Sarah, Plain and Tall

By Patricia MacLachlan

Literature Focus Unit

Upper Elementary

EDU 315

• Fiction: – Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan – Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan – Caleb’s Story by Patricia MacLachlan – Dandelions by Eve Bunting – Dakota Dugout by Ann Turner – Sewing Quilts by Ann Turner – Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder – Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder – On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder – Going West by Laura Ingalls Wilder – If your Not from the Prairie by David Bouchard – Roughing it on the Oregon Trail by Diane Stanley – Twister on Tuesday by Mary Pope Osborne – Ghost Town at Sundown by Mary Pope Osborne – Buffalo Before Breakfast by Mary Pope Osborne – Wagons Ho! by George Hallowell – Tucket’s Travels Series by Gary Paulsen – Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers

Literature Selection

Literature Selection • Nonfiction:

– Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser

– My Prairie Year: Based on the Diary of Elenore Plaisted by Brett Harvey

– Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson

– Davy Crockett: A Life on the Frontier by Stephen Krensky

– Prairie Food Chains by Kelley Macaulay and Bobbie Kalman

– Lewis and Clark for Kids by Janis Herbert – How we Crossed the West: The Adventures of

Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer – The Oregon Trail (True Books: Westward

Expansion) by Mel Friedman – They’re Off! : The Story of the Pony Express by

Cheryl Harness

Theme Study

• Students will participate in a thematic study on the book Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. This unit will integrate reading, writing, social studies, science, mathematics, art, music, and physical education.

• Students will develop an understanding of life and survival on the prairie during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, technological advances of the time period, and the transcontinental railroad.

Language Arts: Reading Activities

• Students will read Sarah, Plain and Tall in class as a large group, reading aloud, readers theatre, silent reading, and partner reading.

• Students will discuss the elements of the historical fiction genre.

• Teacher will read from fiction and nonfiction books that are related to themes presented in Sarah, Plain and Tall.

• Assorted fiction and nonfiction books related to the themes in Sarah, Plain and Tall will be available in the classroom for students to read.

• Students will read out loud several of their writing assignments from the unit.

Language Arts: Writing Activities

• Students will write entries in a journal while they read Sarah, Plain and Tall. They will write about what they read as well as other topics, such as what it is like to live on the prairie or move far away from home and start over.

• Students will write a letter describing themselves to someone that has never met them.

• Students will write a poem, using their five senses, about the prairie habitat.

• Students will write their own folk song after listening to different examples • Students will journal about the class garden. • Students will write up questions they would ask Sarah in an interview and

then write what they think Sarah would respond with. • Students will write a short story of what they think will happen in the next

book. • Students will write a skit in small groups and perform for the class.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities

• Students will participate in large and small literature discussion groups about the book.

• Students will share journal entries, letters, poems and/ or interviews that they wrote with the class.

• Students will get into small groups and write a skit retelling the story.

• Students will have a Pioneer Day where they act like pioneers; talk, work, dress, play games etc.

Language Arts: Listening Activities

• Students will listen to a lesson about the author. • Students will listen to Sarah, Plain and Tall being read. • Students will listen to Ten Mile Day by Mary Ann Fraser

when learning about the Transcontinental Railroad. • Students will listen to other stories about life on the prairie. • Students will listen to other students as they share either

their poem, interview or letter with the class. • Students will listen to each groups skits. • Students will listen to different songs (folk songs, hymns) of

the time period and will then write a folk song of their own – http://bettylou.zzruss.com/songsofthe1800s.htm

Language Arts: Viewing Activities

• Students will view historical photographs of life in the late 1800’s. • Students will view photographs of life on the prairie and on the east

coast. • Students will view videos of life on the prairie (see technology

ideas). • Students will view videos of the Oregon Trail. • Students will view videos relating to themes presented in Sarah,

Plain and Tall. • Students will view and appreciate art projects and final projects of

their peers. • Students will visualize the spellings of words on the word wall. • Students will watch skits presented by classmates. • Students will watch Sarah, Plain and Tall movie at the end of the

unit

Language Arts: Visually representing Activities

• Students will write statements for a KWL chart about pioneers. • Students will create an artistic background to accompany their

poem. • Students will draw a self portrait to accompany letter. • Students will build a landform project using the geography of

the Prairie or Maine. • Students will find words for the word wall of new vocabulary. • Students will create a comparison chart at the end of the unit

of Maine and the prairie using words and pictures. • Students will draw maps including the Oregon trail, the

transcontinental railroad routes and identify the prairie states, Maine and the ocean.

