LESSON
TITLE:
Homesteading
in
North
Dakota
WRITTEN
BY:
Valerie
Stockdale
GRADE
LEVEL:
4th
Grade
TIME
ALLOTMENT:
Six
sessions
ranging
from
20‐45
minutes.
OVERVIEW:
The
students
will
study
the
reasons
for
settlement
in
North
Dakota,
how
the
weather
affected
early
settlers,
and
identify
changes
in
living
conditions
since
settlement
occurred.
SUBJECT
MATTER:
History
‐
North
Dakota
Traditional
Arts
Reading
Language
Arts
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES:
Students
will:
‐ identify the changes in living conditions that have occurred in North Dakota
since settlement occurred.
‐ be able to identify reasons for settlement by European Americans in North
Dakota ‐ identify how the physical environment in North Dakota affected early
settlement
‐ use various art techniques to create an example of a traditional art form—quilt
making.
NORTH
DAKOTA
STANDARDS:
Social
Studies
­
4.2.9
Identify reasons for settlement in North Dakota (e.g., railroads,
Bonanza farms, and Homestead Act)
‐
4.5.5a
Explain how the physical environment (e.g., rainfall, climate,
natural hazards) affects human activity.
Art
- 4.4.1
Recognizes that visual art has both a history and a specific
relationship to various cultures
- 4.2.0i
Begins to use knowledge of composition when designing works of
art
- 4.1.1a
Demonstrates proper techniques in a variety of media
Language Arts
- 4.2.1
Read a variety of texts; i.e., fiction, nonfiction, multi-cultural
MEDIA
COMPONENTS
–
VIDEO
AND/OR
WEB:
1. Homesteading: Facing Disaster, (video clip from Homesteading), Prairie Public.
Kim Stenehjem (Producer), Heidi Nelson (Editor), Barbara Gravel
(Production Editor), Bob Dambach (Executive Producer)
http://www.ndstudies.org
2. Rivers,
Roads,
Rails,
and
Air
(video),
Prairie
Public,
1996
3. Bonanza
Farms
(video),
Prairie
Public,
2000
4. Classic
Quilts
of
Vermont
(website)
http://www.vermontquilts.com/triparoundtheworld.shtml
MATERIALS:
Media
components
listed
above
Books:
The
Log
Cabin
Quilt
by
Ronald
Himler
The
Quilt
Story
by
Toby
Johnston,
and
Tomie
de
Paola
The
Keeping
Quilt
by
Patricia
Polacco
Quilts
Pencils
Construction
paper
Scissors
Glue
Markers
Chart
Paper
Venn
Diagram
worksheet
PREP
FOR
TEACHERS:
Gather
art
materials
Create
a
Venn
Diagram
Preview
the
videos
Gather
books
Bookmark
websites
Bring
quilts
Display
quilts
INTRODUCTORY
ACTIVITY
­
SETTING
THE
STAGE:
MATERIALS:
Homesteading: Facing Disaster, video clip
The Quilt Story, book
Word cards for ‘homesteaders’ and ‘covered wagon’
Chart paper and markers
Paper
Pencils
1. Show
the
students
the
word
‘homestead’.
Read
the
word.
Ask
the
students
what
a
homesteader
is.
Give
the
students
a
chance
to
respond.
Tell
them
“A
homesteader
was
someone
who
went
to
live
somewhere
where
very
few
2.
3.
4.
5.
other
people
lived.
They
built
a
house
and
started
a
farm
on
land
that
no
immigrant
had
lived
on
before.”
Show
the
students
the
cover
of
the
book
The
Quilt
Story
.
Ask
“What
is
on
the
cover?
It
is
a
covered
wagon.
It
was
one
way
homesteaders
traveled
to
the
new
place
they
were
going
to
make
their
home.”
Read
the
story
to
the
students.
Play
the
video
clip
Homesteading:
Facing
Disaster.
Direct
the
students
to
take
notes
while
viewing
the
video
clip
about
the
problems
that
early
homesteaders
faced.
Ask
“What
problems
did
the
homesteaders
face?”
List
the
problems
the
students
share
on
chart
paper.
Discuss
which
problem
would
be
the
hardest
to
overcome.
