By some estimates, over 1.2 billion tons of soil was blown across the Great Plains during the height of the Dust Bowl. The so-called "black blizzards" these massive dust storms caused suffocated cattle, sickened children, and destroyed thousands of family farms. Formerly prosperous farmers, unsure why they had such bad luck, wondered if the drought was a direct punishment for their sins. The causes of the Dust Bowl, however, were much more complicated than the personal failings of hard-working farm families or the unpredictability of Mother Nature. In this article, the authors propose using systems thinking, a concept featured in the Next Generation Science Standards, to facilitate the integration of social studies and science and help students develop this "big picture" thinking. A problem-solving process that examines relationships and draws attention to different viewpoints, systems thinking provides students with "a holistic view of knowledge and learning." By focusing on the "interrelated and interdependent networks" that comprise the world, systems thinking provides a powerful framework for the design and implementation of interdisciplinary curriculum. Using the Dust Bowl as an example, the authors illustrate how systems thinking can be coupled with the Inquiry Design Model to engage students in a critical examination of significant historical and contemporary issues.