The Grapes of Wrath - Scrapbooks and Artifacts

Lesson Four: Material Artifacts and Textual Support

1. Students search the American Memory collections for artifact illustrations from the following categories relating to their character from The Grapes of Wrath.   Include ten artifacts from at least five categories.  Begin the search at: America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945.
1. Maps
2. Transportation
3. Food
4. Clothing
5. Housing
6. Furnishings
7. Tools
8. Work
9. Recreation
10. Music
2. Have students write a museum-like caption for each artifact. Each caption should explain the fictional context and literary significance of the artifact.
3. Finally, have students choose passages of text from The Grapes of Wrath to accompany each of the artifacts. Each of the text passages should be cited using appropriate MLA format.