Click here for a sample section of the Study Guide!       Check out the E-Guide version   

Newbery Award Winner 1998 • Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction • ALA Notable Children's Book • ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

Billie Jo Kelby is an only child. Though she knows he loves her, she believes her father views her as a substitute for the son he really wanted. Billie Jo is a good student, but her true joy is playing the piano. Billie Jo's piano playing leads to a job with a local musical group and gives her the opportunity to bring home a little money for the family.
When her mother reveals that she is pregnant again, and the pregnancy seems to be going well, the family is hopeful. Despite the hardships of dust and the Great Depression, Billie Jo and her mother and father are a relatively happy family. However, tragedy strikes during an ordinary day. A bucket of kerosene, mistaken for a pail of water, leads to a terrible fire. Billie Jo's mother dies, and Billie Jo suffers serious burns herself when she tries to extinguish the fire with her bare hands.
She and her father must now face the grieving, the healing, and the Dust Bowl alone. Written in free verse as a poetic journal, this touching novel of loss, healing and returning joy after tragedy strikes vividly brings the Dust Bowl years to life.

Progeny Press English/Language Arts curriculum provides your Middle School grade student with:

About the Author: Learn about Karen Hesse.
Background Information: Dust Bowl, open form poetry.
Vocabulary: Understand words used throughout the novel, utilizing a variety of activities to stimulate retention and growth.
Literary Techniques: Poetic devices, figurative language, onomatopoeia, structure, sensory images, poetic caesura, compare and contrast, symbolism, similes, metaphors, extended metaphor, personification, alliteration, consonance, assonance, repetition, dilemma, line structure, theme, dynamic characters, rhyme, conflict, double meaning, climax, resolution. 
Moral Lessons and Character Values:  Relationship, anger, generosity,  the effect of our words, stewardship, blame, grief, freedom, forgiveness, coming-of-age. 
Activities and Writing Assignments: Great Depression, history, mapping, class discussions, service project, farming, art, poetry, writing.
Suggestions for Further Reading:  We include a wonderful reading list of more books by the same author(s) and other books that tie in with, or are similar to, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.

All of Progeny Press' Language Arts unit lessons are written from a Christian worldview!

Features and Benefits of a Progeny Press ELA study guide

Printed Workbook Format

• Large 8.5x11 format is convenient to read and easy on Middle School student's eyes
• Every question in our novel unit study has plenty of whitespace for middle school level student answers
• Encourages neat and clean handwriting practice
• Easily transports without the need for a laptop or other expensive equipment
• Provides a permanent record of the middle school student’s work
• Complete, removable answer key included for the teacher to make grading simple!

CD Format

• Contains the complete study guide in universally compatible PDF format (works on Mac AND Windows)
• No costly software purchases necessary
• PDf files open in the FREE Adobe Reader program.
  Note: Mobile devices may require an alternative app that supports and saves fillable form fields and interactive features.
• Upgraded, fillable form fields allow the student the opportunity to complete their work on the computer, saving you printing costs
• Conveniently print what you need, when you need it:
• Print the whole ELA study guide at once
• Print single literature lessons or pages as the student completes them
• Print multiple copies of the entire curriculum study guide for classroom sets
• PDF format makes it easy to use with multiple students
• Complete answer key PDF file included for the teacher to make grading simple!

Formatted with your Middle School grade student in mind, Progeny Press language arts study guides divide the book into writing assignments and lessons that strengthen their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and refine their critical analysis and writing skills. Each Progeny Press novel study accomplishes all of this without busy work that can drain the fun out of reading and literature! Kids have loved using Progeny Press ELA curriculum in homeschool, co-ops, and private schools around the world for over 30 years!