• Students will view pictures of prairie life then and now; tools, houses, lands.

Science Activities

• Students will plant a class garden and observe the different plants of the prairie and of the wood lands of the east coast.

• Students will journal predictions and outcomes of class garden. • Discuss weather difference along the coastline of the east coast

versus the prairie. • Discuss how they would survive weather changes; heat, snow,

storms, tornados. • Read Prairie Food Chains by Kelley Macaulay • Identify animals and habitats of the prairie versus the east coast

woodlands and seaside. • Draw pictures of the geographical features of the prairie versus the

east coast and seaside.

Mathematics Activities

• Students will calculate year differences practicing subtraction with regrouping.

• Students will practice estimation strategies using a jar and marbles.

• Students will measure distances using hula hoops and horse shoes and then graph them.

• Students will measure and graph plant growth from the garden.

• Students will calculate different distances such as specific railroad routes, the Oregon Trail, and distance between Maine and a point where they think the story took place and estimate how long it would take to get from place to place.

• Students will compare the cost of items from a historical time compared to prices of today. Then solve different story problems.

Social Studies Activities

• Examine geographical features of the prairie versus the east coast. They will then create a landform project using one geographical point and different habitats reviewed in science.

• Discuss the Oregon Trial and read: Wagons Ho! by George Hallowell and Roughing it on the Oregon Trail by Dian Stanley.

• Discuss the discovery of the west and Lewis and Clark by reading Lewis and Clark for Kids by Janis Herbert and How we Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer.

• Discuss the Pony Express and read They’re Off! : The Story of the Pony Express by Cheryl Harness – Other ways mail got places

• Find pictures of transportation choices in the late 1800’s – http://www.northwesthistoryexpress.com/timeline/transportation1800.php

• Read Ten Mile Day by Mary Ann Fraser and watch video clip about the railroad – http://www.history.com/topics/transcontinental-railroad/videos#transcontinental-railroad

• Identify and compare and contrast farming tools of the late 1800’s. – http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/Artifacts-And-Collections/Argricultural-

Tools.aspx

• Map out the prairie states, Maine, the route for the transcontinental railroad, pony express routes, and the Oregon Trail.

• Discuss the impact Pioneers moving to the Prairie had on the land and Native Americans. Read Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers.

Music and Art Activities

• Listen to different songs of the time period. – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNzYlFy_WE – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWXikm4Bsv8 – http://bettylou.zzruss.com/songsofthe1800s.htm

• Students will write a folk song of their own • Share pictures of different instruments used in the time period. • Students will draw a self portrait describing themselves to go along with their

letters. • Students will draw a picture that relates to their poems. • Students will create a landscape creation of prairie and/or the seaside. • Students will create a suitcase or wagon out of shoe boxes, and then fill them with

items you would take on your trip from the east to the west. Use Wagons Ho! by George Hallowell as a reference. – Food items (beans, sugar, bacon, flour), furniture (table, chest, dresser, bed), animals, clothes.

• Students will create a comparison chart using words and pictures of the prairie and east coast.

Physical Education Activities

• Students will play charades using different vocabulary of the prairie and the east coast.

• Students will play baseball using a stick and a cloth ball. • Students will play a game using hula hoops and wands and pass them back

and forth and catch them, they will roll them and chase after them and play other hula hoop games.

• Students will play horseshoes. • Students will have a “prairie relay”. They will go through different stations

such as; throwing horseshoes, plowing a fake field, driving a covered wagon made of hula hoops and cardboard boxes, carrying an egg on a spoon, three legged races and milking a cow (rubber glove and bucket). The first team to complete all stations and reach the end wins.

