Graphic Organizers

Have students select one or more topics to organize from the following: homesteading; family life; school life; types of entertainment at home, school, church, or community; etc. Topics could be organized by either writing them on paper or creating and placing words or phrases on small pieces of paper, cutting them out, and organizing them in such a manner that would make sense to the person(s) organizing them.

Have students research and produce a supply list of what early pioneers needed to get settled on the North Dakota prairie in the form of a graphic organizer. Divide the supply list into food, clothes, supplies for the house, farm equipment, or any other category deemed important to the survival of the pioneers. Under each category, give a brief explanation for including each item.

Have each student take an index card and write a vocabulary word in a box in the center. Draw lines to divide the card into four sections. Have the student complete each section of the card with the following: definition of word; synonyms or syllables; writing a sentence using the word in the correct context; and drawing a picture of it.

Have students research and create a flow chart of the steps needed to preserve through canning all the fruits, vegetables, or meat the pioneers grew or raised.

Have students create a flow chart of the steps taken by early settlers to plant and harvest a crop.

An example of a graphic organizer on early settlement

 

Map Skills

Have students draw a map showing the migrating paths for at least one ethnic group who settled in North Dakota.

Blank North Dakota Map

Have students locate on a North Dakota map the sites of each of the towns or cities settled as a result of the railroad coming to North Dakota. Extension: Research a particular town’s history and write a brief report on it to share.

Blank North Dakota Map

Have students map out a typical sod house measuring 8 feet by 10 feet in a large area (e.g., gym, playground) before transferring it onto paper. Using a scale of distance and a map legend, have students include on the map what furniture was in each of these homes. As a homework assignment, have students measure and map their bedrooms at home, including every piece of furniture in their rooms. Extension: Compare and contrast each set of maps by using a Venn Diagram or a T-Chart and discuss in small groups or as an entire group.

• 2-circle Venn Diagram
• 3-circle Venn Diagram
• T-Chart

 

Games of Pioneer Children

There were several games played by pioneer children that are still played today in homes, schools, and on the playground. Hide-and-Seek, baseball, jump rope, tag, and string games are just a few. Word games were played both at home and at school, because these games helped the children learn language skills. Games involving guessing were also popular, because these games were good brain exercises and helped students develop their thinking skills.

Directions are provided below for several of the games that were played during the early settlement era and are still played today. There are many more that are not covered; therefore, research more games pioneer children played. In addition, find out what types of toys the children of that time period played with to occupy any free time they may have had.

Pioneer Children Games PDF

Several web sites give directions for games played by pioneer children, along with the types of toys that were played with for entertainment.

Pioneer Toys shows photos on how to play with several pioneer toys.

LDS Pioneer Day Traditions and Ideas has live links which gives instructions on how to play several pioneer games (e.g., Jack Straws, Blindman’s Bluff, etc.).

 

Poetry

Have students create poetry corresponding to the North Dakota Studies unit they are studying:

Couplets (two-line stanza that rhymes).

Triplets (three-line poems). A triplet may be written in the shape of a triangle and can be read by starting at any corner.

• Patterns include ABB (two of the lines rhyme)
• AAA (all three lines rhyme)
• ABC (no lines rhyme)

Haiku

• Line 1—five syllables
• Line 2—seven syllables
• Line 3—five syllables

Cinquain

• Line 1—one word (title)
• Line 2—two words (describe the title)
• Line 3—three words (describe an action)
• Line 4—four words (describe a feeling)
• Line 5—one word (refer back to the title)

Diamanté (Diamond)

• Line 1—one noun (subject #1)
• Line 2—two adjectives (describing subject #1)
• Line 3—three participles (ending in –ing, telling about subject)
• Line 4—four nouns (first two related to subject #1, second two related to subject #2)
• Line 5—three participles (about subject #2)
• Line 6—two adjectives (describing subject #2)
• Line 7—one noun (subject #2)

ABC Poetry (Start with A and go through the alphabet writing a word for each letter. You may make several sentences, but the information should be about North Dakota.)

Acrostic Poems (The first letters of the line spell out a word that has something to do with the poem.)

Lanterns (Japanese poem that is written in the shape of a Japanese lantern).

• Line 1—one syllable
• Line 2—two syllables
• Line 3—three syllables
• Line 4—four syllables
• Line 5—one syllable

 

Posters

Have students design a poster that advertises the prairies of North Dakota so people will move, claim a homestead, and settle.

Poster Board Rubric

Have students create a poster that encourages the settlers to send their children to school.

