The Joad family leaves Oklahoma in search of work after their farm is destroyed by the Dust Bowl. They arrive in California only to find that fair jobs, food, and sympathy are scarce.

For this book, we offer a mix of literary and informational texts to support your upcoming novel unit. These lessons are designed to build students’ reading comprehension and engagement.

9th Grade Speech 1310L

Excerpt from "On Drought Conditions"

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1936
Passage Summary:

This speech, made by 32nd President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt (served 1933-1945), addresses the problems of the Great Depression and the "Dust Bowl" of the 1930s—during which severe drought and erosion conditions led to a prolonged agricultural crisis.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this text before beginning the novel as background information on the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Pair “Excerpt from ‘On Drought Conditions’” with The Grapes of Wrath and ask students to compare how both texts frame the destruction of this environmental crisis, and to consider how, historically, the U.S. responded to this crisis.

11th Grade Informational Text 1310L

The Great Depression

Mike Kubic 2016
Passage Summary:

In "The Great Depression," Kubic explores the causes and effects of the Great Depression, as well as the economic reforms that resulted from this era.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this text before beginning the novel, in order to provide them with historical background on the period the novel is set in. Pair “The Great Depression” with The Grapes of Wrath and ask students to discuss the poverty and desperation of the period. How does this manifest later in the conditions depicted in Oklahoma, on the journey to California, and in the Hoovervilles camps?

11th Grade Satire 1220L

Excerpts from "Roughing It": Prefatory & Chapter 42

Mark Twain 1872
Passage Summary:

In Roughing It, Mark Twain recounts his time looking for work out West in a semi-autobiographical, comic travelogue. In this excerpt, Twain often mingles the tragic and the comic in an effort to reveal how harsh and humorous life can simultaneously be, especially in the "Wild West."

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this excerpt from Twain’s Roughing It after students have read Chapter 10. Have students read the excerpt to introduce them to the cultural concept of “The West.” Have students compare how Twain and the migrants in the book describe the West and explain how Americans have pictured the West throughout history.

9th Grade Poem

The Tempest 4.1.156-8

Gary Soto 2016
Passage Summary:

Gary Soto begins this poem with a line from Shakespeare's The Tempest to delve into the harsh reality of death and how it is dealt with.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this poem to students after they have read Chapter 13 of the novel, in order for them to draw thematic connections through a cross-text analysis. Pair “The Tempest 4.1.156-8” with The Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 13 and ask students to consider the presence and portrayal of death in both texts — how do the harsh descriptions of death contribute to the larger picture of the novel?

10th Grade News 1100L

The Coeur d'Alene Miners' Uprising

Various authors 1892
Passage Summary:

In "The Coeur d'Alene Miner's Uprising," two newspaper articles detail the 1892 Idaho miner's strike over unfair labor practices that left five people dead.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after students have read Chapter 24 to provide them with a historical reference for comparative analysis of the novel. Pair “The Coeur d’Alene Miners’ Uprising” with The Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 24, and ask students to consider any similarities between the miners’ uprising incident and the events that take place between Chapters 22-24 in the novel. How does union agitation, infiltrators and outside interference influence these protests, uprisings and planned riots?

8th Grade Poem

I am the people, the mob

Carl Sandburg 1916
Passage Summary:

In "I am the people, the mob," Carl Sandburg showcases the power of collective protest to incite change.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this poem as a pairing on the shared themes of anger and injustice after students have read Chapter 25, in which the titular “grapes of wrath” are mentioned. Pair “I am the people, the mob” with The Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 25 and ask students to discuss the angry, righteous tones of both texts and how they contribute to the themes of injustice and wrath.

11th Grade Memoir 1470L

Serving in Florida: Excerpt from "Nickel and Dimed"

Barbara Ehrenreich 2001
Passage Summary:

In "Serving in Florida: Excerpt from Nickel and Dimed," author Barbara Ehrenreich talks about the first steps and early struggles in her social experiment. 

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after reading Chapter 27, in order to draw contemporary and historical comparisons on employment and wages in the United States. Pair “Serving in Florida: Excerpt from Nickel and Dimed” with The Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 27 and ask students to compare the Joad family’s search for fair living and working conditions with Ehrenreich’s experiment as a modern minimum-wage worker. How does the Joad family’s experiences support Ehrenreich’s argument that the working class are undervalued?

9th Grade Speech 1130L

Address to the Commonwealth Club of California

Cesar Chavez 1984
Passage Summary:

In this rousing 1984 speech to the Commonwealth Club of California, Cesar Chavez describes the horrible working conditions for Mexican farm workers in America and calls for change.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after finishing the novel to help students examine the plight and concerns of migrant workers through a contemporary and historical analysis. Pair “Address to the Commonwealth Club of California” with The Grapes of Wrath and ask students to discuss the conditions migrant workers face, both in the novel and real life. Which characters in the novel, if any, resemble Chavez in his desire to organize and empower the workers?

10th Grade Speech 1390L

Every Man a King

Huey P. Long 1934 (Radio Broadcast)
Passage Summary:

At the height of the Great Depression, Huey P. Long, a Louisiana senator, delivered this famous speech in which he denounced the rich and argued to "scale down the big fortunes."

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after students have completed the novel, in order to provide them with insight into the political debates surrounding wealth and workers’ rights during the Great Depression. Pair “Every Man a King” with The Grapes of Wrath and ask students to analyze the speech and compare its ideas to similar points in the novel, like Jim Casy’s efforts to build a union and his pleas with the policemen in Chapter 26.