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Chapter Overview: It is winter time and the children are spending most of their days in the house. On Sundays, the family would wear their best clothes and sit around the house. They weren't allowed to play around. On one Sunday, Laura can't take it anymore and she plays with Jack. She gets into trouble. Instead of punishing his daughter Pa tells his girls a story of what it was like for their grandfather when he was a young boy. Pa tells his girls the girls the story of Grandpa's sled and the pig. When their grandfather was a young boy he and his brothers got sick of having to sit quietly every Sunday. Their parents were very strict about the boys being on their very best behavior. Well, one day the boys decided to go sledding. As they went down the hill a pig got in the way and landed on the sled. The boys got in trouble. The point of the story was that Laura shouldn't be so upset about how she has to behave on Sunday's because it could be a lot worse.
Chapter Themes: Entertaining (storytelling, songs, children's games and toys); Cabin fever; Bathing; Sunday behaviors; Role of Christianity in 18th century lives; Church behaviors of the 18th century; Accepted behaviors for males vs. females; birthday celebrations (food, traditions)
Chapter Activities
- Language Arts
- Storytelling
- Students will come up with a fictional story with the purpose of entertaining their classmates.
- Standards Addressed
- 9.5 give organized reports with a clear point of view.
- write informative papers with a clear topic.
- Vocabulary Circle Map
- Class will be divided into groups of four. Each group will be given a word from the chapter. Using a large piece of paper, students will draw a circle map. They will divide the circle map into four sections. Those sections are definition, synonyms, using the word in a sentence, and a picture representing the word. The words are hoe-cakes, solemnly, catechism, and glittering.
- Standards Addressed
- 1.5 use dictionaries to determine the meaning of words.
- 1.5 use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words.
- Mathematics
- Corn Husk Dolls
- Students will be given the materials and instructions for making a corn husk doll. Students will have to measure out the correct lengths of material.
- Standards Addressed
- 7.0 Students will develop their ability to reason mathematically by solving problems where there is a need to obtain information through reading.
- 9.5 give multi-step directions to complete a task
- Hoe-Cakes
- After discussing what hoe-cakes are (vocabulary circle map), students will be given the tools to measure and mix the ingredients.
- Standards Addressed
- 9.5 give multi-step directions to complete a task
- 7.0 Students will develop their ability to reason mathematically by solving problems where there is a need to obtain information through reading.
- Social Studies
- Children's Toys
- Using a double bubble map, the class will compare and contrast toys from the late 1800's to toys today. Students will pretend that they are living in the 1870's and they will come up with a toy that they think other children of this time would want to play with. Students will present to the class.
- Standards Addressed
- 11.5 record information using note-taking and organizational formats.
- 9.5.3 give organized reports that demonstrate a clear point of view.
- Songs
- In this chapter, Pa sings his children some songs to entertain them. Class will discuss why storytelling and songs were used as entertainment. Using the website listed in additional resources (Pa's songs) the teacher will play some of the songs for the class. In groups of four students will come up with a song that they will either sing of read to the class.
- Standards Addressed
- 9.5.3 give organized reports that demonstrate a clear point of view.
- 5.5 write responses to literature
- Science
- WhimmyDiddle
- Students will be given the materials and instructions for making a whimmydiddle. This was a toy children would play with in the late 1800's. It is supposed to be a "magical" stick. When another stick is rubbed across its notches the little propeller at the end is caused to turn. When it is rubbed differently, the rotor turns in the opposite directions. Legend says the whimmydiddle is a lie detector, but actually the operator controls the true and false answers. (Link at additional resources)
- Standards Addressed
- 6.0 students will develop their ability to solve problems by engaging in developmentally appropriate opportunities.
- 7.0 Students will develop their ability to reason mathematically by solving problems when there is a need to obtain information through reading.
- Mountain Bolo
- Students will be given the materials and directions to make this skill toy. This toy has two small balls at the end of a string. The string has a small loop near the center Grabbing the center loop, the object should make the two weights orbit in opposite directions. (Link Below)
- Standards Addressed
- 6.0 Students will develop their ability to solve problems by engaging in developmentally appropriate opportunities.
- 7.0 Students will develop their ability to reason mathematically by solving problems where there is a need to obtain information through reading.
This is a topic all of our students can relate to. Whether or not our students are familiar with any of these older toys, students understand what play is. They understand being bored and having to find something to entertain them. I have always found the children's trunk to be a hit in my classroom. My students are really into checking out all the toys kids their age might have played with over 100 years ago.
Some of the games children might have played are skipping rope, chasing hoops, and tag. Children might have also played string games, some of them we still have today. In Laura's case case, and like many other children living in the west or rural areas, they had homemade toys. The links I have in additional resources have a lot of different toys and how to make them. Some of those toys are corn husk dolls, apple dolls, whimmydiddle, buzz saw, and the mountain bolo.
In addition to toys, families would sing songs and tell stories. Some of our students might be able to relate to this if they have grandparents, parents, and/or family members that have told them stories. When families were on the trail they would gather around the campfire and listen to fiddlers, sing songs, and dance. Some of those songs were "Cindy", "Buffalo Gals", and "My Darling Clementine." Below is the link.
In rural areas like Laura's house in the Big Woods it was very important for their family to have entertainment. In this chapter it is winter time and the children are stuck in the house all day. The children need something to occupy their time and homemade games and toys were used in her family. Today families mostly get together and watch television shows together. In the late 1800's they might gather around to sing songs and tell stories.
Additional Resources
- http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/
http://www.kidinfocom/American_History/Pioneers.html
http://frodo.marshall.edu/~irby1/laura/frames.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/corn%20husk%20dolls.htm
Pioneer songs
3 comments:
Your idea for "Vocabulary - Circle Map" was a good idea for reinforcing new vocabulary words. Of course, this could be used throughout the story for any new words. It is important for students to "own" new words and your activity helps them to do so. At a workshop I attended this year we learned another activity that might also be helpful for new vocabulary words. Students are divided into small groups. Each group is assigned one new vocabulary word. They are given 2-3 minutes to come up with an action representing that word. Students gather back into a large circle. The teacher reads the first word and that group says the word and shows their action. The teacher repeats the word and everyone does the action. The teacher reads the second word. That group says the word and shows their action. The teacher repeats the word and the whole group says the word, shows the action, says the first word, and shows the first action. They continue until all words have been said and acted out. (it is a circle game). My class really loves it and their vocabulary scores have really improved.
Your "Corn Husk Doll" activity is one that I have done with my kids before. The kids really have a good time and if they follow directions they really end up with a nice looking toy. The thing about this activity is that it is so hard for our "techno savvy" kids to be entertained. They have a hard time understanding how a simple toy like a corn husk doll could have kept kids entertained for months.
Great work!
Sara you have created some really great ideas that students would definitely love to do in response to reading this literature! Doing activities like these with our kids would probably get them really motivated to read on. I especaially liked your hands on activities such as making corn husk dolls, hoe cakes, the whimmy diddle, and the mountain bolo. Activities like these would help students understand what they are reading about and would make them understand further what life was like for the Ingalls. The other idea I really liked of yours was having students create a song. Its important to allow the children to see examples of songs (like you mentioned) and realize how songs were important on the prarie (as you also explained). I'd be interested to see what students came up with! I think it would also force students to use some of the vocabulary from the chapter too. Great job Sara!!
You offer wonderfully creative ideas!
The Teacher's Guide for Patty Reed's Doll by Louise Baldwin (http://www.amazon.com/Teachers-Guide-Patty-Reeds-Doll/dp/0961735775) includes instructions for making corn husk dolls and includes a variety of recipes for foods mentioned in the book.
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