Welcome to my mega blog post all about our ten week summer adventure learning all about the American 1800’s using the Little House books. This post contains all the learning we did during our Little House on the Prairie Unit Study.
Understanding the History Behind a Little House on the Prairie Unit Study
When creating a Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, one of the richest parts of the experience is exploring the real history behind Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved books. These stories are more than captivating pioneer adventures; they are windows into 1800s American frontier life including its challenges, its simplicity, and the incredible resilience of the families who settled the prairie.
Before diving into crafts, recipes, sewing projects, or hands-on activities, it’s helpful to understand where the Little House books sit in history. This background brings depth, context, and meaning to every part of this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, helping children connect the stories to real people and real places from the past.
The Little House Books in Context
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote nine main books, blending memory and storytelling to share her family’s journeys across the American Midwest. These include:
- Little House in the Big Woods (Wisconsin)
- Farmer Boy (Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in New York)
- Little House on the Prairie (Kansas)
- On the Banks of Plum Creek (Minnesota)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake (Dakota Territory)
- The Long Winter
- Little Town on the Prairie
- These Happy Golden Years
- The First Four Years
As you work through this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, you’ll notice that each book captures a different phase of pioneer life—new landscapes, new homes, new challenges, and a world changing rapidly around the Ingalls family.
The Historical Setting of Your Little House on the Prairie Unit Study
1. Westward Expansion: The Backdrop of Pioneer Life
The Ingalls family lived during America’s westward expansion, a time when thousands of families left crowded eastern towns in search of land and opportunity. This era, stretching through much of the 1800s, shaped nearly everything in the Little House stories.
Including this context in this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study helps children understand why families moved so frequently and what it meant to build a life on the unsettled frontier.
2. Homesteading and the Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 offered free land to families willing to live on it and farm it. This law heavily influenced the Ingalls family’s choices and is a key part of prairie history.
Whilst homesteading gave families hope, it was a tough option. Settlers faced:
- Brutal winters
- Unpredictable weather
- Crop failures
- Long distances from towns
- Little medical help
- Isolation
In this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, you can highlight these challenges to help children appreciate the strength and determination of families like the Ingalls.
3. Daily Life on the Prairie
The books are filled with everyday pioneer tasks that families managed with little more than hand tools and sheer determination.
Women’s Work
- Sewing nearly all clothing
- Cooking everything from scratch
- Churning butter
- Washing laundry by hand
- Gardening and preserving food
- Making soap, candles, and other household necessities
Men’s Work
- Building cabins and barns
- Cutting firewood
- Hunting and trapping
- Tending fields and livestock
- Repairing tools and wagons
These daily rhythms are wonderful to explore during a Little House on the Prairie Unit Study through hands-on activities such as sewing, baking, gardening, or making simple household items.
4. Pioneer Homes: Cabins, Dugouts, and Claim Shanties
The Ingalls family lived in many different types of homes, each reflecting the landscape and available resources:
- Wisconsin: a log cabin surrounded by thick forests
- Kansas: a small wood cabin on the open prairie
- Minnesota: a dugout home carved into creek banks
- Dakota Territory: a fragile wooden claim shanty
These homes provide excellent jumping-off points for geography lessons, mapping activities, or diorama projects in this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study.
5. Travel and Transportation
Covered wagons were the main mode of travel. Families could carry only what their wagon could hold—and often walked alongside it for miles.
Later, railroads transformed prairie life. In books like By the Shores of Silver Lake, children get a firsthand view of how rail lines brought jobs, settlers, and rapid growth to new towns.
This contrast between wagons and railroads adds depth to any Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, showing how America was changing around the Ingalls family.
6. Native American History and Cultural Context
A sensitive but important aspect of the Little House books is the Ingalls family’s interactions with Native Americans. The Kansas prairie, for instance, was home to the Osage Nation, and settlers were moving into lands already inhabited by Indigenous peoples.
Including age-appropriate Native American history in this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study helps children understand:
- Cultural differences
- Fairness and respect
- How historical events impacted Native communities
- Why conflicts sometimes arose
Teaching this alongside the books ensures children receive a fuller and more accurate historical picture.
7. Weather: The Unpredictable Prairie
Part of what makes the books so engaging is their vivid descriptions of weather and how it shaped pioneer life.
Settlers faced:
- Devastating blizzards
- Prairie fires
- Drought
- Floods
- Grasshopper plagues
- Tornadoes
The Long Winter especially illustrates how survival depended on hard work, rationing, and faith.
In this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, weather can become a fascinating theme. It is perfect for simple science experiments, journaling pages, or nature observations.
Why This History Matters to Your Little House on the Prairie Unit Study
The Little House books are timeless not only because of Laura’s vivid storytelling but because they’re rooted in real experiences and historical events. Understanding the era:
- Enhances reading comprehension
- Sparks meaningful discussions
- Builds empathy and awareness
- Connects children to American history
- Brings your hands-on activities to life
By pairing history with crafts, recipes, dress-up, and practical skills, this Little House on the Prairie Unit Study becomes far more than a book study. It becomes an immersive journey into another time.
