Literature Unit Ideas for Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This post is part of the 31 Days of Literature Unit Ideas series. You can find the entire series with links to all of the books here. And if you'd like to use this literature unit, you can find a FREE printable below with a suggested schedule.

Today's book is Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although sometimes not as well-known as Little House on the Prairie, this is actually the first book in the series. Set in the woods of Wisconsin, this book was written about the life of Laura's family before they headed out to the prairies.

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About the book...

Although most people are at least familiar with the Little House on the Prairie books, not as many read the whole series that begins with Little House in the Big Woods. The Little House series is historical fiction written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although the books are fiction, Laura writes about events and settings that are based on her own childhood growing up as a pioneer. Her family headed out the prairies when Laura was young, and the book series shares the joys and hardships that were a part of pioneer life.

In Little House in the Big Woods, it's in the late 1800s and Laura's family still lives in the woods in Wisconsin. With every chapter, we get a glimpse into the family life as well as the history of the times. The book doesn't follow a specific plot outline with a structured beginning, climax, and end; rather it's a coming of age story. The story of being a little girl at that particular time in history.

Just a note: If you haven't read any of the Little House books- the books are very, very descriptive. The descriptions are simple and easy to understand, but I have to admit that the first time I was going to read this one aloud, I had forgotten how wordy the description was, and I was reading to a five-year-old. I had to adapt the length of my description at times to allow for attention span.

Throughout your reading...

• Keep a timeline of the events in Laura's life. You can print a blank timeline here.
• Keep a notebook/journal of "fascinating facts" that you learn along the way- history, science, recipes: you can record them in this journal.

History connections:

• Read this timeline to find out what was going on in the US when Laura was a little girl in the 1870s.
• Read the information from this site to learn about the American pioneers. (There is also a printable pioneer study pack here.)
• This site has more great information about being a pioneer, along with some pictures.
• Study this map to see where Laura lived in the Big Woods. There is also a trail to show where the family traveled when they left for the prairie.
• Take a closer look at Wisconsin to see the state in which Laura lived. You can also see more detail in this video.

Science connections:

• Learn about the animals Laura may have seen in the forests of Wisconson. Choose your favorite animal and write an animal report using these great, free animal report printables from 123 Homeschool 4Me.
• Laura's descriptions in Little House in the Big Woods contain a view of the woods in different seasons. Learn more about what causes the seasons here.
• Play games related to the seasons here.
• Laura describes the food her family ate as well as the methods of cooking, baking, and food preservation for the pioneers. This article has some good information about how the pioneers prepared and preserved food.

Language arts connections...

• Talk about the way that authors use different points of view as they tell as story. Why do you think Laura chose to use third-person point of view even though she is talking about herself.
• Laura uses lots of description in all of her writing. Choose a scene from the book. Listen to the scene read aloud. As you read, record what she describes for each of the five senses. Is there a sound she describes? A smell? A taste? The feeling of something? Things that she is seeing?
• Creative writing: Imagine that you lived in Laura's time and setting. Come up with an imagined story of an adventure that happened to you.
• Use a Venn diagram to compare the way Laura lived with the way you live. You can find a free printable Venn diagram here.

Hands-on/crafts...

• Use this site to print out templates to make your own pioneer town.
• Make your own butter.
• Grind your own wheat.
• Make a corn husk doll like Laura's.

Other resources...

• Homeschool Share has a free Little House in the Big Woods lapbook.
• This site has a free set of activity pages for the book.
• This is another free printable activity book that focuses on phonics and reading, comprehension, study skills activities, and creative writing using Little House in the Big Woods.

Booklist:

• My Book of Little House Paper Dolls: The Big Woods Collection
• The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker
• My Little House Crafts Book by Carolyn Strom Collins
• Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson
• A Pioneer Sampler: Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 by Barbara Greenwood
• Pioneer Days (Activity Book) by David C. King

If you'd like to use this book as a literature unit, you can find a FREE printable, suggested schedule here.