How it works
Where did a 1934 storm drop 12 million pounds of plains dust, and how far did most migrants really go? These Dust Bowl trivia questions follow the story in order, from the plowing of the grass to the return of the rain.
Read the full guide
The plow and the storms
The land before the dust asks why the grass was plowed up, and The homestead acts who was given the land: Lincoln's signature, five years on the claim and a slogan about voting yourself a farm. Black blizzards has the storms themselves, from the first in 1930 to Black Sunday.
The road and the repair
Families on the road covers the migrants, with the photographer, the novelist and the folk singer who made them known. Saving the soil is the government's answer: a belt of 220 million trees, contour plowing and a dollar an acre.
- For a class reading a novel of the 1930s, Families on the road is the round to start with.
Questions and answers
What is a good Dust Bowl trivia question?
Try this one: what fell on New England in the winter of 1934 to 1935? Red snow. The May before, a two-day storm had carried dust from the plains as far as Boston and New York.
What caused the Dust Bowl?
A severe drought met farming that left the soil bare. Deep plowing had removed the native grasses that held soil and moisture, so when the rain failed the wind carried the topsoil away.
When was the Dust Bowl?
The 1930s. The first recorded dust storm came on September 14, 1930, Black Sunday was April 14, 1935, and regular rain returned to the region in the fall of 1939.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 7, 2026 in one of four English Wikipedia articles, linked under the question: Dust Bowl, Homestead Acts, Great Plains Shelterbelt and Black Sunday (storm). Where two disagree the question was dropped. Titles of novels and albums are left out.