Integrated Arts Unit Plan for Third Grade
Theme and Introduction:
This unit will focus on the pioneers who headed West through the plains in order to carve out a better life for themselves on the other side of the Mississippi, or even the Rockies. Our focus will not only be on the pioneers in general, but will also cover specific families from our area who were part of the westward movement. We will learn about them through historical accounts on the internet and possibly visit the local records office as a class in order to investigate.
This unit will take the better part of half the year. Every subject area will be integrated into the unit, giving us a real sense of pioneer life throughout. The end of the unit will culminate with a day spent in the life of pioneers, completely free of modern technology.
Overall Unit Goals:
My primary goal in teaching this unit is for the children to get excited about learning the ways of pioneer life. The unit will be very progressive in that the kids will work on many hands-on projects which should be both fun and educational. I expect them to broaden their knowledge base in many subject areas; the pioneers had to be somewhat renaissance men/women in that they needed to have a very wide body of knowledge in order to accomplish the tasks of crossing the country, fending for themselves along the way and eventually “settling” the land once they arrived at their destination.
In addition to broadening their knowledge on an individual level, I hope to instill in my students a sense of teamwork, as this journey is made much more difficult if not impossible without the help of the wagon team. The wagon team members not only rely on each other for company, but also for jobs that are simply impossible to accomplish on your own. Fording rivers, navigating steep passes and freeing bogged down wagons are all tasks that one wagon would struggle with, but can be completed much more easily with the help of a team.
Explanation of Basic Content:
Science: The pioneers implemented several unique ways of changing the milk from their cows into butter. Most of them did not save room in their wagon for a whole butter churn, so instead the tied a sealed bucket full of milk to the axle of the wagon and let the bumpy road do the work for them. I will supply a real butter churn so we can actually make some ourselves.
I will purposefully not give them any advice about wagon building and will set them loose to make model wagons using their own material. I will tell them that these wagons are to be designed to be as maneuverable as possible. On real Conestoga wagons the front wheels are smaller than the rear which makes turning tight corners easier. I am assuming that a few of the students will make wagons with wheels all of the same size. (Either way I will have demonstration models set aside.) We will be able to compare and contrast how the wheel size changes the ability of the wagon to turn. We can also see if they come up with any ideas on their own which would improve upon the design of the Conestoga.
Art: Pioneers created their own quilts and used them to tell stories. The class will be supplied with small, personal looms with which to make their own quilts. They will be able to design them on their own and complete them during choice time in class.
Together we will make corn husk dolls, a favorite toy for pioneer girls and boys. We will practice making them with both dry and soaked corn husks, and come to the conclusion (I hope) that when wetted they are easier to work with. They will be able to decorate their doll as a man or woman.
Language Arts: The students will be adopting a pioneer identity, complete with a new name, birthplace, family etc. They will write their own diary using this identity. The diary can be about whatever they choose, but it must be relevant to the era. Modern technology and persons may not be used. It should be formatted similar to a real diary, with the entries being written on certain dates.
Students will write an expository essay detailing what they feel having to leave their home and all their friends in search of a better life out West. The essay will focus strictly on how they feel: scared, excited, nervous etc.
Drama: I will break the students into groups of 4-6 people and have them act out a chore/task that would have been necessary during pioneer times. They will be able to write out a script and use the classroom materials at hand in order to make props. By the time we get to this activity they will have studied pioneer life quite extensively, so I would expect the performances to be detailed and informative.
Math: One activity that will directly relate to math will be figuring out the supplies that we need to start with. The students will be grouped in partners and will receive two work sheets; one sheet will detail the weights and costs of all items and what they are required to start with, and the other sheet will be used to record their chosen supplies. I intend this to be difficult and time consuming, because this was such a critical set of decisions for the pioneers. This is an area where CPS will really come into play. I am simply going to tell the children what supplies they need to start with and it is up to them to figure out how to make this all work out within the given weight requirements and without going over-budget. They should also be encouraged to take along more necessities and less pleasantries, but in the end these decisions will be left up to them.
The next math activity will be guided much more than the first. We will read about the different forts and landmarks along the trail(s) and find out how far apart they are from each other. They will then need to calculate the time needed (in days) to get from one place to the next. As a class we will decide what pace we want to set as our average per day.
Music: The music section will be spent learning two songs which I believe give a good introspective into pioneer life: Old Dan Tucker and Crossing the Divide. We will learn the songs and sing them together, circling up our desks just as the pioneers circled their wagons. We will talk about the lyrics, which are very honest and at times adult (getting drunk is mentioned in Old Dan Tucker) and use these lyrics to get a better understanding of what pioneer life was really like.
Literature: One story I would read with the class would be “Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days.” I expect the kids to be very excited about making their own quilts and this book will make it much more educational. I feel that a lot of time could be spent discussing the stories within the quilt blocks.
Another story that I would like to read together is “Children of the Wild West” which tells about the pioneer experience through the eyes of children. I think that this book will really help relate this somewhat overwhelming experience to children.
Social Studies: Manifest Destiny was an important idea back then and it is something which I want to spend some time studying. I would like for the children to understand that this was a deep seeded mentality that for many was actually an important part of being American.
I would like to really delve into studying what Native American tribes the pioneers might run into along the way and what they might to be able to expect from these different tribes. I think that is important for the students to understand that most of the tribes simply wanted peace and were curious to learn about and trade with the pioneers. I also would like the students to figure out ways in which they would approach a new encounter with a culture they knew nothing about. How would they communicate, what would they say if they could etc.
Dance: An important point that I want the kids to walk away understanding is the length of time that was really needed to make this voyage. People were born and people died along the trail, marriages took place, there were parties etc. One thing that might be fun would be to stage a mock wedding, inside our circled desks, and dance to fiddle music. The fiddle would have been one of the most common instruments along the trail and it would likely have been played at parties. We would dance to the music and send off the new bride and groom merrily.
There is a good book titled “Dance, Pioneer, Dance” that illustrates many dances that would have been popular with the pioneers. I would like to read this book together and practice the dances as a class.
Assessment: This is a lengthy unit which will cover every subject area, therefore it will be impossible to have one assessment that will really get the job done. Throughout the unit I will be conducting many informal assessments of the students. These will range from worksheets to actual tests (more on the academic areas which will be integrated into the unit rather than on pioneer topics themselves.)
The end of the unit will culminate with a pioneer day. This will take place in the woods somewhere (we have a forest preserve near my school that works well) and will be geared toward being as realistic as possible. The children will refer to each other by their pioneer names, they will dress in traditional clothing and there will be no modern technology. We will “hunt and gather” our own food (pretend obviously) and cook it over an open fire (this we will actually do.) The women folk will be in charge of duties that women really would have been done and the same goes for the men.
This activity will take an entire school day. We will cook a big lunch and eat it around the campfire. Afterwards we will play whatever music we are capable of playing (hopefully I will have a violinist in my class, if not it will just consist of singing) and we will dance as well. The quilts they wove can be used as a seating area.
This will be a fun day that the students will look forward to all year. It will be a great culmination to a unit I believe they will love.