Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students will learn about migrant workers to better understand the environmental and social impact of the Great Depression. For example, students will learn about the effects of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl on American farm owners, tenants, and sharecroppers. Using photography, specifically Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, and song lyrics of the era, students will explore the challenges faced by migrant workers and their families, and will create their own portrait or song to bring attention to the plight of the migrant worker.
Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute periods
Notes:
Sight-impaired students should move closer to the front of the room so they will be able to see projected images and the board more clearly. For hearing-impaired students, prepare lyrics to "Sunny Cal" on a handout.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- describe the life of a migrant worker during the depression and today.
- develop multiple perspectives of the life of a migrant worker today, and the life of the children of migrant workers today.
- identify Dorothea Lange’s photograph “Migrant Mother,” and explain its underlying meanings.
- identify vocabulary associated with migrant workers of the Great Depression era.
- learn a brief history of Dorothea Lange.
Supplies:
- Audio recorder
- Audio cassettes
- Projector LCD or overhead projector (optional)
- 3" x 5" index cards or slips of paper
- Image of Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother photograph (print or digital, or project image from the Library of Congress using an LCD projector
- Several sheets of paper for drawing portraits
- Materials for creating portraits, such as colored pencils, crayons, and/or markers
- Colored construction paper (optional)
- Recording of "Sunny Cal" by Jack Bryant
- Several crayons for each table of students
- Scissors
- Paper and pens/pencils
Instructional Plan:
Day 1: Brief Introduction
Note: You may wish to review the Teacher Notes prior to conducting the lesson.
Introduce the lesson with a folk song by Jack Bryant, entitled "Sunny Cal." As a class, listen to the song once, then read through the lyrics together. Foster a discussion about the meaning of the song by asking students the following:
- What do you think the song is about?
- What is the purpose of the song?
- Why might it have been written?
- Look at the date of the song. What do you know about this period in American History?
- Is the song telling a story?
- What is the story about?
- Is it a happy story or a sad story?
Lead students into understanding that "Sunny Cal" is a folk song about a migrant worker’s story. Provide a brief introduction of migrant workers to students. Elaborate as you see fit, depending on students’ prior knowledge of the subject. Discuss the terms "migrant worker" and "Okie," which are both mentioned in the lyrics to "Sunny Cal" (refer to the Vocabulary handout as needed).
Tell students they will learn more about what it means to be a migrant worker. As a point of comparison, assign a homework assignment in which students ask their parents or guardians to share their job titles, and to describe what they do for a living (this information will be compared to the jobs of migrant workers later in the lesson). Students should write one or two paragraphs describing the jobs of their parents or guardians.
Day 2: Introduction of Topic and Artwork
Review information about migrant workers and vocabulary that was covered in the previous day’s lesson. Introduce the photographer Dorothea Lange to students, and show her work, Migrant Mother, to students. You may choose to project the image with an LCD projector connected to the Internet. Digital images can found in the Farm Security Administration Collection from the Library of Congress.
Discuss the meaning of the photograph with students. Ask the following questions to foster discussion:
- Why would the artist have taken the photograph?
- Who do you see in the photograph?
- Where do you think they are?
- What can you tell about these people based on the photograph?
- How do you think they feel in this picture? How can you tell?
- What techniques does the photographer use to draw you into the subject matter or to draw an emotion from you?
Tell students they will have more opportunities to analyze the photograph after they learn more about migrant workers.
Ask students to take out the paragraphs they have written about their parents. Have each student create a chart with two columns. In one column, students should list five facts about the job of one parent or guardian. In the other column, they should list five facts about what they learned about migrant workers’ jobs. Have students compare and contrast these lists, so they can see the differences and/or similarities between their parents’ jobs, and those of migrant workers. Direct students to compare and contrast hours of labor, salary, job placement, and conditions and materials used on the job. (For more information about migrant workers, refer to the American Memory site, Voices from the Dust Bowl.)
