The lesson can complement student's study the 1930s in history class. It delves into historical drought patterns and the science of paleoclimatology. This lesson builds on student's understanding of drought. Photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

× A great 'roller' moves across the plains during the 1930s.

Describe paleoclimatology data that are collected and the methods of processing them.

Examine and interpret maps and graphs depicting drought severity and duration.

View and analyze historical patterns of drought across the continental the United States.

Discuss whether the 'Dust Bowl' of the 1930s could reoccur.

Finally, students will examine the amount of time different areas spend in drought.Īfter completing this investigation, students will be able to: They will also examine maps and animations that show the distribution of drought patterns over the past 300 years these maps were reconstructed from environmental records. In this activity, students will watch a PBS video and/or interact with the video's companion website. The event went on to shape the demographics of the American West as thousands of people migrated out of the plains and on to western states. From 1931 to 1939, a five-state region of the Great Plains received little rain and experienced horrendous dust storms that stripped the land of its topsoil.

America's most famous drought resulted in an environmental disaster called the Dust Bowl.

Dust bowl the worst hard time