The Great Depression: A Migrant Mother’s Story

Act out the story of Florence Owens, a migrant worker and widowed mother of seven during the Great Depression. A published photograph of Florence upset her, but she meets with the photographer to discuss her feelings and learns how important her image was in helping migrant workers during that time. The six roles in this script match different reading levels, enabling teachers to use differentiation and English language learner strategies in their instruction. These strategies allow all students to engage in the same activity, regardless of their current reading level. All students can feel successful and can gain confidence in their reading fluency. Students can also practice reading aloud, interacting cooperatively, and using expressive voices and gestures while performing the story together. An accompanying poem and song give readers additional resources to practice fluency in an engaging way. This dynamic script is the perfect tool for a classroom of varied readers!