Students will understand that this photo prompted the government to step in and send food to these poor hungry migrant families.
Focusing Statement
Today we are studying the plight of migrant workers during the time of the depression in the 1930s. We are going to start by looking at Dorothea Lange’s 1936 photo titled “Migrant Mother” to investigate what people in the 1930s saw in this photo that made them empathize with the migrant mother and her family.
What do you think people in the 1930’s saw when they looked at this photo?
After this photo was taken and published in newspapers, it prompted the government to send food to these poor hungry families. Why do you think this photo was able to make that kind of impact?
Describe the expression on the woman’s face. What might she be thinking?
Students will work in groups to create a timeline of the events that led up to the time period when the photograph was taken.
Students will read Karen Hesse’s book Out of the Dust and discuss the events, characters, setting, author’s style and other aspects.
Students will describe, analyze and interpret Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” to try to figure out why the photo made such an impact on people during that time.
Putting It All Together
Ask the students to compare and contrast the novel with the photograph and ask them to think about and describe how these two works of art together help us to understand what it was like to be a western farmer during the Great Depression. Use the “interpret questions” section from the Picturing America resource guide noted above to get the students thinking. Students will compare and contrast the Lange photograph with the main character in Out of the Dust.
