Laura Ingalls Wilder
 WebQuest
by Karen Kuyachich and Lisa Cauley
Hobart, Indiana

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Introduction

Task

Process

Evaluation

Extension

Resources


 

Introduction 

  We have read the book "On the Banks of Plum Creek" in class.  There are many natural disasters that occur during the two years the Ingalls family lives in Minnesota.  The grass hopper plague is the major focus in the book but several other things happened that could have changed the Ingalls' girls' lives forever. How different their lives would have been if one of the members of their family had been hurt or killed.  Whenever disaster struck, the Ingalls simply brushed themselves off and continued with the task at hand, usually without complaint or regret.

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Task

    Your task is to use your imagination and enter the world of the Ingalls in the 1870's.  Your research will enable you to better understand the similarities and differences to your life now.  Your team will work together to rewrite an event in the story.  You will also roll play in order to understand the characters and how they felt about their life during your chosen event.  This "Quest" will lead you to your second "Quest" about Life's Challenges.

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Process
Part 1
  You will need to form a family team unit.  Each team will choose an event from the book that could have had a major impact on the family if the end result had been different. Each team will write a short story describing the event in its changed form, remembering to use as much detail as Laura did in her stories.

Events to choose from are:

  • Grasshopper plague
  • Christmas blizzard where Pa is lost
  • Laura goes to the swimming hole alone
  • Laura sees a badger on the trail
  • The ox got loose and almost fell through the top of the dugout
  • Laura almost slipped off the bridge and into the swollen creek
  • Mr. Nelson comes to Ma's rescue during the "wheels of fire"
  • Pa leaves looking for work back east
  • Or choose your own event from the book


    • Part 2
    After your team story is written every person in your team will become one  member of the Ingalls family.  Each member will write 5 journal entries (1 week) from the character's point of view remembering stay in the character's voice and to answer certain posed questions.

    Roles to choose from:

  • Pa
  • Ma
  • Laura
  • Mary
  • Carrie

    • Remember you must write your journals in the correct voice, using words the Ingalls would use not "now slang", and stay in the character's age during the book.  As an example Carrie is a little girl and would not write about or be concerned with the same things as Ma.

    For more information on Laura or her family use the following resources: 

    Internet sites  Laura Ingalls Wilder
    "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Mrs. K
     My Little House on the Prairie Home Page of Laura Ingalls Wilder
    1. Answer the following questions when writing your journal entries:
  • What are you feeling?  Describe your emotions.
  • Do you have any regrets or do you wish you could have done something differently?
  • How are you feeling?  Are you injured?
  • What will your family need to do now to survive?
  • Will your family need to move?
  • How will you personally help the family?
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    Evaluation

    Print up a copy of the rubric before you begin you challenge.  This will help guide you through the webquest and be sure you have met all of the requirements.

    Click here for Project Rubric

    Extensions

    Each team member must choose and complete two additional projects.

        1.  Choose a natural disaster from Laura's birth to the present time.  Research the event, and describe it remembering to relate it to your own life experiences.  You may use a narrative form, pictures, or slideshow.
        2.  Show us a map of the affected area, a small timeline of major events related to this, and some interesting ways people coped or adapted to survive the event.
        3.  Write about a tragedy which your family has overcome and tell how it has made you a better person.
        4.  Use the internet to research major events that occurred during Laura's lifetime.  Example:  WWI, the invention of cars, planes, telephones.
        5.  Use the internet to prepare a life history of another famous person born during Laura's lifetime.  Include in your history why you choose this person and how did he/she make a difference in your life in today's day.

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    Resources
      Disasters in our time:
    The Galveston Hurricane
    Johnstown Flood National Memorial
    Johnstown Flood of 1889 - Historic
    Museum of the City of San Francisco - 1906 Earthquake and Fire
    1906 San Francisco Earthquake
    Discovery Online, Science - Wildfires
    Forest Fire Fighting Hotshot
    Dust Bowl: Overview
    The Dust Bowl
    CPL Chicago: 1967,1979: Major Snowstorms
     Blizzard of Jan. 13, 1910

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    You can continue learning about the Ingalls through someone else, namely Helen Keller, by taking another webquest.  It is based on a handicap that Mary Ingalls had to face during her life.  We believe it was this very handicap of Mary's that made Laura such an excellent writer later in her life.  Learn more about blindness and how individuals learn to adapt and change their lifestyles.

     LIFE'S CHALLENGES Webquest
     

    Teacher Resources

    "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

    Reflections
        After you have completed your journey with the Ingalls take some time to look back and reflect on you learning by choosing one of  the following questions/projects.

    1.  What did you think life was like in the late 1800's before you read "On the Banks of Plum Creek"?
    2.  Compare and contrast your life to the life and times of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
    3.  Create a slide show depicting the events in the book in order.

    Teacher Resources

    "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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