Swarms of Terror

Essential questions: How has farming changed over time? Where does our food come from? What is our relationship with nature?

Watch the video. (5 minutes)

Project or distribute the Video Discussion Questions and preview with students. Then watch Behind the Scenes: Swarms of Terror as a class and discuss the questions.

Preview vocabulary. (5 minutes)

Project or distribute the Vocabulary Words and Definitions and review as a class. Highlighted words: contended, crescendoed, decimated, instilled, lush, plague, ravenous, spindly

“Swarms of Terror” (30 minutes)

Read the article as a class. Then discuss the following questions.

Close-Reading Questions

• Describe the purpose of the introduction— the article’s opening section. (text structure) The purpose of the introduction is to draw the reader in through the mystery of the strange shimmering cloud that Laura Ingalls sees in the distance. The first section also serves to provide context for the events of the story.
• In the section “Whir, Click, Buzz,” many paragraphs are very short—some are only one sentence long. Why might the author have chosen to use such short paragraphs here? (author’s craft) The author, Lauren Tarshis, likely chose to use short paragraphs to heighten the drama and suspense. By putting only one or two thoughts in each paragraph, Tarshis stretches out the story, leaving readers on edge as they come to the end of each paragraph. The way Tarshis breaks up the text in this section also helps readers imagine themselves in Laura’s place, experiencing moment by moment what Laura is experiencing.
• Why did the locust swarms lead to ruin for many families? (key idea) As Tarshis explains in the section “Millions of Chomping Jaws,” the swarming locusts devoured crops. Farmers—and the majority of people living in the western U.S. at that time were farmers—relied on their crops both for food to eat and for income, so when the locusts destroyed a family’s crops, a family was left with nothing to eat and no way of earning money.
  
• How does Tarshis characterize pioneer life in the American West? (key ideas and details) Tarshis characterizes pioneer life as extremely difficult. On page 13, she refers to “the grim realities of pioneer life”—the endless work and ever-present dangers. As an example, she describes life for the Ingalls family, writing that they rose early to care for their cows, that Mrs. Ingalls cooked, scrubbed, and sewed, that Mr. Ingalls often worked in their fields until after sunset, and that Laura hauled water and raked hay. Tarshis also lists the “constant threats” the family faced, including fevers, lightning strikes, and wildfires.

“Growing Up on a Farm” (30 minutes)

Break students into groups to read the personal essay and respond to the following questions.

Close-Reading Questions

• The introduction states that “surprises from nature can be uncontrollable and devastating” to farmers. How is this idea developed in the essay? (text structure) On page 18, Ryder Staples says, “Crazy hailstorms and windstorms have taken out some of our fields. . . . But think about all the hard work we put into those crops, only to see them ruined by one storm.”
  
• What technology used in modern farming does Ryder mention? (text evidence) Ryder mentions that his family uses a machine called a combine to harvest crops and that his dad and uncles use computerized mapping tools to plan their planting and use of herbicides. He also mentions that his family uses electric fences to keep animals away from the corn crops.

Critical-Thinking Questions

• What is the purpose of “Growing Up on a Farm”? How is it similar to or different from the purpose of “Swarms of Terror”? The purpose of “Growing Up on a Farm” is to give readers a sense of what it is like to be a kid growing up on an American farm today. The purpose of “Swarms of Terror” is to describe an event from history—the locust swarms of the late 1800s—while also providing information about the lives of farmers during that period.
  
• The introduction to the essay explains that farmers make up a far smaller percentage of the labor force today than they did in 1870. Why do you think this is? Answers will vary. Students might say that it’s because there are more people today and many live in cities, where they don’t have space to farm, because there are many other jobs to fill that didn’t exist in 1870, or because technology makes farming more efficient so fewer farmers are needed to produce food.
• What are the rewards and challenges of being a farmer? Base your answer on information in the article, the essay, and your own ideas. Among the rewards of being a farmer, students may list knowing that your work is important, being outside, having physical activity be part of your work, working closely with family, and developing a strong character through hard work. Among the challenges, students may name long hours, hard physical labor, low pay, having to be outside even when it is cold or raining, and vulnerability to forces beyond your control, such as weather events and insect invasions.

Featured Skill: Integrating Knowledge (15 minutes)

Have students work in groups to complete the Integrating Knowledge activity. This will prepare students to respond to the prompt on page 18. For alternate culminating tasks, see the boxes below.