As part of our Kansas Career and College Ready Standards (KCCRS) in Social Studies, specifically history, we began a comparison of the daily lives of plains indians and pioneers of the 1800s and of modern living of today. Part one of this project involved learning about the daily life of natives and pioneers of Kansas Territory in the 1800s.
A dear friend and retired educator shared artifacts pioneers would have used. She explained what they were and how they were used. | I collected books on the lives of pioneers and plains indians of the 1800s. I purchased these two books and they had excellent photos and students were able to read the information fairly easily. I also created a wiki for students who might have difficulty reading information independently. http://barrsecondgrade.wikispaces.com/Plains+Indians | I purchased these books from Amazon.com Click on picture for the link. |
Students worked in small groups or individually. They researched information and created 'Museum Information Boards' of the daily lives of the plains indians and the pioneers of the 1800s. Museum boards were hung in the hall and students presented their information to members of our class and another. I am seeing a huge improvement in their notetaking and in the quality of presentation. Thanks to blended learning students are becoming expert researchers. |