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Smallville Prairie Development Project
Students research the characteristics of the prairie habitat focusing on scientific, social/historical and aesthetic values. They investigate how humans impact the prairie habitat while maintaining a daily journal of research and...
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Links in the Chain of Life
Using the prairie dog community as an example, middle school ecologists examine the food web. Pairs of learners take one species in the community and research its role in the ecosystem. They share their findings with the rest of the...
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Prairie Activity: Prairie Quilt
Students investigate prairie life in the 19th century. They research quilts and prairie images online, take a photo of an object related to prairie life, transfer the image onto fabric, and create a class quilt.
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Prairie Mural Project
Seventh graders construct a large mural of a praire showing plants, and animals that would live there.
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Prairie Poetry
Ninth graders take note of the ways in which word choice, rhythm, language and narrative voice, as well as point of view in a poem can be used to evoke a time and place. They use their insights to create a poem of their own.
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A Trip Back in Time: Missouri quarter reverse
I love time capsules. After reviewing elements of pioneer life, your class will create a time capsule that would have belonged to a pioneer in the 1830s. Each person must write a description of each item they would have brought and why...
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Miners of the Prairie: The Days of Shaft Mining in Northern Illinois
Young scholars explore the life and times of a coal miner in Illinois through the analysis of primary source documents and images.
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Pioneering Children on the Move
Learners inquire about life for pioneer children. In this pioneer period lesson, students analyze photographs of children, make information foldables, and create a covered wagon that was typical of the ones of the past. Learners will...
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A Study of Grasses on the American Prairie
Fifth graders study the ecology and impact of animal and human life as it relates to the environment of the Great Plains and its grasses. They compare types of grasses with a rainfall map to illustrate the effect of precipitation on...
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No Place Like Home
Learners analyze photographs of high plains sod homes and read accompanying narratives. They then choose one photograph and, using the copy and paste features and simple drawing tools available in Microsoft Word, students identify...
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Native American Vocabulary
If your class is learning about Native American culture or life, a vocabulary sheet might come in handy. There are 12 terms, each with a full definition included. Terms include buffalo, tepee, hogan, wampum, prairie, tribe, myth,...
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Smallville Prairie Development Project
Pupils, through group activities, explain the important scientific, social/historical and aesthetic values of a prairie habitat. They analyze the impact of humans on prairieland and solve a problem regarding potential development of a...
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Stories of Life in Canada
Students examine Canadian history through William Kurelek's artwork. In this art analysis lesson, students discuss the ideas expressed in the picture book A Prairie Boy's Winter and A Prairie Boy's Summer. Students view the film Kurelek,...
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Where's the Grass
Students participate in a grassland game. In this grassland lesson, students simulate the impact of grazing animals and invasive weeds on grasslands.
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Butterfly Round-Up
Students classify the characteristics of butterflies and moths moths. In this life cycle lesson, students identify butterflies and moths common in the state of Iowa as well as their characteristics. Students then learn the proper...
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Prairie Voices: Iowa and the Civil War
Students study how the Civil War affected Iowa natives. In this Iowa history lesson, students read the provided article on Iowa and its Civil War experiences. Students analyze the article to determine how the war affected civilians and...
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Prairie Voices: Plum Grove
Learners explore Plum Grove located in Iowa City. In this Iowa history lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on the history of Plum Grove and the leadership of Robert Lucas. Learners select assessment...
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Prairie Food Chains & Webs
Learners complete a food chain. In this ecosystem lesson, students learn about producers, consumers and decomposers. Learners identify herbivores, carnivores and omnivores and complete two worksheets.
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The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Students create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast wildfires and prescribed fires. In this earth science lesson plan, students conduct a series of experiment to explore fire characteristics. They describe favorable conditions to...
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Wagons West!
The first pioneers faced many obstacles on their journey west. Middle schoolers read different historical fiction texts (ideas are provided), make connections, and complete a detailed packet (included). Reading guides, journal ideas, and...
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Let's Party like its 1849
Learners explore prairie life. In this Oregon Trail lesson, students read literature regarding the move west and participate in cross-curricular activities. Learners should take digital photographs of the participation in activities and...
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Prairie Dog Town
Fourth graders use their knowledge of prairie dog communities to design their own model prairie dog towns. Teachers are provided with background information on prairie dogs and are encouraged to show examples to stimulate creativity. ...
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A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
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Find the Main Idea: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
An excerpt from Willa Cather's O Pioneer's! provides learners with practice in finding the main idea and supporting details in a narrative. As readers record the bleak details on the included graphic organizer, they can conclude that...