Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Life as a Pioneer
Students examine historical documents and research why early pioneers settled on the Iowa prairie. They review maps, describe the impact of railroading, describe life in pioneer times, and identify the effects of drought, prairie fire,...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Pioneer Living
Fourth graders research pioneer life. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders read the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and discuss what life was like for early pioneers. They research pioneers and show what they have...
Smithsonian Institution
African American Pioneers in Aviation
Bessie Coleman. William Powell. Willa Brown. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. While these names may not be familiar to many Americans, they are African American pioneers in aviation history. Class members have an opportunity to research the...
Curated OER
Bears and Panthers Aplenty: Early Settlers Make a Home in Arkansas
Young historians research the Southwest Trail, which ran through Arkansas back in the 19th century. Pupils are divided into four groups. Each group researches a pioneer who blazed the Southwest Trail. Then, the group presents an oral or...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Journey West
Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write about...
Curated OER
Fluency Passages, 3rd Grade
What would it be like to travel in a covered wagon? Learn about the life of a pioneer with a short informational reading passage. Kids read four paragraphs about traveling in a covered wagon and how it is different than traveling today,...
Curated OER
Black Pioneer Clothing
Students describe the dress of the Black Pioneers from the 1780's to the early 1800's. Explain how and why the Black Pioneers dressed according to their station in society and identify Black Pioneers whose dress was distinctive or unique.
Curated OER
Pioneer Life: Food
Pupils 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
Going West
Students examine the lives of early pioneers who traveled west for better opportunities. They listen to story "Josafina and the Story Quilt", and discuss hardships encountered by traveling families. Students then complete research and...
Curated OER
Go, West, Pack Light!
Students investigate the hardships related to pioneer life and the Wagon Train. They listen to an excerpt from the book "Little House on the Prairie," and discuss the hardships faced by pioneers travelling west. In small groups...
Curated OER
The Ladners: Researching Local Pioneers
Students research local Canadian explorers and write a report on them. In this research lesson plan, students look at local heritage and relationships that came out of those explorers.
Curated OER
Life in a Sod House: Get a Sense of It
For this history of Nebraska worksheet, students read information about pioneer life in a sod house. Students conduct 4 experiments where they use measurement skills and observational skills to imagine the size, light levels, smell of...
Curated OER
Worksheet #79 - American Pioneer
In this American pioneer quiz worksheet, learners advance their understanding of the early American pioneer days by answering ten fill in the blank questions.
Curated OER
Pioneers to Kansas
Students investigate items for basic survival, needed for survival, and luxury items. They compare what they need to what Indians and Pioneers needed in the 1700's and 1800's.
Curated OER
Pioneer Homes
Students compare and contrast Native American dwellings with pioneer homes. They identify the progression of these homes and locate examples on a frontier map.
Curated OER
A Picture is Worth...
Young scholars use their photo analysis skills to gain an understanding of what pioneer life in Canada may have been like by examining historical photos. Students are then given an opportunity to present their findings to the class in...
Curated OER
Regulating the Harvest
Students study the effect of trapping in the Illinois Territory in 1805 and compare it to trapping today. They participate in a role playing activity in which they discover how practices in early Illinois Territory led to wildlife...
Curated OER
Pioneers in California
Fourth graders examine the changes the pioneers brought to California in the 1800's. They develop a timeline that includes captions, symbols, and pictures, and write a paragraph describing the experiences of the early California pioneers.
Curated OER
Life as An Early Orange Grower
Students explore the early settlers of Florida. In this social studies activity, students research the lives of early settlers and write a journal from the perspective of a young person whose family has an orange grove during the 1880s.
Curated OER
The Myth and the Reality: Pioneering in the Midwest
Students examine the myth and reality of settlement in the Upper Midwest during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Curated OER
Pioneer Currency in Utah: Have you got change for a 5?
Students explore the need for money in a society and the artificial value of coin and paper currencies. They design their own coin and paper currency.
Curated OER
Pioneer Women of Florida's Frontier
Fourth graders read the passage, "Florida's Fabulous Frontier Females" and write two narrative essays, one expository, using examples of differences in life in Florida during frontier times and today. They then complete one descriptive...
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 2
To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.
Curated OER
Making Corn-Husk Dolls
Second graders create corn husk dolls. In this pioneers lesson, 2nd graders use corn husks, thread, scissors and simple cloth to create corn husk dolls. They discuss how the pioneer children used these toys, this discussion is intended...