The Dust Bowl was a decade-long catastrophe that swept up 100 million acres of topsoil in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. Several concurrent factors caused the Dust Bowl—rising wheat prices, a series of unusually rainy years, and generous federal farm policies prompting a land boom. Encouraged by improved cultivation methods and cheap land, thousands of Americans flooded the southern Plains to raise grain and cattle, chasing the American dream of owning land and securing their future.

The activities contained within this gallery explore the history and economics of the Dust Bowl years. Students will examine the history of settlement in the Great Plains and analyze the farm practices that turned grasslands and wilderness into cropland. Students will analyze supply- demand-price charts matching their rise and fall to major events and examine the impact on farmers and the U.S. economy. In a culminating activity, students will compile their data into a documentary presentation.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

• Describe the importance of the southern Plains in the early 20th century.
• Analyze the effects of mechanized agriculture on wheat production in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s.
• Analyze the effects of the Dust Bowl on wheat production in the early 20th century.
• Develop research skills for locating and analyzing information.
• Formulate a podcast documentary examining the effects of the Dust Bowl on wheat production and farmers’ livelihoods in the 1930s.