Even though Esperanza and her family were in California, they still experienced some of the problems of the Dust Bowl.
Begin by reading an overview of the migrant experience during the Great Depression.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html
Click on the link below to watch a video about life during the Dust Bowl. When you get to this page, watch the INTRO video.
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/watch-videos/#2244737380
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/watch-videos/#2244737380
Read this document below for a good summary of what the Dust Bowl was all about.
http://www.teachamericanhistory.org/file/the_dust_bowl.pdf
http://www.teachamericanhistory.org/file/the_dust_bowl.pdf
Look through the photographs on this page to see the effects of the Dust Bowl. Can you make connections to Esperanza's life?
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/photos/
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/photos/
Go to the site below to read about life during the Dust Bowl and watch short eyewitness videos.
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html
Read these articles to hear eyewitness accounts of living during Dust Bowl conditions.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/dustbowl-witness-jr-davison/
http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-11-15/beilue-women-recall-life-during-dust-bowl
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/dustbowl-witness-jr-davison/
http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-11-15/beilue-women-recall-life-during-dust-bowl
Click the link below to read about the Dust Bowl conditions and view a timeline of Dust Bowl events.
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/dustbowl.htm
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/dustbowl.htm