As the autumn air crisps and we head into the colder months, there is nothing quite like gathering the kids around a cozy fire for storytime. But what if your read-aloud time could double as your entire homeschool curriculum? This week, our family dove deep into the breathtaking, frosty world of the Dakota Territory with The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder**. Reading about how the Ingalls family survived the historic blizzards of 1880 sparked so many questions about history, survival, and science that I knew I had to build something bigger. If you are looking to trade dry textbooks for a rich, immersive living book experience, here is how you can transform this classic frontier tale into a rigorous, hands-on 6-week unit study for your middle schooler.
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🔑 The Long Winter: Teacher Answer Key
Mornings:
We start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a video of how we start our mornings.
Don’t have a flag? Grab one HEREand print it out to put up somewhere… you could even let the kids make a flag to proudly display. Amazon also has some little ones like this one HERE and HERE.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.
Week 2: Moving to Town (Chapters 7–11)
- Reading Schedule:
- Day 1: Ch. 7 (The West-Bound Train)
- Day 2: Ch. 8 (As the Townsfolk Prepare)
- Day 3: Ch. 9 (Cap Garland)
- Day 4: Ch. 10 (Three Days’ Blizzard)
- Day 5: Ch. 11 (Besieged)
Language Arts
- Vocabulary:
- Commotion
- switchback
- besieged
- dynamic
- provisions
- depot.
- Discussion Question:
- Why does Pa decide to move the family from the claim shanty into his building in town?
- What advantages and risks does this move bring?
- Writing Activity: Imagine you are a passenger stuck on the west-bound train mentioned in Chapter 7. Write a diary entry describing the cold and the sudden stop.
Optional Activities:
Math Word Problem
Problem: The blockaded train from Minnesota is carrying a reserve supply of firewood measured in cords. A cord of wood measures 4 ft x 4 ft x 8 ft.
- What is the volume of one single cord of wood in cubic feet (ft^3)?
- If the train’s freight car has a total cargo capacity of 2,304 cubic feet, what is the maximum number of full cords of wood it can transport to the townsfolk?
Optional Activities:
- Beginning Fractions & Decimals by Rock ‘N Learn
- Bubble Pop! Math Challenge Games – Gr. 3‑4
- CoolMath4Kids
- PBS Kids Games
Geography & History
- Topic: The expansion of the American Railroad system. Study how tracks were laid in the late 19th century and how a isolated town depended entirely on train lines for food, fuel, and mail.
Optional Activities:
Historical Weather Mapping: The Winter of the Three Blizzards
- Instructions: Chapter 10 details a terrifying three-day blizzard that traps the family indoors. This was not fictional; the winter of 1880–1881 is recorded as one of the most severe weather events in North American history. Research this event using an online encyclopedia or the National Weather Service (NWS) historical records to analyze the scope of the storms.
- Research Tasks:
- On what exact date did the historic “October Blizzard” hit the Dakota Territory? Why was an intense blizzard hitting in October so shocking to the pioneers?
- Look at a historical climate report or map of that winter. How many distinct blizzard fronts are recorded to have slammed into the Upper Midwest between October 1880 and April 1881?
- Geography Skills: Locate a modern map of the United States. Identify the path of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company railroad lines that ran from Minnesota out into De Smet, South Dakota. Explain how the geography of the flat, open prairie caused the railroad “cuts” (trenches where tracks were laid) to fill instantly with solid ice and snow blockades.
Science
- Topic: Meteorology of a blizzard. Investigate the exact combination of wind speeds, sub-zero temperatures, and snow accumulation required for a storm to officially be classified as a blizzard.
Optional Activities:
- Mystery Science
- All About Life Science Activities
- National Geographic Match the Fact Cards
- National Geographic Kids What Animal Am I Card Game
Life Skills
- Topic: Rationing and community sharing. Discuss how the storekeepers and townsfolk manage finite stocks of goods when they realize no more supply shipments are coming.
Optional Activities:
- Plain and Not So Plain Home Economics Course (she has other subjects as well)
PE, Health & Safety
- Topic: The “Prairie Cure” and exposure risks. Research what happens to the human body during early hypothermia and frostbite, and how pioneers kept extremities warm using wool and hot bricks.
Art, Music & Crafts
- Topic: Paper dolls. Cut out and design historic 1880s pioneer paper clothing, including heavy flannels, petticoats, long dresses, and wool stockings.
- 36 Pcs People Cutouts Paper**
- Paper Dolls Kit – Vintage**
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