Introduction
On October 29, of 1929, the United States Stock Market crashed. The effects were disasterous, as there were no safeguards against such an occurence. Worse still, the time of plenty for farmers throughout the midwest and southwest came to an end in what would be a 10 year drought. The effects of such occurences were tremendous at the time. However, they would be far worse in modern day. In 1929, while there was some trade with foreign countries, due to the risks and time involved compared to now, it would be far less, or take far longer for other countries to feel the effects. In today's market, a crash in one stock market such as Japan, America, or London has vast reaching effects as the other markets also take a hit from it. Furthermore, we lead the world in the amount of wheat we export (USDA, 2015). Were we to experience the dustbowl as it happened during the Great Depression, the effects would be disasterous world-wide. For the remainder of this Quest, you will explore several questions, but one major one: What would happen if the Great Depression, complete with the drought of the Dust Bowl, happened today?
Along with this information, you will also develop a low-budget safety plan and inventory for a survival kit, which you can utilize.
Task
Through the exploration of a vast number of webpages, pictures, and videos, the learner will come to a higher level of understanding of several key concepts in the topic of Social Studies, including inflation, effects of climate and weather on economies and society, government intervention agencies, effects of the local economy on the world economy, and many more. This WebQuest is designed for an intensive study of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and would work well if paired with the Language Arts unit on the Grapes of Wrath, so that students get as much emersion into the world of 1929-late 1930s.
Process
Day 1: You will explore the Great Depression and The Dustbowl through a video, pictures, and articles as a class, as well as view information that will set the stage for the remainder of the WebQuest.
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl in video
The Dust Bowl as part of the cause of the Great Depression
Setting the Stage-The World as it is now.
The United States is the leading exporter of wheat
California produces a majority of the agricultural goods
The United States Agriculture and Economy are closely tied together
While we do have a stockpile of grain, it has dried up before, and could again.
At the end of the class exploration, you willl be separated into groups of three to four for the remainder of the class to examine in depth not only other natural disasters and their effects on the economy and society, but also other parts of the webquest. Your task is to answer "What would happen if a major natural disaster (like the dustbowl) struck the United States today?" as well as "What effects would this have on a global scale?".
Day 2: You will continue your work as an inidivudal assigned to a group as you explore further into causes and effects of the Dust Bowl, as well as the effects of such a natural disaster on a grand scale would have in today's world.
Natural Disasters
Tornadoes
Volcano
Super volcano of Yellowstone video
The maps of projected affected area
Draughts
As a group, select a natural disaster which could affett the agricultural output of the United States, and hypothesize what effects it could have on agriculture. From there, hypothesize as a group how this would affect the American economy.
Economics (Day 3)
As a group, select a type of inflation for each group member to research, then answer the following questions:
What type of inflation are we experiencing in today's economy?
What type of inflation would likely occur if we were to go into a depression due to an agricultural disaster?
Utlize this website to examine creeping, galloping, and hyperinflation, disregarding all other forms of inflation for the time being, in order to answer the questions above.
Government safeguards
It is commonly known that the United States' government learned its lesson from the Great Depression, and has taken steps to avoid such a situation. Below are some of the agencies and safeguards that were created in an effort to avoid total economic collapse and mitigate damages caused by natural disasters. For each, one member of your group should read their websites to establish what they would likely be involved in doing if the natural disaster you selected struck, and the economy began to collapse as a result.
There are other agencies-both foreign and domestic-which would also step in, if communications were in place so they could be informed, and if they were given the means to. Part of your assignment as a group involves establishing who these other groups are, and how they would help.
Global Reprecussions (Day 4)
A natural disaster on the scale of the Dust Bowl would undoubtedly have global implications. Utilizing your research on the global disaster your group selected, expand on how it would affect other countries directly. Then, utilizing the information provided on how the U.S. economy affects other markets and global economies, as well as your own research, expand on how such an event would also affect those markets.
Preparations(Day 4)
The FEMA website, among several others, includes information on how to ready ones' family against a natural disaster or other situation where society and/or technology we depend on fails. Utilizing this information, formulate with your group a way that an average family (1 child and 2 adults) could prepare for the possibility in a low budget manner (100 dolalrs or less). This should be done as a group. For cost purposes, utilize walmart.com or other major retailers to get pricing on goods that will be needed.
Evaluation
Day 5: Now that you have a clear idea as to how another Dust Bowl, or similar large natural disaster could affect the United States of America and the world, work as a group to produce a group presentation in which you thoroughly explain this scenario, utilizing timelines, maps, graphs, and other graphics to further explain the scenario, and educate your fellow students on what would likely happen, as well as how they should prepare for such a situation. Be sure to take into account that not all students have unlimited resources to work with, and therefore your preparation steps should be on a low budget, and be plausible.
