Curated OER
Pioneer Life: Food
Students investigate the types of food the pioneers ate, and how they prepared and preserved their meals. They explore websites, view video diaries from PBS Frontier Life, read recipes, and complete a crossword puzzle.
Curated OER
Frontier Life Story
Young scholars explore American frontier life. In this history lesson, students participate in a series of activities that challenge them to discover what pioneer life was really like.
Curated OER
Survival Challenge: Would You Make It?
Students face a challenge. In this survival lesson, students discover the hardships faced by the pioneers who moved west and see if they would survive a similar situation. They discuss essential items they need to survive and...
Curated OER
Moving West
Students research the Westward Movement and struggles encountered by the pioneers as they moved from Nebraska, Westward along the Oregon Trail. In this Westward Expansion activity, students read an Oregon Trail poem and visit 5 different...
Curated OER
The Donner Party
Who is the Donner Party? Find out why this group of pioneers lives in infamy. A lot of information is provided in this resource, but you will have to copy and paste the text to acquire the handouts. Learners will look at primary sources,...
Curated OER
Long, Long, Ago
Students discover details of pioneer life. In this history instructional activity, students examine artifacts and play games from pioneer times.
Curated OER
Frontier Life Story
Students undertake a similar (but not quite as drastic) adventure as that of Frontier House as they explore the day-to-day realities of frontier life through a Laura Ingalls Wilder story, and reflect on which time period suits them...
San Francisco Symphony
Quilt Making and Copland's Rodeo
Kids make quilts as they learn about pioneer life and the concept of tempo. The Aaron Copland piece, Rodeo is used to convey rhythm and tempo in music. As the children discuss tempo and rhythm, they also discuss what life was like for...
Curated OER
Life in the Arkansas Territory
Students compare the living conditions in Arkansas when it was a territory with contemporary times. They participate in a role play activities of the territorial times.
Curated OER
Through The Looking Glass
Students examine the time period of westward expansion. In groups, they use the internet to research the reasons why people moved west during the 1800s. They write their own narratives playing the role of a member of a pioneer family...
Curated OER
Using Details from the Text
Explore non-fiction comprehension strategies with your class. They will visualize daily activities and label a 4 circle Venn diagram with related phrases. They must identify the overlapping sections as "main ideas," then complete a...
Curated OER
Help the Elderly With Meals on Wheels
Students research the history of the Meals on Wheels program. Using the internet, they discover their community's connection with the program and other programs similar to them. They discuss options in which to help more organizations...
Curated OER
An Orderly Wagon Train Migration
Sixth graders work in small groups to organize a wagon train for a trek westward. They determine leadership responsibilities and rules needed to make a successful trek.
Curated OER
Townsite Era
Students learn about the Townsite Era and are able to explore who they were and how they lived at that time. In this Townsite Era students create their own map of the Loma Linda are, design their own community and use a computer...
Curated OER
Wagons West: Native Americans
Students examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students analyze select passages from Plains Indians by Dana Newmann and The World of Native Americans by Marion Wood. Students...
Curated OER
Heritage: Survival and the Geography of Utah
Fourth graders are introduced to the hunting and gathering techniques used by the Native American tribes living in the region that is now Utah. They prepare a role-play of hunting and gathering appropriate to specific geographical areas.
Curated OER
The American West-Knowledge Test
In this American West worksheet, students complete a 24 questions test about the American West. Answers are included beneath questions on worksheet.
Curated OER
Work and Play: Today and Yesterday
First graders investigate the concept of play and work. They use primary and secondary resources in order to find the information of comparing the concepts in the context of the past to present day. Students brainstorm to find the...
Curated OER
Chief Sealthe's Speech
Students explain the conflict over land between Native Americans and the United States government. They evaluate Native American values and the results of the U.S. expansion into Native American lands.
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Pioneer Experience
Collection of primary source journals, letters, etc. on pioneer life in Wisconsin.
Other
At Home in the Heartland: At Home on the Fringes of the Prairie (1800 1850)
Interactive site offers information and pictures pertaining to early pioneer life. See advertisements in the paper, furniture, glassware, and food preparation tools. Read stories of individuals who lived during that time and make...
University of Alberta
Atlas of Alberta Railways: The Railway Labourers: The Navvies
Many immigrants died during the building of Canada's railway. How they were recruited, their housing, food, pay, etc. are detailed here.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Food on the Frontier
Would you clean your plate if you had to eat what frontier families served in eastern Montana? Find out what's on the menu from this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
Other
Agriculture in the Classroom Sask: Early Days: Homesteaders
A broad view of life as a pioneer or homesteader in the prairie lands of the United States or Canada in the 19th century. Learn about the work and play of pioneer families, and how their towns developed.