Out of the Dust

This packet belongs to:______________________________

6th Grade ELA

_____ Hour

“Autumn 1934”And

“Winter 1934”

“Autumn 1934”Hired WorkSUMMARY: Bayard, Billie’s father, gets work at a job where he gets to dig, and Billie thinks about how she used to bring in money for the family with her piano playing.

EXCERPT: It doesn't look good for the winter crop.Earning some cash will make him feel better.I don't think he'll drink it up.He hasn't done that since Ma

_____________________________________________________________________Almost RainSUMMARY: Rainclouds come but the rain never comes. _____________________________________________________________________Those HandsSUMMARY: Coach Albright at Billie’s school used to approach her about playing basketball because of the size of her hands. Coach Albright didn't say anything to Billie about basketball this year. She knows it’s because of her hands.

EXCERPT: Only Arley Wanderdale talks about them,and how they could play piano again,if I would only try._____________________________________________________________________Real SnowSUMMARY: A little Christmas snow comes – real snow, and everyone, everything (the grass, and the wheat, and the cattle, and the rabbits, and Billie’s father) is happy.November 1934_____________________________________________________________________Dance RevueVera Wanderdale, Arley’s wife, is putting on a dance revue at the Palace. Billie Jo agrees to try the piano again.

EXCERPT: Mad Dog comes off the stage after his numbersand stands by the piano.He doesn't look at me likeI'm a poor motherless thing.He doesn't stare at my deformed hands.He looks at me like I amsomeone he knows,someone named Billie Jo Kelby.I'm grateful for that,especially considering how bad I'm playing._____________________________________________________________________Mad Dog's TaleSUMMARY: Mad Dog tells others how he got his name – by biting everything he saw when he was younger. Mad Dog’s age is also revealed; he is 16 years old. _____________________________________________________________________

INFER: How would you describe Billie’s tone regarding her daddy as seen in this excerpt?

Tone is the author’s attitude toward the writing. In this case, Billie is showing readers her attitude toward the subject of her daddy getting an extra job.

PREDICT: Do you think Billie Jo will play piano again? Why or why not?

INFER: Explain why Billie would likely be extremely grateful for the

way Mad Dog treats her.

Art ExhibitSUMMARY: Billie Jo finds herself loving the paintings at an art exhibit in the basement of the local courthouse which was set up for a fundraiser. Billie is able to go three times to see the exhibit because they don’t charge her the 2nd and 3rd time she goes.

EXCERPT: But now the exhibit is gone,the paintings stored away in spare roomsor locked up where no one can see them.I feel such a hunger to see such things.And such an anger because I can’t.December 1934_____________________________________________________________________

“Winter 1935”State Tests AgainSUMMARY: Billie Jo wishes she could see her mother to tell her that her grade topped the entire state of Oklahoma on the state tests again. She wishes she could hear her mother say, "I knew you could" because now she thinks that would be enough.

____________________________________________________________________Christmas Dinner Without the Cranberry SauceSUMMARY: Billie was worried she would be the only girl without a mother at the Christmas dinner at school, but she wasn’t. Two other girls without mothers were there. She also comments on the Christmas dinner she made at home for her father because she forgot the cranberry sauce.

EXCERPT: My father loved Ma's special cranberry sauce.But she never showed me how to make it.____________________________________________________________________Driving the CowsSUMMARY: Billie’s neighbor, Joe De La Flor, can't afford to feed his cows and can't afford to sell them. He and others have to have their cattle killed because they are dying from starvation or their lungs clogging with dust. _____________________________________________________________________First RainSUMMARY: A good amount of rain comes during the night. Everyone, everything is grateful.

EXCERPT: I hear the first drops.Like the tapping of a strangerat the door of a dream,the rain changes everything.It strokes the roof,streaking the dusty tin,

INFER: Why do you think Billie is drawn to the art exhibit. Explain her “hunger”

to see such things.

INFER: How might Billie have been taking her Ma and their relationship for granted when Ma was alive?

Read the summary again. Billie starts to reveal a bit of regret about how she used to think of Ma. Start thinking about what the phrase “taking things for granted means.”

Notice Billie’s TONE of regret. She again seems to comment on what she

wished she would’ve done when Ma was alive. What does she regret here?

ONOMATOPOEIA - a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, such as a cat’s “meow.”

ponging,a concert of rain notes,spilling from gutters,gushing through gullies,soaking into the thirsty earth outside._____________________________________________________________________Haydon P. NyeHaydon P. Nye died this week, and everyone remembers how good times were in the Oklahoma area when he was just born – before the land was stripped bare.

