Understanding the Impact of Dust Storms

1. Part A: What is the author's purpose for using the like a giant locomotive in paragraph 1?

• to create a sense of curiosity

• to create a sense of danger

• to create a sense of wonder

• to create a sense of mystery

Part B: Which sentence from the the text best supports your in Part A?

• "But it was not a rain cloud."

• "It was made up of millions of particle of fine dust."

• "Winds of more than 60 miles per hour drove the dust."

• "It came into houses through the tiniest cracks."

Which detail from the passage best explains why Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act?

• the dust storm that reached the Midwest and East

• the many people who moved to California

• the early attempts of Hugh Bennett to product farmland

• the deaths of animals in the fields

Read the sentence from the text.

After years of dust storms, with no crops or income, many people abandoned their land and moved west.

Which phrase from the sentence helps the reader understand the meaning of abandoned in the sentence?

• "years of dust storms"

• "no crops or income"

• "many people"

• "moved west"

Part A: Which statement describes how the author views the people of the Dust Bowl?

• The author believes the people were not willing to work hard.

• The author believes the people were proud to live in the Southern Plains.

• The author sees the people as suffering from the damage to their environment.

• The author sees the people as tough cattle ranchers and stubborn farmers.

Part B: Which sentence from the text best supports your answer in Part A?

• "It simply stopped raining."

• "So many people went to California that guards were sent to the state's border to keep them out."

• "They had little money and few household possessions."

• "After years of dust storms, with no crops or income, many people abandoned their land and moved west."

7. Part A: How does the author develop the idea that WWI caused problems for the people of the Southern Plains?

• By showing that the war destroyed huge areas of American farmland

• By explaining that the war forced people to plow under their wheat crops

• By elaborating on the idea that the war caused a need for food that the people met by growing more wheat

• By introducing the idea that the war caused the people to feed their extra wheat to larger herds of cattle

8. Part B: Which sentence from the text best supports your answer in Part A?

• "During and after World War I, from about 1917-1930..."

• "American and their allies would be well..."

• "Farmers knew thate could sell..."

• "There was a great demand for American beef..."

Which statement best summarizes the central idea of the text?

• The Dust Bowl led to new farming practices.

• Congress helped to solve the problems in the Dust Bowl.

• The return of the drought to the Southern Plains remains a threat.

• The Dust Bowl greatly affected farms on the Southern Plains.

How does the author develop the ideas in "Drought and Dust"?

• by stating the pros and cons of raising wheat

• by tracing the causes and effects of the dust storms

• by identfying the causes and effects of droughts

• by listing effective farming techniques.