Allow students to explore the collection of photographs and songs available on Voices from the Dust Bowl. Have them record some of the recurring themes they find in each photograph, as well as some of the images or phrases they find most illuminating about the lives of migrant workers of the Depression era. They should also list the title of the photograph and song that they find most effective in portraying the lives of migrant workers, and explain their reasons for selecting each. (Students will use this list in the next class period when they create their own original portrait or song.)
Day 3: Studio Project
Have students create an original portrait or song depicting the life of a migrant worker in the 1940s. Students should create their portraits on white paper or light-colored construction paper using colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Students should refer back to the notes collected when browsing Voices from the Dust Bowl, and integrate the types of imagery or words that they found most effective in depicting the migrant experience.
Hang students’ artwork and song lyrics around the classroom in a "gallery exhibit." You may choose to tape each student's work onto a larger sheet of construction paper to "frame" each portrait or sheet of song lyrics. Allow students to record songs for playback or set aside time for each student to perform their song if they wish. Place 3" x 5" index cards or slips of paper in front of each work in the exhibit. Encourage students to respond to each work, and post their reflections alongside the corresponding works. Students should point out specific ways in which the artist/songwriter captured the migrant experience, as well as elements of the work that were particularly evocative or effective. (If students are responding to music, they can turn in their responses to the teacher.) You may wish to regularly monitor the responses of students to make sure they have written constructive or positive comments.
Day 4: Summary
Close and summarize with a question-and-answer session about everything students learned about migrant workers in the past week, including housing and stereotypes of migrant workers, as well as vocabulary and Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother. Place students in groups of four or five, and ask each group to write a paragraph describing the most interesting things they learned about migrant workers.
Assessment:
Review students' artwork or songs, and assess whether each student:
- chose subject matter relevant to the experience of migrant workers.
- used imagery/language that evoked a response from the viewer/listener.
- created a mode or tone reflective of the emotions of the subjects or time period.
- used imagery/language indicative of the time.
- clearly revealed the intent of his/her artwork/song.
- included historically accurate information.
- reflected knowledge of the experience of the migrant worker/family.
Extensions:
Introduce the topic of migrant workers today, their work and lifestyles, and the specific challenges they face. Address common stereotypes associated with migrant workers. Ask student to think about the life of the migrant family, and specifically, children their age. What would life be like for them?
Ask students the following questions:
- How would you feel being the new kid in class?
- How do you feel about moving?
- Would you like to move every three months?
- Could you live without electricity and running indoor water?
Discuss migrant workers’ children today. To find out more information about the children of migrant workers, refer to the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. Tell students that they will be making a Welcoming Booklet for a child of a migrant worker who has just arrived to the school. Initiate a discussion about what they think a new student would need coming to a new school. They can include anything they think a new student should know about the school; for example, a map of the school, a class schedule, a menu for the cafeteria, or maybe even a “friendship coupon.”
You may also wish to show students an example of a booklet that you have made. Distribute materials, including a large stack of colored construction paper, a handful of crayons, and pairs of scissors for each table. Allow students ample time to make a booklet of their own.
Have students share their booklets with the rest of the class, explaining why they included particular types of information in the booklet.
Aid students in gaining further insight into the Great Depression era through the ballads of Woody Guthrie, the novels of John Steinbeck, and additional photographs. View the unit, Dust Bowl Days on EDSitement, a resource developed by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Sources:
Print:
- Heyman, Therese Thau. Dorothea Lange: American Photographs. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.
- Meltzer, Milton. Dorothea Lange: A Photographers Life. Syracause, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
- Mitchell, K., A. Martin-Hamon, and E. Anderson. “A Choice of Weapons: Photographs of Gordon Parks.” Art Education. Alexandria, VA: NAEA, March 2002, 25-31.
Web:
Authors:
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Victoria Weaver, Program Consultant, ABD
Hub-Robeson Gallery, Penn State University
University Park, PA
