Creator: KTCA | visit site
Grade Range: 8 - 11
This Website presents the stories behind the farms, homes, people, and culture of Midwestern America. The American Dream is traced through historical photographs documenting the booming family farms that once dotted the landscape. Students can take a virtual tour of a prairie farmhouse, and explore the "literary connection" by following links to classic works inspired by rural America. This would be an excellent addition to a unit on westward expansion or twentieth century American literature. There is plenty of information at this site to learn from, though the sections labeled "virtual" require Flash.
In the Classroom
Use the "virtual farmhouse" as a learning center or station during a unit on Westward expansion or while establishing background for the Dustbowl. If using to provide context for the Great Depression, have students compare the prairie of the site to what the prairie turned into during the great drought of the 30’s. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (<a href="/single.cfm?id=9413">reviewed here</a>). Using the tool, students can create their own in groups or do it as a class on the interactive whiteboard.
At Home
Tags
Subjects
American History, History & Culture: World, Social Studies, Social Studies,