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Poor |
Needs Improvement |
Good |
Exceptional |
Score |
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Presentation |
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40 |
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Speeches |
The speeches were extremely long or extremely short. Lots of dead space. A lot of “um” or long pauses. |
The speeches were close to the time that was designated for the presentation, with few “um”s or dead spaces included. |
The speeches were within a few seconds over or under the limit, with minimal dead space or “um”. |
The speeches were obviously well-rehearsed, with no deadspace or unnecessary “um”. |
/10 |
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Multimedia |
There was no multimedia present, or what multimedia was present had no application to the project. |
The multimedia was utilized minimally, erratically, and/or ineffectively. |
There was sufficient multimedia usage to maintain audience attention. |
The multimedia used was on-topic, and well-coordinated with the speeches. |
/10 |
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Body language |
The group slouched or leaned on objects, and could not maintain eye contact with their audience. |
The group acted unsure of how to stand and present themselves while giving their speeches. |
The use of body language was minimal in conveying the group’s message. |
The use of body language strongly supported the presentation, with each member using their body language to instill their energy into the audience. |
/10 |
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Verbal |
The group was difficult to hear/had poor grammar. |
The group was more quiet/louder than necessary/had some grammatical errors. |
The group spoke at a reasonable volume, with few grammatical errors. |
The group enunciated perfectly, spoke at a volume to where everyone in the classroom could hear, but not too loud, with no grammar issues. |
/10 |
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Disaster |
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30 pts |
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Description |
The description of the disaster was incomplete, or extremely innacurate. |
The description of the disaster touched some of the main points, but left many unmentioned, or contained many myths. |
The description of the disaster was factual, but dry in nature. |
The description of the disaster was interesting, thorough, and complete. |
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Projection |
The projection of the disaster and its effects were not mentioned. |
The projection of the disaster and its effects were mentioned in passing, or were completely unrealistic. |
The projection of the disaster and its effects were covered, accurate, and dry in nature. |
The projection of the disaster and its effects featured good tone usage, solid facts, and realistic projections. |
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Agency response |
The group seemed to have either forgotten there were agencies, or made up their own. |
The group recognized real agencies, but did not explain how they would have gotten involved. |
The group recognized real agencies, described their involvement, but left out important details, or got two or more agencies confused. |
The group recognized real agencies, described their involvement accurately without any mistake. |
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Preparations |
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30 |
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Budget |
The group completely blew the budget by more than 51 dollars. |
The group went over by 50 dollars |
The group went over by 25 dollars |
The group was at or under budget. |
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Complete? |
The preparations list was missing basic components which are listed on the FEMA website. |
The preparations list was missing a few items, but none that without death is imminent. |
The preparations list included all necessities, and a few objects that would prove useful if not vital. |
The preparation list included all necessities, ways to entertain the family, as well as hygienic utensils. |
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Plan |
The plan was completely unrealistic (for example, fly to Mars). |
The plan, while feasible, would likely result in the death of one or more family members in the process. (For example, walk to Mexico/Canada). |
The plan was feasible, but not very detailed. |
The plan was feasible, detailed, and complete, with contingencies put in where they could prove necessary. |
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Total points possible: 100
Conclusion
Through the course of this WebQuest, you have explored many parts of Social Studies, seen how they can correlate to the study of a historical event and the application of those studies on potential future events. Furthermore, you have learned what you need to have in order to prepare for a natural disaster whose likes we have not seen since the Great Depression. It is my sincere hope that anyone going through this WebQuest will never have to experience or utilize the information contained within it.
For further information on the different types of natural disasters, watch the following videos:
http://news.discovery.com/earth/videos/natural-disasters.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg-6whkbZXs&safe=active
Credits
A special thanks to Jeff Lowe for his input in minimal materials needed for disaster survival.
References:
United States Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service. (2013). U.S. Wheat Trade. Retrieved June 20, 2015, from ers.usda.gov: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/wheat/trade.aspx
Teacher Page
This webquest covers a vast array of content from the social studies discipline, and asks students to utlize this information to create a plausible model of what could happen were the United States (or any other super power that relies on agriculture) to suffer a calamity that eliminated their ability to produce agricultural goods. The time to complete this webquest is around 5 days, with a longer duration being needed should there be more groups. The standards that this webquest meets are listed below. While some of them are briefly touched upon, others are what this WebQuest is built around.
The NCSS standards that this WebQuest meets are as follows:
Learners will understand:
-How Culture develops and changes in ways that allow human societies to address their needs and concerns.
-The importance of knowledge of the past to an understanding of the present and to informed decision-making about the future.
-Consequences of changes in regional and global physical systems, such as seasons, climate, and weather, and the water cycle.
-The causes and impact of resource management, as reflected in land use, settlement patterns, and ecosystem changes.
-The social and economic effects of environmental changes and crises resulting from phenomena such as floods, storms and drought.
-The influence of individuals, groups, and institutions on people and events in historical and contemporary settings.
-Mechanisims by which governments meet the needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, establish order and security, and balance competing conceptions of a just society
-The causes and effects of inflation
-How markets fail and the government response to these failures
-Science and technology have contributed to making the world increasingly interdependent.
-That achievements in science and technology are increasing at a rapid pace and can have both planned and unanticipated consequences.
-The actions of people, communities, and nations have both short-and long-term effects on the biosphere and its ability to sustain life.
Learners will demonstrate understanding by:
-...writing a policy recommendation for the future.
For the Ohio Social Studies curriculums, the following standards are met:
American History
-Historical events provide opportunities to examine alternative courses of action.
-Historians develop theses and use evidence to support or refute positions
-Historians analyze cause, effect, sequence and correlation in historical events, including multiple causation and long- and short-term causal relations.
-The Great Depression was caused, in part, by the federal government’s monetary policies, stock market speculation, and increasing consumer debt. The role of the federal government expanded as a result of the Great Depression.
World History
-The federal government uses spending and tax policy to maintain economic stability and foster economic growth. Regulatory actions carry economic costs and benefits.
-The Federal Reserve System uses monetary tools to regulate the nation’s money supply and moderate the effects of expansion and contraction in the economy.
-Individuals can identify, assess and evaluate world events, engage indeliberative civil debate and influence public processes to address global issues.
-The global economy creates interdependence so that economic circumstances in one country impact events in other countries.