Out of the Dust
Study Help
Essay Questions
1. Research the Dust Bowl. Create a list of facts that includes the number and names of the states that were affected, the worst years, and any other significant information.
2. Billie Jo and others living in the Dust Bowl relied on music for entertainment. Research musicians and music that were popular during the 1930s.
3. Billie Jo's mother sends her to the store with fifty cents to buy ingredients for a cake. Using the library or the Internet, find out what items actually cost during the 1930s. Go to the grocery store and compare the price of each item to the price of the same item today.
4. Throughout the novel, we are not privy to Billie Jo's father's feelings. Write a journal entry from his point of view, expressing his feelings and thoughts about the drought, his farm, the death of his wife and son, and/or his daughter who has run away.
5. Write a poem that is a portrait of a photograph of your choosing. Be sure to include similes, metaphors, and adjectives.