When a Town Runs Dry

• This short film shows how a fifteen-year drought has changed Stratford, a farming town in California.
• The resource also includes a lesson plan that offers a variety of thought-provoking discussion questions and writing prompts that would be appropriate to use in science, English, and geography courses.

Positives

• The video shows how the drought has effected three Stratford residents: a white farmer, a Latino high school football coach, and an immigrant from Yemen who owns a grocery store.
• Many elements of the lesson plan, though designed for high school students, are suitable for younger students as well.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• The lesson plan offers some background information on the California drought that should be shared with students prior to viewing the video. 
• The film was produced in 2016, but the drought has persisted in California.
  

Differentiation

• History and science classes could compare and contrast the Dust Bowl of the 1930s with the current drought in California. Students could research what caused the Dust Bowl and what measures were taken to restore the land.
• Science classes could learn more about the important role of groundwater by reading this article from The National Environmental Education Foundation.
• English and journalism classes could conduct interviews with people who grew up in the local community to find out how local climate and societal conditions have changed since they were children. Students could then bolster the information collected during the interviews with data about local climate change.
• Other resources on this topic include this interactive unit on drought, this firsthand account of living through a drought in California, and this resource on how drought is connected to climate change.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.