 |
|
 Steps
Introductory Activity:
|
|
Begin by filling out the "K" of a K-W-L chart (“K”
stands what students already know, “W” for what whey want
to know, and “L” for what they’ve learned) to find
out what students know. Ask students what they think life would
have been like for pioneers on the frontier back in the late 1800s.
Put their responses in the “K” column.
|
|
Then, ask them what they want to know, and put their responses
in the “W” column.
|
|
Then, ask them to think about these questions as they watch the
first (THE AMERICAN DREAM) or second (THE PROMISED LAND) video of
the four-part PBS series, FRONTIER HOUSE. Visit your local PBS station
to check for air dates, or check the Web site to find out how to
obtain the video.
|
|
After they’ve watched the video, ask them what they learned,
and fill in the “L” column of the chart.
|
|
Then, ask students for any new questions the movie generated and
put those in the “W” column. Keep this chart accessible
throughout the duration of the lesson.
|
Learning Activities:
|
Activity One:
|
|
Introduce BY THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE to students.
Using the book cover and the following Web sites, have students answer
the following questions:
- Who is Laura Ingalls Wilder?
- When did she live?
- Is this story fiction or non-fiction?
- What is the setting?
- What did the U.S. map look like in 1880? What section of it was
considered the “frontier”?
Web sites for research:
|
Activity Two:
|
|
Provide each student with a copy of BY THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE.
Tell students they will be reading the book in five sections (chapters
1-6, chapters 7-13, chapters 14-18, chapters 19-22, chapters 23-29).
|
|
Assign students the first section, chapters 1-6, for
homework (students will probably need 2-3 days to finish the section)
and hand out copies of the STUDENT
ORGANIZER ONE: INDEPENDENT READING QUESTIONS. Students should
complete these questions for homework along with their reading assignment.
|
|
After students have read the first section and completed
their independent reading questions, divide the class into discussion/research
groups of 3-4 students. These discussion/research groups should remain
the same throughout the course of the lesson. Have students share
their responses to the independent reading questions in their groups.
|
|
After allowing students to discuss their responses
to the independent reading questions in small groups for 15-20 minutes,
tell students that they will now be doing research to give them a
clearer picture of what life was like on the frontier. Distribute
copies of Research Question for
Chapters 1-6 to each group.
|
|
Review the Research Question
for Chapters 1-6 sheet with students, and tell them that for
each research question (they will be researching one for each section
of the book they read, so 5 total), they will first find clues within
the book to help them answer the question. (To make this task easier,
students should refer the relevant chapters listed under the question.)
They will then research the question further using relevant web
sites. Finally, they will compare frontier life to own lives.
|
|
Give the students time to research the question for
chapters 1-6 within their discussion/research groups.
|
|
After students have finished researching, have each
group should give an informal 5 minute presentation of what they learned.
Add information from the presentations to the “L” section
of the “K-W-L” chart you began in the introductory activity.
|
|
Follow the same steps for the remaining four sections
of the book..
|
|
After students have finished a section of the book,
assign the next section, as reading homework and ask students to complete
the STUDENT ORGANIZER ONE: INDEPENDENT
READING QUESTIONS. (This sheet is the same for every section of
the book.)
|
|
Convene students in their discussion/research groups. Within the
groups, ask students to discuss their responses to the independent
reading questions. Hand out the organizers listed below, and assign
students the research question relevant to the section of the book
they have just read.
Research Question for Chapters
7-13
Research Question for Chapters
14-18
Research Question for Chapters
19-22
Research Question for Chapters
23-29
Where noted in the research question handouts, you may want to
show a FRONTIER HOUSE video to help students research their question.
After giving students time to research, have each group give an
informal presentation to the class, and add to the “K-W-L”
chart.
|
Culminating Activity/Assessment:
|
|
Have student reading/research groups choose one of the research
topics about frontier life:
- medicine
- law and order
- being a good neighbor
- food and entertainment
- homes and land ownership
|
|
Tell students that each group will prepare a PowerPoint presentation
or Web page about the topic they have chosen displaying what they
learned in their research. Their presentation should include a comparison
of the aspect of life they studied on the frontier to that aspect
of life today.
|
|
Students should then show their multimedia presentation to the
class. Encourage students to ask questions during the presentations.
|
|
Ask students to write an essay (independently) explaining why they
would rather live today or back on the frontier.
Or,
Ask students to write a letter to one of the characters in the
book explaining what the world is like today and which aspects of
life have changed for the better and which for the worse.
|
|
Extensions
Cross-Curricular Extension:
Art: Have students build a model of one of the Ingall’s houses
or a diorama of a scene from the book.
Drama: Have students reenact one of their favorite scenes from
the book. They should be sure to create period-appropriate costumes
and props.
|
