INTRODUCTION

Do you know the true story of the Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family? This Webquest will provide you with the opportunity to learn more about author's fascinating experiences.Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born February 7, 1867, in a little log house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Laura's childhood was spent traveling west by covered wagon, to Indian Territory in Kansas, to Grasshopper Country in Minnesota, and then to Dakota Territory, where she met and married Almanzo Wilder.

Laura's daughter Rose grew up listening to her mother's stories of those pioneer days. She urged her mother to write them down so that other children could enjoy them, as well. So in the 1930s and 40s, Laura recorded her memories of those days of long ago in a children's series known as the "Little House"® books.

Although Laura died on February 10, 1957, at her home in the Ozarks of Missouri, she and her family will live forever in the hearts of her readers.

The Ingalls family would be living on the homestead at the start of this winter but soon they moved to town to the storefront pa had built earlier. There the family lived through the long winter.

Late in December the trains quit running as they were stuck in great drifts of snow and were unable to dig out. The homesteaders would have to do with what supplies they had. Laura would describe grinding wheat to make bread. With the trains not running, the homesteaders had no fuel to keep warm. This is when they would twist hay to heat their homes. Laura would help Pa twist the hay.

It became a very long and dreary winter but Pa always tried to keep spirits up by singing. Working together the Ingalls family and families of De Smet survived the hard winter. In the spring it finally did thaw and the trains ran once again. The Ingalls would have Christmas in May when they received their Christmas barrel.

THE TASK

Students will work in small groups of three to take on a perspective view of life as a pioneer in the 1800’s by studying different sets of resources. The group will then work on convincing an external audience of a particular point of view. Students will then create a product typical of the time period of the story.

THE PROCESS
 

·Read “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

·The class will have a discussion of the book.

·You will be assigned to a group of three students, having a specific task to perform.

·Determine who will take notes, keyboard, control the mouse and locate web sites.

·Access the on-line resources as identified.
 

LINKS

The Definitive Laura Ingalls Wilder Page This page will give you a good background to start you on your project.  http://www.pinc.com/~jenslegg/

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl This site will give you historical facts about the author that you may use.  http://webpages.marshall.edu/~irby1/laura.htmlx

The Official Laura Ingalls Wilder Page This page is the most detailed. It is an excellent resource that we will use. http://www.lauraingallswilder.com/

Pioneering Journeys of the Ingalls Family - Just for Kids http://www.hoover.archives.gov/kids/liw_kids/pioneering_intro.html

·  Your group will choose and research four questions about the author and her family. ·  Present your answers to the class.  ·  Design and make a creative product typical of the time period.  ·  Describe your product to the class and why it is a useful item.

As you proceed, organize your information by using a graphic organizer.  Click this link to view it.

RESOURCES

·The Long Winter

·Frontier Girl 

·Little House on the Prairie Sites

·Laura Ingalls Wilder -PG Homepage

·Prairie Fun Stuff

·Other Little House on the Prairie Links

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

·Did Laura have a brother?

·Who was the illustrator of Laura's books?

·Find a quote from Laura.

·What were some of the jobs that Laura's father did?

·Find a map of the places that Laura's family traveled to.

·What is a shanty?

·Describe the families daily work on the prairie.

·Compare/contrast prairie life verses town life.

·Describe a day in a town.

·What is a depot used for?

TEACHER PAGE

NEW YORK STATE LEARNING STANDARDS ADDRESSED:


NEW YORK STATE LEARNING STANDARDS: SOCIAL STUDIES

Standard 1:   History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 3:   Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth's surface.

Standard 4:   Economics

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and non market mechanisms.

Standard 5:   Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

Mathematics; Science; and Technology

Standard 4:   Science

Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Standard 5:   Technology

Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Standard 6:   Interconnectedness: Common Themes

Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.

Standard 7:   Interdisciplinary Problem Solving

Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

English Language Arts

Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2:   Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

THE ARTS

Standard 1:   Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts

Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts (dance, music, theater, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.

Standard 2:   Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources

Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles.

Standard 3:   Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art

Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.

Standard 4:   Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts

Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.

EVALUATION

There is much to learn about the pioneers and how their determination and experiences helped to shape our country. This lesson was designed to provide you with guided practice in searching the web and to inspire you to further your interest in Pioneers, Westward Movement, and other authors of this genre.

There is much to learn about the pioneers and how their determination and experiences helped to shape our country. This lesson was designed to provide you with guided practice in searching the web and to inspire you to further your interest in Pioneers, Westward Movement, and other authors of this genre.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

·Little House in the Big Woods

·Little House on the Prairie

·On the Banks of Plum Creek

·By the Shores of Silver Lake

·The Long Winter

·Little Town on the Prairie

·These Happy Golden Years

·The First Four Years

·Farmer Boy

·Laura Ingalls Wilder-A Biography by William Anderson

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES (EXTRA CREDIT)

·Make a replica of one of the Ingalls' family homes.

·Create a diary written as if you were a Pioneer.

·Conduct research on the Homestead Act of 1862 and write a report of how it related to the Wilder family.

·Create a map of all the places Laura's family traveled to.

·Do research on an item that was invented during Laura's lifetime (1867-1957). What influence did this invention have on Laura?

·Take a field trip to the Main Branch of The Detroit Public Library to see one of Laura's original handwritten manuscripts.

·Bake homemade wheat bread.

·Churn butter to use on the baked bread.

·Sew a classroom patchwork quilt to use in the room.
 

·Write a letter to:

·Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, Inc.
De Smet, South Dakota - The Little Town on the Prairie
P.O Box 426 - De Smet, SD 57231

This WebQuest was made possible with the help from the following people and sites:

Laura Ingalls Wilder Webquest - http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/WebQ97/LAURALES.HTM
Julie Huetter - Library Media Specialist - Roseville Community Schools, Roseville Michigan

Emigration Extravaganza. The Oregon Trail.
http://www.memphis-schools.k12.tn.us/admin/tlapages/veglio_quest.htm
A WebQuest for 5th Grade (Social Studies). Designed by. Kathie Veglio.

A special thank you to both Gail M. Szeliga and Kathryn from the Teacher Center of Broome County for all the help and expertise they gave me through this project.

And lastly to Mrs. Jeanne Harrison, a friend and co-worker, who has taught 4^th Grade Social Studies for many years. Thank you for touching the lives of so many children!