LEARNING
ACTIVITIES:
MATERIALS:
Rivers,
Roads,
Rails,
and
Air
(DVD)
Bonanza
Farms
(DVD)
Pencil
Paper
Chart
paper
Markers
1. Explain
to
the
students
that
they
are
going
to
learn
two
reasons
homesteaders
came
to
North
Dakota
to
settle.
2. Play
the
section
called
Peerless
Transportation
from
the
DVD
Rivers,
Roads,
Rails,
and
Air.
Direct
the
students
to
take
notes
on
the
benefits
of
railroads
and
how
the
railroads
affected
the
number
of
homesteaders.
3. Record
the
students’
observations
on
a
chart.
4. Watch
the
first
5
minutes
of
the
video
Bonanza
Farms.
After
watching
the
video
have
the
students
tell
ways
Bonanza
farms
increased
the
settlement
of
North
Dakota.
Add
these
reasons
to
the
chart.
CULMINATING
ACTIVITY:
MATERIALS:
Venn
Diagram
worksheet
1. Students
will
work
with
a
partner
and
use
what
they
learned
from
watching
the
3
videos
to
compare
and
contrast
the
lifestyle
of
homesteaders
in
North
Dakota
and
the
way
we
live
now.
The
information
will
be
recorded
on
a
Venn
diagram.
2. Students
will
share
their
Venn
diagrams
with
the
class.
CROSS­CURRICULAR
ACTIVITY:
Creating
a
quilt
square
MATERIALS:
Classic
Quilts
of
Vermont
(website)
Quilts
Pencils
Construction
paper
Scissors
Glue
Markers
The
Log
Cabin
Quilt
by
Ronald
Himler
(book)
The
Quilt
Story
by
Toby
Johnston,
and
Tomie
de
Paola
(book)
The
Keeping
Quilt
by
Patricia
Polacco
(book)
Session
1
1. Explain
that
quilt
making
is
a
traditional
kind
of
art
that
is
done
in
many
different
cultures.
Many
homesteaders
brought
their
traditional
kind
of
quilting
with
them
when
they
settled
in
North
Dakota
and
other
places
in
the
United
States.
2. Read
the
book
The
Keeping
Quilt.
Discuss
why
the
quilt
was
important
to
the
family.
Ask
“What
country
was
the
family
from?
Was
the
family
in
the
story
homesteaders?”
3. Remind
the
students
of
the
story
The
Quilt
Story.
Ask
“Were
the
people
at
the
beginning
of
the
story
were
homesteaders?
Were
the
people
at
the
end
of
the
story
homesteaders.
Why
or
why
not?”
Session
2
1. Review
the
two
stories
from
Session
1
focusing
on
the
importance
of
the
quilt
in
each
story.
2. Read
the
story
The
Log
Cabin
Quilt.
Discuss
if
the
people
in
the
story
are
homesteaders.
Ask
the
class
“What
do
you
think
is
the
importance
of
the
quilt
in
the
story?”
3. Explain
to
the
students
that
quilts
were
made
for
many
different
reasons
and
by
many
groups
of
people.
4. Show
the
students
the
quilts
brought
in
by
the
teacher.
Explain
why
the
quilts
were
built
and
what
they
mean
to
the
family.
Discuss
that
many
quilts
are
made
up
of
quilt
blocks.
The
quilt
block
came
be
identical
or
different
to
each
other.
Show
examples.
5. Direct
the
students
to
log
on
to
the
Classic
Quilts
of
Vermont
website
and
spend
some
time
looking
at
the
different
designs.
Session
3
1. Review
what
a
quilt
block
is
and
why
people
make
quilts
2. Tell
the
students
they
are
going
to
be
making
their
own
quilt
block
out
of
paper.
Their
quilt
block
will
be
12X12
inches.
3. Their
quilt
block
should
be
designed
so
that
it
tells
their
life
story.
Discuss
possible
ways
they
could
show
their
life
story
on
a
quilt
block.
4. If
they
can’t
think
of
a
way
to
show
their
life
story
they
could
recreate
one
of
the
quilt
patterns
from
the
books
read,
the
sample
quilts,
or
the
Classic
Quilts
of
Vermont
website.
COMMUNITY
CONNECTIONS:
1. When
the
quilt
blocks
are
finished
display
as
a
quilt
on
a
wall
in
the
hallway.