Poster Board Rubric

Have students create a poster showing an outline of a classroom showing the location of each desk. Using colors to create a legend, indicate different ancestries in the class by coloring each desk to indicate the dominant ancestry of each student. Extension: Discuss in small groups or as an entire group the strength of multiple ethnic groups in a town or region and their impact on each other.

Poster Board Rubric

Have students create a poster that encourages workers to come and work on a large-scale bonanza farm in the Red River Valley of North Dakota.

Poster Board Rubric

 

Research Activities

• Have students complete the following Think, Pair, Share Activity on pioneer life during the Early Settlement of North Dakota. (This technique may be used for any topic.)
  • Immigrants left their homes in Europe or other continents to move to the prairies of North Dakota where they either knew a few relatives or friends who came with them or no one at all. Have each student think individually what traits or abilities would have been needed to be able to leave their home and country to move to a place they knew little about. Working in pairs, have students share their ideas and thoughts with each other. Examples may include: bravery, vision, responsibility, courage, ability to persevere, ability to adapt, health, etc.
  • Have students think of and write down examples from their own lives in which they have recognized some or all of these characteristics in themselves.
  • Students may then share their thoughts or examples from their own experiences with a partner on one or all of the traits or abilities by writing down their ideas on the board and/or poster paper for the entire class to see and to discuss.

• Assign individuals or small groups to research and demonstrate their knowledge of the Early Settlement of North Dakota through one of the formats listed below. Research one of the following assignments in depth, and share it with others choosing one of the following methods:
  • Homesteaders had to find their own entertainment to occupy any free time they might have had. Research the types of entertainment people engaged in while living on the prairies of North Dakota. Include home, church, and community functions.
  • Immigrant trains brought thousands of people to North Dakota from other countries. Research the immigrant trains, finding out as much information as you can to share with others in the class.
  • Agriculture, or farming, was done very differently during the early settlement era as compared to modern farming. Research the types of machinery used, the farming techniques, and a typical workday of a farmer during early settlement and compare with today’s farmers by demonstrating knowledge of the similarities and differences of each era.
  • The Homestead Act stated that each homesteader had to live in a dwelling at least 8 feet by 10 feet in size. Was this a realistic size for a family? Debate the pros and cons of this size of home.
  • Several prominent individuals contributed to the success of North Dakota in its early years. Choose someone of interest (e.g., founder of a North Dakota town, etc.), research him/her, and share.
  • Four main types of homes were built and lived in by early settlers during the early settlement era of North Dakota (i.e., frame homes or shanties, log cabins, dugouts, sod houses). Research one of these in depth and share it with others choosing one of the following methods: Report (written or oral), Radio Broadcast (tape player), Student-generated bulletin board on topic, Slide presentation (electronic or created on left-over laminated sheets and placed on an overhead projector), Student-generated tests of the material covered, PowerPoint or iMovie, News report, Oral history of an event, Television Report (PowerPoint), Interview, Demonstration, Dramatization of a legend and myth, Commercial, Jump Rope Rhyme/Poetry, Play (puppet or real life parts), Role Play, Simulation, Skit, Song writing to fit a topic, TV talk show, Weather Report, Tongue Twister, Map, Mobile, Brochure, Crossword Puzzle, Illustrated and written book on topic, Scrapbook, Timeline, Cartoon, Model, or Diorama. Be Creative! Think of other ways the student can demonstrate the knowledge of his/her topic!

 

Slide Shows

Using this 5 Steps to a Slide Show example, have students create a Lantern Slide Show by choosing five authentic photos that best depict pioneer life from the viewpoint of a land speculator, journalist, or prairie mother. Write captions for the photographs. Each caption should explain to the audience what is going on in the photo and how it supports the student’s view of prairie life. Print the slide show and share it with other students.

 

Small Groups

Have students research, write, and perform a short play about some part of pioneer life on the prairie (e.g., home, school, community, etc.). Puppetry could also be used. Divide the students into small groups and have them choose an area of pioneer life that interests them.

Have students create their own traveling exhibit of North Dakota trying to entice people to come and settle on the prairies of North Dakota.

In groups of two to four people, have students create a T-Chart (link below) with each letter of the alphabet placed in the left-hand column, write a summarizing statement in the right-hand column next to each letter of the alphabet in the left-hand column.

• (e.g., A = Early settlers shared many types of Activities and games with family and friends to entertain themselves. B = When children played Baseball, they made the ball from tightly-wound twine.)
• T - Chart

In small groups of two to three people, have students make up a chant or song to show their knowledge of a vocabulary word before sharing with the class.

 

Time Capsule