TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS:

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Storyteller of the Prairie

  • Talk about what it means to be a pioneer.
  • Discuss why Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous today.
  • Discuss new words and phrases: prairie, trundle bed, covered wagon, wagon train, sod house, Dakota Territory.
  • Write a journal where students imagine that they are taking one of Laura's trips to a new place.
  • Have each student draw a picture of Laura doing something pioneer-like.
  • Using the address list at the back of the book, have students write some of Laura's "Little Houses" to ask for additional information.
  • Have the children make a classroom mural (quilt) where each child draws a scene related to Laura's pioneer life.
  • What were Laura's chores as a girl? What chores do children have today? Compare and contrast.
  • Have students dress up as Almanzo or Laura (and other biography subjects) and give short oral presentations.
  • As a class, read and discuss Little House in the Big Woods or another book by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
  • Ask students to compare and contrast Laura's life in the Big Woods of Wisconsin with her life on the prairie.

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