Students gather examples of "voices" of migrant workers from three kinds of sources:
literature;
folk music;
sound recordings, and
other documentary evidence collected by folklorists about Depression-era migrant workers.
Individually or in groups of three to four, students select snippets of language using any of the following three criteria. The way that the migrant workers use language is different than the speech of today. For example, the speaker:
uses words or phrases that we no longer use;
uses words or phrases we no longer use in the same way, and
uses sentence structure different than what we are accustomed to.
Students are to trust their ears in identifying variations in language usage. They might wish to choose examples of language that:
seems to capture the feelings of the workers, and/or seems to refer to issues they think are important, and
is interesting, and captures the attention of the reader or listener.
Part One: The Grapes of Wrath
Assign each group of students a few chapters from The Grapes of Wrath to skim.
Students gather "voices" from the novel, using the How to Analyze a Text worksheet to make note of details. Notes on the text should include:
an example of a sentence or phrase;
the name and age of the character speaking;
the page number on which the sentence or phrase occurs;
the context in which the sentence occurs;
why he or she selected this sentence or phrase, and
the meaning of the sentence or phrase (if necessary).
Give a brief introduction of Woody Guthrie. The liner notes from Dust Bowl Ballads provide a brief, but meaningful introduction. A biography of "Woody Guthrie." is available at the Web site of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Using either audio examples from Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl Ballads, or lyrics, students in their same groups note examples of language. Students should do their best to transcribe the words to reflect how they sound. Using the How to Analyze a Text worksheet, students make note of details including:
Have the students read the background material provided online for Voices from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941. Some of the resources available in this collection are songs, interviews with migrant workers, Camp Council Meeting minutes, court proceedings in the government camps, migrant camp newsletters, field notes, and miscellaneous audio snippets.
Demonstrate to the students strategies for locating different types of documentary sources in this collection. Give students time to practice searching the collection.
Using both audio and written sources from the Web site, students compile examples of language. Using the How to Analyze a Text worksheet students make note of details including:
Within the groups students compile the various "voices" from all
three sources. Students may want to organize them in a stack of index
cards, or perhaps on pages of paper. They may want to organize the cards or papers by
speaker or by topic. Students may use the worksheets generated from the above activities to organize their material.
After compiling their materials, each student writes an informal reflection focusing on the following questions:
When you examine the examples from fiction (The Grapes of Wrath)
and those selected from documents, what observations can you make?
In what ways are the voices similar?
In what ways are they different?
In what way do you, or people you know, speak similarly to the "voices" that you selected? Give specific examples.
Are there ways in which your language is distinctly different than these migrants? Explain.