FULL POEM: Haydon P. Nye died his week.I knew him to wave,he liked the way I played piano.The newspaper said when Haydon first camehe could see only grass,grass and wild horses and wolves roaming.Then folks moved in and sod got bustedand bushels of wheat turned the plains to gold,and Haydon P. Nyegrabbed the Oklahoma Panhandle in his fistand held on.By the time the railroad came inon land Haydon sold them,the buffalo and the wild horses had gone.Some yearsHaydon Nye saw the sun dry up his crop,saw the grasshoppers chew it down,but then came years of rainand the wheat thrived,and his pockets filled,and his big laugh came easy.They buried Haydon Nye on his land,busted more sod to lay down his bones.Will they sow wheat on his grave,where the buffaloonce grazed?

January 1935_____________________________________________________________________Scrubbing Up DustBillie notices all of the mud that is on the steps, porch, and windows following the recent rain and realizes if the mud's to be busted, it’s her job to do it now that Ma is gone. She does the work but her hands hurt.

EXCERPT: It isn't the work I hate,the knuckle-breaking work of beating mud out ofevery blessed thing,but every daymy fingers and hands

CAUSE AND EFFECT

CAUSE - An event or action that causes something else to happen (1ST) EFFECT - An event or action that happened as a result of another

When Haydon P. Nye first came to Oklahoma, he could only see grass. What

was the effect of removing all of the grass across the plains of Ok?

A period of drought occurred when Hayden saw his crop dry up, but years of

rain followed. What was the effect of these wet years?

What words in this poem are onomatopoeias?

ache so bad. I thinkI should just let them rest,let the dust rest,let the world rest.But I can't leave it rest,on account of Ma,haunting._____________________________________________________________________Outlined by Dust

SUMMARY: Billie and her father rarely speak to one another, as if they don’t have anything to say or don’t know what to say to one another. She thinks of how she acts very much like her father, and how they both still miss Ma.

EXCERPT 1: He rubs his eyesthe way I do,with his palms out.Ma never did that.And he wipes the milk from hisupper lip same as me,with his thumb and forefinger.Ma never did that, either.We don't talk much.My father never was a talker.Ma's dying hasn't changed that.

EXCERPT 2:He stares at me,maybe he is looking for Ma.He won't find her.I look like him,I stand like him,I walk across the kitchen floorwith that long-legged walk of his.I can't make myself over the way Ma did.And yet, if I could look in the mirror and see her in my face.If I could somehow know that Maand baby Franklinlived on in me ...But it can't be.I'm my father's daughter._____________________________________________________________________The President's BallAll across the land,couples dancing,arm in arm, hand in hand,at the Birthday Ball.My father puts on his best overalls,I wear my Sunday dress,the one with the white collar,

Billie’s hands hurt terribly when she cleans the mud. At the end of the excerpt, however, she

reveals what motivates her to keep working. Explain what Billie means in the last three lines

of the poem.

Name the 5 ways Billie Jo and Bayard are alike, as indicated in these excerpts:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Billie shows how much she is like her father in this poem. As you

continue reading further into the novel, look for other ways Billie

reveals how she is like her daddy.

and we walk to townto the Legion Halland join the dance. Our feet flying,me and my father,on the wooden floor whirlingto Arley Wanderdale and the Black Mesa Boys.Till ten,when Arley stands up from the piano,to announce we raised thirty-three dollarsfor infantile paralysis,a little better than last year.And I remember last year,when Ma was alive and we werecrazy excited about the baby coming.And I played at this same party for Franklin D.Roosevelt and Joyce Cityand Arley.Tonight, for a little whilein the bright hall folks were almost free,almost free of dust,almost free of debt,almost free of fields of withered wheat.Most of the night I think I smiled.And twice my father laughed.Imagine.January 1935_____________________________________________________________________LunchSUMMARY: Billie and all the other school kids get a big lunch from the government. Everyone eats until their stomachs are content. _____________________________________________________________________GuestsSUMMARY: When Billie and others arrive at school, they find a family who moved into the school building during the night to escape the dust. The wife is “pretty far along with a baby.” _____________________________________________________________________Family SchoolThe family staying at the school is given clothes and food from the students, whatever each could bring. The father works around the school fixing things for being allowed to stay there until his wife has her baby.

