Further Resources

Books

A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood (1994, Houghton Mifflin Co.). If we were to recommend just one book to show elementary-aged kids how the American pioneers lived in the mid-1800s, it would be this one. It tells the story through the lives of the Robertson family, who live on a farm in the backwoods, as they go about their daily chores: making maple syrup, spinning wool, churning butter, shearing sheep, planting crops, etc. Readers follow the family through one calendar year, and directions are given so that the reader can participate in many of the activities.

The World of Little House, by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Ericksson (1996, Harper Collins Publishers). This book is a compendium of biographical and historical anecdotes, recipes, activities and crafts from the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her nine Little House books. There’s also a great timeline in the back of the book that puts Laura’s life and events into context with major events in American history. This book is a wonderful companion to anyone reading books in the original Little House series.

Pioneer Girl, The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by William Anderson (1998, Harper Collins Publishers). If your students are too young for the original Little House series, but too old for the picture books (below), then this may be the perfect way to introduce them to Laura’s pioneer experiences while growing up in Wisconsin. The book takes you all the way through her life to Rocky Ridge farm and is beautifully illustrated.

My First Little House Books, (Harper Collins Publishers). This enchanting series is appropriate for children ages 3-8. All books were adapted from stories in the original series, and are beautifully illustrated for young children. There are over 14 titles available.

American Folk Toys, by Dick Schnacke (1973, G. P. Putnam’s Sons). This is a wonderful book written by an amazing man. In addition to making several of the toys featured on our program, Dick has written a wonderfully detailed book that takes you through the steps of re-creating almost every well known folk toy you can think of. There are step-by-step instructions, templates and pictures to help. Dick is well known in the United States as being an authority on folklife. To order call (304) 455-3570 or visit www.folktoys.com

Workbooks

Frontier American Activity Book, (1990, Edupress). This book is part of their Hands-On Heritage series and is a wonderful resource for activity ideas including instructions for paper pioneer outfits, frontier food, games, map activities, songs and more. Several good templates are also included.

Westward Ho, (1992, Teacher Created Materials). This book is labeled "Intermediate" and is comprised of 4 main sections. Section one accompanies the reading of Little House in the Big Woods, section two accompanies Grasshopper Summer, section three focuses on cross-curricular activities, and the last section has ideas for bulletin boards with templates for awards and more.

American Frontier, Westward Expansion, (1995, Mark Twain Media, Inc.). This workbook is labeled for grades 5-8+. Each topic covered has background information with question sheets following. There are 40 topics covering virtually every important event in the history of westward expansion. The layout is simple, but extremely informative.

Websites

www.kidsource.com History studies at an early age should be full of purposeful activity. This site details "did-friendly" activities. This site also details history adventures that teachers and parents can use to readily engage their young learners in meaningful history explorations.

www.myhistory.org A project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, this site encourages Americans to discover history by following family and community stories. Topics include "Things You Can Do to Save America’s Past," and "Saving Your Family Treasures." It also offers a variety of links to other history-related venues.

www.loc.gov This Library of Congress site is a multimedia anthology of American history online galleries, recordings, and school/family activities, all of which make this a rich source for history ideas and materials.

www.historyplace.com Locate quotes, photos, points of view, famous speeches, and much more at this web site dedicated to students, educators, and all who enjoy history.

www.ibiscom.com Artifacts and personal accounts, from the ancient world to the present, provide vivid eyewitness descriptions of historic events and periods. The past is illuminated through personal narrative, primary sources, and historical recollections.

score.rims.k12.ca.us This site has links to student-friendly primary sources, chosen and rated by teachers, and classroom activities incorporating the Internet. All fields of World and U.S. History are covered.

www.ushistory.com Photos, diaries, quotes, biographies, and much more are available at this U.S. history site. Take a tour of the Betsy Ross house, or get the directions for making Ben Franklin’s kite, in his own words, no less!

www.historychannel.com Information to support local, national, and world history studies is available in abundance at this site. In addition to materials that extend the channel’s programming, offerings include primary sources, timelines, in-depth theme development, and teacher guides.

www.history.ctaponline.org/#child California History-Social Science Course Models Online Professional Resources: a project overseen by the California Department of Education and developed by CA History Project leaders and fellows. The Course Models are instructional materials designed and written by teachers. These lessons are geared to the California framework and standards, but there is much common ground with other states’ current curricula, making the lesson ideas useful in classrooms across the nation.

www.history.org/nche National Council for History Education; professional organization for history educators; information on professional development opportunities, news, notes, and ideas on history teaching.

www.williamanderson.com Recognized as an authority on Little House history, William Anderson has written many books including The Ingalls Family Album, A Little House Sampler, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Country. He also sits on the board of directors at the Laura Ingalls Wilder-Rose Wilder Lane Home Association in Mansfield, Missouri. His site has many links to further sources of information about Laura and her life growing up.

www.folktoys.com This site has color photos of the entire line of folk toys that are made by Dick Schnacke’s Mountain Craft Shop. This is an excellent company to buy reproduction folk toys from as well as a well written book by Dick Schnacke that takes you step-by-step through the creation of many folk toys that were popular in early America.

Other Media-Video

West to Oregon, Along the Oregon Trail, by EMA Video Productions. Once again, we have to mention this video. It’s beautiful, and after a full day of reviewing videos about the westward movement, our eyes and ears perked up as we watched this. Running time is 60 minutes, but it only seems like 30. We think this would be a wonderful addition to any pioneer unit. Copies can be ordered for $29.95 each, or with a teacher guide for $39.95. Contact Ed Mellnik at EMA Video Productions, (503) 241-8663, 3210 SW Dosch Road, Portland, OR 97201.

Other Media-Music

The Oregon Trail Band: This band was formed in 1991 at the request of the Oregon Trail Council to commemorate the Sesquicentennial and has since stayed together (thankfully for all who hear them) and gone on to play internationally, sometimes for crowds of thousands. Our favorite albums are the Voices From the Oregon Trail which features music such as Sweet Betsy From Pike, Buffalo Gals, Down In The Valley and more, and the brand new Lewis and Clark which has traditional French-Canadian folk music along with some Native American selections. When studying your pioneer unit these can add a wonderful background flavor that makes you feel as though you were in the 1800s. You can contact Marv or Rindy Ross at (503) 636-0740 or visit their website at www.trailband.com.

Community Groups

The following types of organizations often have local chapters or guilds in your area and may be willing to visit your school for a demonstration of their craft.  Use internet search engines to find the national or regional organization online, and then contact them for local members.

• Rug Hookers
• Quilters
• Spinners
• Square Dancers
• Fiddlers

Although space does not permit us to list all of the books, workbooks and websites that we would like to, the following titles may be useful to those who wish to delve deeper into early American life in the 1800s. Many of the websites also provide valuable links to other sites as well.