York University
York University: African Canadian Online: Black Pioneers
Black people have played an important part in the history of Canada from its earliest days when the first black man came to Canada in 1606. Learn about these pioneers and their accomplishments.
Have Fun With History
Have Fun With History: Pioneers and the Frontier
Learning module with a variety of video and other resources on the expansion westward as pioneers settled new frontier in the 1800s.
Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor: What Kids Did on the Western Frontier
An interesting article addressed to students discusses the life of children on the western frontier, about the time of the "Little House" stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Other
Bc Heritage Websites Prog: A Visit to a B. C. General Store: Product Packaging
Learn about the history of product packaging which began in the sixteenth century. Test you knowledge on product packaging and reuse in the 1800s.
Other
University of Western Ontario: Early Writing in Canada: Catharine Parr Traill
Excerpts of letters written by Catharine Parr Traill, which she collected and published, along with her journals, in The Backwoods of Canada (1836). In these excerpts, she writes about her arrival in Newfoundland and a journey to Quebec.
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...
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.
US National Archives
Pioneering Journals of the Ingalls Family: Pepin, Wisconsin: Household Chores
Based on journals for Laura Ingalls Wilder's family, these descriptions of housework in a pioneer home are typical of the life of most pioneers on the prairie or in the northern woods. These chores would have been "women's work."
Other
Pioneer Women: How the West Was Really Won
Learn about the varied roles that women played in the settling of the frontier, how those roles differed from women's roles in the 21st century, and, surprisingly, how much they were similar.
Read Works
Read Works: Heading West: Learn About a Pioneer's Life
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about what life was like for pioneers. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: The Homestead Act Went Into Effect
This 4-page article discusses the Homestead Act of 1862 and its effects.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: "Hardship Without Glory": Life on the Trail
From the PBS series, "Frontier House," read about the struggles that pioneers experienced as they made their ways west to new lands via wagon trains.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Uncle Sam Is Rich Enough to Give Us All a Farm
In this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House, you can see how the Homestead Act opened up the frontier to ordinary citizens, eager for a chance to own their own property.
Yale University
Yale: Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Journey of Discovery
This site features three novels and uses them to show students that reading can be fun and useful. Students and teachers will benefit from this informative resource.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Frontier Education and the One Room Schoolhouse
See how much public education has changed from the one-room schoolhouse days of the frontier. From a companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Creating a Home on the Frontier
Making a house a home was a struggle on the plains. This companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House, describes the problems with getting water, outhouses, and furnishing the sod house.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: "The Little Old Shanty on the Claim"
An essay provided as part of the PBS series, Frontier House, describes the housing options of pioneers on the prairies in eastern Montana.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Illinois Pioneers and Prairies [Pdf]
"Illinois Pioneers and Prairies" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about life in the prairies of Illinois for the early settlers including their hard work, setting up governments, building schools, and making laws. It is...
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: The American Family in Literature
What is the objective of this "American Family in Literature" unit? This site uses "Farmer Boy" and "Nobody's Family Can Change" to explore differences in families. The resource includes rationale and activities to help get this point to...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Read About Pioneers
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart contains a lot of information to read and learn about the ways of the Pioneers. It also gives opportunity to learn new vocabulary.
My Hero Project
My Hero: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Use this resource to learn about why Laura Ingalls Wilder is a writer hero and learn about her life as pioneer girl in the late 1800s.
Other
Kansas Collection Books: Emigrant Life in Kansas
This site is a textual copy of a book written by an Englishman, Percy G. Ebbutt entitled Emigrant Life in Kansas, published in 1886. The book focuses on a young man's experiences on the prairie in Kansas. Written for an English audience.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Barn Raising
Article discusses barn raising in relation to the preparation that went into it before work began, its importance within a community, and the social pressure to participate.