EXCERPT: I found a few things of my brother'sand brought them to school,little feed-sack nighties,so small,so full of hope.Franklinnever wore a one of the nighties Ma made him,except the one we buried him in._____________________________________________________________________

Symbolism

Read the poem again and think about what this dance or music in

general may possibly symbolize to Billie Jo and her neighbors. Provide

a possible symbol AND explanation.

What is Billie Jo’s tone in this poem?

Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words.

What is the mood created in you, the reader, when you read

“President’s Ball”?

How do Billie and her neighbors show generosity, just like Ma did

when she donated to the committee at the beginning of the novel?

BirthSUMMARY: Billie and the other students are asked to wait outside when they arrive at school until the baby of the family staying at Billie’s school is born. The family has a healthy baby girl.

EXCERPT: I think about Maand how that birth went.I keep the kids out and listen behind me,praying for the sound of a babycrying into this world,and not the silencemy brother brought with him.And then the cry comesand I have to go away for a little whileand just walk off the feelings.Miss Freeland rings the bell to call us inbut I'm not ready to come back yet.When I do come,I study how fine that baby girl is. How perfect,and that she is wearing a feed-sack nightgown thatwas my brother's._____________________________________________________________________Time to Go

They left a couple weeks after the baby came,all of them crammed inside that rusty old truck.I ran half a mile in their dust to catch them.I didn't want to let that baby go."Wait for me," I cried,choking on the cloud that rose behind them.But they didn't hear me.They were heading west.And no one was looking back.February 1935_____________________________________________________________________Something Sweet from MoonshineSUMMARY: A couple of local people are arrested for illegally making whiskey (moonshine) by the lake, and ten thousand pounds of sugar from the operation is delivered to the students for them all to have cakes and pies and candy. _____________________________________________________________________DreamsEach day after class lets out,each morning before it begins,I sit at the school pianoand make my hands work.In spite of the pain,in spite of the stiffnessand scars.I make my hands play piano.I have practiced my best piece over and overtill my arms throb,because Thursday night

Think about how Billie may be feeling at this point. Why does she

have to “go away for a little while”?

What is foreshadowed in “Time to Go”?

the Palace Theatre is having a contest.Any man, woman, or childwho sings,dances,reads,or plays worth a lickcan climb onto that stage.Just register by four P.M.and give them a taste of what you can doland you're in,performing for the crowd,warming up the audience for theMazel Hurd Players.I figure if I practice enoughI won't shame myself.And we sure could use the extra cashif I won.Three-dollar first prize,two-dollar second,one-dollar third.But I don't know if I could win anything,not anymore.It's the playing I want most,the proving I can still do itwithout Arley making excuses.I have a hunger,for more than food.I have a hungerbigger than Joyce City.I want tongues to tie, andeyes to shine at melike they do at Mad Dog Craddock.Course they never will,not with my hands all scarred up,looking like the earth itself,all parched and rough and cracking,but if I played right enough,maybe they would see past my hands.Maybe they could feel at ease with me again,and maybe then,I could feel at ease with myself.February 1935_____________________________________________________________________The CompetitionSUMMARY: Billie wins 3rd prize - $1 in prize money.

EXCERPT: I played "Bye, Bye, Blackbird"my own way,messing with the tempo,and the first part sounded likeI used just my elbows,

Billie says, “It’s the playing I want most, the proving I can still do it

without Arley making excuses.”

What is her tone here?

Read over the last two lines again. What do you think Billie means by saying she could maybe feel at ease with herself? (Think about why she could be feeling uneasy about herself.)

but the middle sounded goodand the end,I forgot I was even playingin front of the packed Palace Theatre.I dropped right inside the music anddidn't feel anythingtill afterwhen the clapping startedand that's when I noticed my hands hurtingstraight up to my shoulders.But the applausemade me forget the pain,the audience roared when I finished,they came to their feet,and I got third prize,one dollar,while Mad Dog Craddock, singing,won second,and Ben Groverand his crazy clarinettook first.The tap dancers pouted into their mirrors,peeling off their makeup and their smiles.Birdie Jasper claimedit was all my fault she didn't win,that the judges were just being nice to a cripple,but the harpin' Harkins were kindand the Hazel Hurd Playerswrapped their long arms around meand said I was swelland in the sweaty dim chaos backstageI ignored the pain running up and down my arms,I felt like I was part of something grand.But they had to give my ribbon and my dollar to myfather,cause I couldn't holdanything in my hands.February 1935_____________________________________________________________________The Piano PlayerSUMMARY: Arley offers Billie a chance to play more piano, but she refuses.