• Students will have a packing relay; students can make covered wagons with boxes and first to get all their belongings in box and to finish line wins.

Technology

• http://education.csm.edu/students/asoriano/new_page_3.htm – 1800’s website

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTA213e3V5Q – Photographs with music of the prairie

• http://www.schooltube.com/video/ca2792616b524611b1cc/Oregon%20Trail – Oregon Trail

• http://www.schooltube.com/video/2f702ae078564bd19f18/Oregon%20Trail – Oregon Trail

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1R-GeEd95c – Pony Express

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/teachers-resources/wild-west-guide/ – Videos of different people of the wild west

• http://www.jbit.org/guide/ – different pioneer activities

• http://www.history.com/topics/transcontinental-railroad/videos#transcontinental-railroad – Railroad video

• http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/Artifacts-And-Collections/Argricultural-Tools.aspx – Farming tools

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNzYlFy_WE – Folk Music

• http://bettylou.zzruss.com/songsofthe1800s.htm – Music

• TV Movie; Sarah, Plain and Tall 1991

Language Arts Strategies

• Activating background knowledge: students will think what they already know about the prairie and east coast.

• Brainstorming: students will think of many ideas related to the prairie and the west through their writing activities.

• Connecting: students will relate the topics to the world around them by journaling, creating comparison charts, and creating writings.

• Predicting and Monitoring: students will predict what will happen in the next chapters. They will predict the next book.

• Revising: Students will make changes to written activities and comparison chart.

• Visualizing: Students will use journals to visualize the setting of the story and draw pictures in their minds.

Grouping Patterns

• Large group activities: large group discussions, class garden, share writings, physical education games, reading social studies books and watching videos.

• Small Group activities: partner read, physical education games, math.

• Individual: journal, write poem, write what its like to live on prairie, write letter, Comparison of Maine and Prairie project, math.

Assessments

• Journal entries • Participation in large group discussions • Letter, story, and interview writings according to the 6 plus 1 writing

traits • Poem according to numerical scoring sheet • Math graphs • Science Journal; lab reports • Landform creation of prairie and/or east coast • Spelling tests with vocabulary words • Physical Education skills checklist • Accuracy of maps of the routes and places • Portfolio of work throughout the unit • Comparison project of Maine and the Prairie

Comparison project

• http://www.mrsliretteslearningdetectives.com/2012/05/pioneer-day-fun.html

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Language Arts Introduce book, vocab

words and author. KWL

chart on pioneers.

journal

Read chapter 1 & 2 &

3 Journal

Read chapter 4 & 5

Using self portrait write

letter describing oneself

Journal

Chapter 6 & 7

Journal

write a poem about

something about the prairie

Read chapter 8 &

9

Journal

Art/ Music Look at photographs of

the west, railroad and

east coast

Sketch a self portrait Make a suitcase or

wagon with items to

take along

Learn about folk songs/

dances. Hymns.

Landform

creations using

different material

Physical

Education

Charades in groups using vocab words, words of the prairie. And east coast.

Baseball with cloth

ball and stick

Play horseshoes Play hula hoop game with

wands

Prairie relay race

Math Take different years and work on subtraction with regrouping. Story problems.

Marbles in a jar and

estimation problems

Measure distances of

horseshoes and graph.

Measure distances of hula

hoops thrown and graph

Calculate distance

of Oregon trail

and railroad and

estimate time to

travel

Science Discuss the geography of

Maine and prairie

Talk about different

flowers, how to plant,

pars of plant

Plant flowers and journal

predictions

Discuss animals and

habitats of prairie and

Maine Read prairie food

chains

Weather

differences of

east

coast/prairie.

Twister on

Tuesday

Social Studies Map out states that

contain prairie and

where Maine is

Read Lewis and Clark

for kids. Map out

routes.

Discuss transportation.

Wagons Ho! Watch video

on Oregon Trail. Add to

map

Transcontinental railroad

information.

Read 10 mile Day.

Add route to map

Farming tools in

the late 1800s vs.

today’s