own)

MCEOG
1. All of the following describe Grandma except which one?
    a. determined
    b. tough
    c. lazy
    d. persistent

Passage Picker:
*Your job is to pick passages from the section that you feel are important or interesting.  You will discuss these passages with your group.  Choose passages that satisfy these categories:
- Interesting / Surprising
- Descriptive (on your own)
- Figurative Language (on your own)
- Problem / Solution

1. Interesting / Surprising
a. Page 21, Paragraph 2, Line 1
b. "Another cloud...a train."
c. I chose this passage because it is very descriptive and I think it
    is hard to believe that this actually happened.
d. Why could the trains not run during this "grasshopper cloud"?
    Answer: Because the grasshoppers covered the tracks, making
    it hard for the wheels to turn on the train.
e. Author's purpose: To Describe and Inform

Word Wizard:
*Your job is to choose words from the passage that are unfamiliar or special. Choose four from the list below:
    - billowing (page 17, par. 1)
    - prairie schooner (page 17, par. 1)
    - furrows (page 19, par. 1)
    - devouring (page 21, par. 2)
    - jalopies (page 23, par. 2)
    - abandoned (page 23, par. 2)

1. prairie schooner (page 17, paragraph 1)
a. "Somehow she knew that she would see crops covering the fields
   with green again and the snow-white sheets billowing on the
    clothesline like great prairie schooners."
b. prairie schooner- (noun) a covered wagon used by pioneers in
    cross-country travel, also called a covered wagon
c. The pioneer family packed all of their belongings into the prairie
    schooner and set off to find a new home.

Character Sketcher:
*Your job is to select a character from this section and describe the character in detail.  You will:
- find 3 words/traits that describe your character
- find 1 goal of the character
- find 1 problem that the character faces
- determine a solution or possible solution to that problem
- illustrate your character

Matthew

Character Traits:
1. p. 19, par. 2
    thoughtful - when he is looking out the window at his father.
2. p. 27, par. 1 & 5
    curious - when he is asking many questions of his father and
        grandpa
3. p. 29, par. 3
    optimistic - when he feels warm inside and thinks he sees the sun
        wink at him.

Artful Artist:
*Your job is to draw or create a picture that illustrates what you liked best about the story.  After drawing your picture, write about it and include:  - who or what the picture is about
                                - where the picture takes place
                                - why you drew the picture
Allow the group to to view your drawing and then share a discussion about the picture.

** Another example of a drawing your could create for this section would be to draw the farmland during the dust storm, and after the storm.