EXCERPT: It's too soon after the contest.It still hurts too much.Arley doesn't understand."Just practice more," he says."You'll get it back,you can navel with us again this summerif you'd like."I don't say it hurts like the parched earth with each note.I don't say, one chord and

Billie reveals again that music symbolizes escape. This time, however, it’s

not escape from the dust. What escape does Billie offer her here?

my hands scream with pain for days.I don't show him the swelling or my tears.I tell him, "I’ll try."At home, I sit at Ma's piano,I don't touch the keys.I don't know why.I play "Stormy Weather" in my mind,following the phrases in my imagination,saving strength,so that when I sit down at a piano that is not Ma's,when everyone crowds into the school for Arley’s show,no one can say that Billie Jo Kelby plays like a cripple._____________________________________________________________________No GoodSUMMARY: Billie thinks she is not good at playing piano anymore. _____________________________________________________________________SnowSUMMARY: Real snow fell. _____________________________________________________________________Night SchoolSUMMARY: Bayard decides to go to night school. He figures if the farm fails, he’d have something to fall back on. Billie Jo doesn’t know what to think of this.

EXCERPT: . . . maybe he doesn't care so much about the classes.Maybe he's thinking more about the company of ladies.I'll bet none of the ladies mindspending time with my father,he's still good lookingwith his strong back,and his blondy-red hairand his high cheeks rugged with wind.I shouldn't mind either.It's dinner I don't have tocome up with,‘cause the ladies bring chicken and biscuits for him.I'm glad to get out of cooking.Sometimes with my hands,it's hard to keep the fire,wash the pans,hold the knife, and spread a little butter.But I do mind his spending time with all those biddies.I turn my back on him as he goes,and settle myself in the parlorand touch Ma's piano.My fingers leave sighsin the dust._____________________________________________________________________Dust PneumoniaSUMMARY: Pete Guymon, a local grocery delivery man, dies from dust pneumonia while he was on the job. _____________________________________________________________________

Why does Billie mind that her father is spending time with the ladies (or “biddies”) in his night classes?

Dust StormSUMMARY: Billie goes to see a show and walks home in the most terrible dust storm that she’s ever seen. The only reason she doesn’t stay put is because she is afraid her father will go out looking for her, and she’s worried about his safety in this horrific storm. It takes her 3 hours to get home. When she arrives, she finds a note from her father saying he is out looking for her and she is to stay home if she returns before him. Billie worries that he may die in the dust storm.

EXCERPT: I wondered if my father would come back.He blew in around six A.M.It hurt,the sight of himbrown with dirt,his eyes as red as raw meat,his feet bruised from walking in worn shoesstepping where he couldn't seeon things that bit and cut into his flesh.I tried to scare up something we could eat,but couldn't keep the table clear of dust.Everything I setdown for our breakfastwas covered before we took a bite,and so we chewed the grit and swallowedand I thought of the cattledead from mud in their lungs,and I thought of the tractorburied up to the steering wheel,and Pete Guymon,and I couldn't even recognize the mansitting across from me,sagging in his chair,his red hair gray and stiff with dust,his face deep lines of dust,his teeth streaked brown with dust.I turned the plates and glasses upside down,crawled into bed, and slept.March 1935_____________________________________________________________________Broken PromiseSUMMARY: It rained a little everywhere except Billie Jo’s hometown. _____________________________________________________________________MotherlessIf Ma could put her arm across my shouldersometime,or stroke back my hair,or sing me to sleep, making the soft sounds,the reassuring noises,that no matter how brittle and sharp life seemed,no matter how brittle and sharp she seemed,she was still my ma who loved me,then I think I wouldn't be so eager to go.March 1935

A farm in South Dakota (1936)

Buried farm equipment, Kansas (1930s)

April 14, 1935 (Black Sunday)

Billie describes how she longs for and misses her mother. Again, however, Billie foreshadows her desire to leave in the last line of this poem.

_____________________________________________________________________Following in His StepsHaydon Parley Nye's wife, Fonda, died. It was just two months after her husband died. The cause of death was dust pneumonia, but Billie thinks it’s because she couldn't go on without Haydon. This makes her think of her mother’s death.

EXCERPT: When Ma died,I didn't want to go on, either.I don't know. I don't feel the same now,not exactly.Now that I see that one daycomes after anotherand you get through themone measure at a time.But I'd like to go,not like Fonda Nye,I don't want to die,I just want to go,away,out of the dust.

Many times Billie says that she wants to leave the dust. It has not yet happened, but it seems inevitable because it’s been foreshadowed many times.

PREDICT when Billie will leave and how she will do it.