Surviving+the+Dust+Bowl

===For the next few days, we will be taking a look at "Surviving the Dust Bowl", a powerful movie that depicts through primary sources and actual footage fro the time period what living through the Dust Bowl was like. We will be joining Mrs. Bennett's class for a discussion about the film. For our discussion, below questions to guide you through the movie. All students are expected to contribute to this movie study guide.===

**Surviving the Dust Bowl**

1. What year did the rain stop?

2. How long did the Dust Bowl last?

3. What happend to the people who actually lived through and experienced the Dust Bowl?

4. Describe the Southern Plains.

5. What did the farmers plant on the land in the Southern Plains?

6. What happened to the weather in the 1930’s?

7. Did all the farmers leave the Southern Plains during the Dust Bowl? How many stayed?

8. What were the dust storms called?

9. Describe what it was like to experience a dust storm.

10. What did the people spit out?

11. What did people believe was happening when they were experiencing a dust storm?

12. How were the farming conditions in 1931 compared to the rest of the country?

13. What was the land and soil like before farmers plowed it?

14. What didn’t the farmers know about the land when they started to move to the southern plains?

15. What drew the farmers to the southern plains?

16. What did Washington want from farmers? Why?

17. What came to the fields in the 20’s

18. How many acres a day could a horse plow?

19. How many acres a day could a tractor plow? Why is this significant?

20. What happened to the fields when the rains stopped?

21. What did the Red Cross do?

22. How many acres became waste land?

23. How many dust storms were there in 1932, in 1933?

24. How did people protect themselves and their houses from the dust?

25. What did the Government do to help the farmers?

26. What did the govt. do to the cattle, Why?

27. In 1935, what problem did farmers face?

28. What were rabbit drives, explain?

29. Describe Black Sunday.

30. Where did people turn for moral support?

31. What epidemic hit the plains?

32. What were some home remedies?

33. Why did some farmers begin to head West? What were they in search of?

34. What happened to the banks, businesses and churches?

35. Who was John McCarty?

36. What was the Last Man’s Club?

37. What solution did Tex Thorton propose?

38. What did Hugh Bennett try to teach farmers?

39. What did Hugh Bennett try to tell Washington?

40. Why did he stall when he was presenting in Washington?

41. What did the Easterners get?

42. What did most people think about soil?

43. Describe the film that was created that promoted conservation of soil.

44. What did Washington finally do about the problem?

45. Plowing was no longer done to plant, what was the purpose of plowing?

46. What were the results of the conservation efforts?

47. When it finally did rain, how did the farmers feel?

48. What did you think about this movie? What part was most memorable or moved you the most?