Historical Fiction

Information for student
Author: Karen Hesse Title: Out of the Dust
Book Genre: Historical Fiction Publishing Info: Scholastic Press

Summary: Set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression. At fourteen, Billie Jo, has a lot to deal with. Billie Jo’s pregnant mother is killed by an accident that her father caused. Billie Jo is also injured by the accident. She must learn to heal herself and live again.




Personal rating: *****

Pages: 227

Rationale: Story is interesting to elementary children. The setting is integral to the story. The characters are believable and the language is authentic. Wonderful story!

Information for teachers
Reading level: 5.3 Interest level: 6-8

Thematic Areas: American history, communities and ways of life, coping with death, grief, and loss, determination and perseverance, extended family, homelessness and poverty.

Content Areas: Social Studies, History, Science, Music, Language Arts

Potential Problems or Difficulties: none

Possible use in classroom:
To introduce this lesson, tell the students you are wondering whether the classroom needs a good clean up. Give them a chance to look for dust in the room. Do they think there is a potential "dust problem"? How bad could it get? If it were 10 times worse, how would it affect activities in the classroom? What if it were a hundred times worse? Could it ever get that bad? Worse?
· Discuss the students' hypotheses about this question from Lesson 1. Remind students of the previous discussion about dust in the classroom. Of course, the classroom often could use some sprucing up, but for people living in the Dust Bowl region, dealing with the dust and its ramifications became the center of everyday life.
For a social studies lesson talk about the Great Depression and what led up to it. Who was president during this time? How did he try to help the American people?