A Little House on the Prairie Unit Study offers children a chance to step into the past, experience pioneer life, and understand the people, challenges, and hopes that shaped America’s frontier. Exploring the real history behind the books gives every activity, from sewing to baking to prairie play, deeper significance.
Little House on the Prairie Unit Study – Companion History Timeline
*Free Download of the Timeline at the end
Early 1800s (Context Setting)
1803 – Louisiana Purchase
The U.S. buys a huge area of land from France, opening the door to westward expansion.
1804–1806 – Lewis and Clark Expedition
Explores the new western territory; maps routes that will later help settlers move west.
Ingalls Family Era Timeline (1830s–1890s)
1830–1840s
1830 – Indian Removal Act
Native tribes are forcibly relocated, shaping the landscape settlers like the Ingalls will encounter.
1837 – Birth of Caroline Ingalls (Ma)
Laura’s mother is born in Wisconsin.
1839 – Birth of Charles Ingalls (Pa)
Laura’s father, whose pioneer spirit shapes the entire series.
1846–1848 – Mexican-American War
Leads to more U.S. land in the southwest.
1850s
1854 – Kansas-Nebraska Act
Opens the Kansas and Nebraska territories to settlement—where part of the series later takes place.
1857 – Birth of Laura Ingalls in Pepin, Wisconsin
Her childhood stories become the foundation of the books.
1860s
1861–1865 – American Civil War
The Ingalls children are young during this era; the war influences the country deeply, though the books focus on frontier life.
1862 – Homestead Act
Allows settlers to claim free land by building a home and farming it—central to the Ingalls family story.
1863 – Henry Ford invents the first gasoline engine concept (a broader context point—industrial change beginning as settlers still live primitively).
1865 – Slavery Ends in the U.S. (13th Amendment)
The post-war era begins while settlers continue moving west.
1870s
This is the timeframe of many Little House books.
1870 – U.S. Transcontinental Railroad Completed (1869–1870 expansion)
Railroads rapidly expand, bringing more settlers west.
1871 – Great Chicago Fire
Mass urban rebuilding begins while prairie families still live in sod houses and log cabins.
1874–1875 – Grasshopper Plague
Featured in On the Banks of Plum Creek; locusts destroy crops across the Midwest.
1876 – Battle of Little Bighorn
Major conflict between U.S. military and Native American tribes during westward expansion.
1879 – Ingalls family moves to De Smet, Dakota Territory
The setting for By the Shores of Silver Lake.
1880s
1880–1881 – “The Hard Winter” in Dakota Territory
Described in The Long Winter; blizzards isolate communities for months.
1883 – First large-scale vaudeville shows
Entertainment grows as towns become more established.
1885 – Arrival of early electricity in U.S. cities
Urban modernization contrasts sharply with Laura’s rural schooling and homesteading life.
1885 – Laura marries Almanzo Wilder
Their story continues in These Happy Golden Years.
1890s (Transition to Modern America)
1890 – U.S. Census declares the frontier “closed”
The era of westward expansion ends—just as Laura’s pioneer childhood ends.
1892 – Homestead Act revisions
More rules for land ownership reflect the settling of the West.
1894 – Laura, Almanzo, and Rose move to Mansfield, Missouri
Where Laura later writes the Little House books.
How to Use This Timeline in Your Unit Study
Print as a visual timeline
Add dates to a poster or notebook timeline as you read each book.
Colour-code events
- Blue = Ingalls family events
- Green = National events
- Orange = Inventions/technology
- Red = Major conflicts or disasters
Connect each book to its decade
Helps children see how real U.S. history lines up with the stories.
Add hands-on extensions
Create: log cabin models, homesteading maps, railroad expansion lines, pioneer family trees, etc.
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House in the Big Woods follows five-year-old Laura Ingalls as she lives with her family in a snug log cabin deep in the Wisconsin woods. Through the seasons, Laura experiences pioneer life—helping with chores, watching Pa hunt and make maple sugar, learning household skills from Ma, and celebrating cozy family traditions. The book paints a warm, detailed picture of daily life in the 1870s and shows how the Ingalls family worked together to live safely, happily, and resourcefully in the big woods.
Hands-On Activities
- Make some nightdresses from pillowcases
- Make homemade butter in a jar
- Sew a simple rag doll like Laura’s
- Practice braiding rugs with scrap fabric
- Create a forest animal notebooking page
Food Activities
- Cook cornbread or Johnny cake
- Make maple sugar candy in the snow (or crushed ice)
- Try smoked sausage or a simple “pantry meal”
Learning Extensions
- Study forest ecosystems
- Map Laura’s home in the Big Woods
- Explore pioneer chores and compare to modern ones
Farmer Boy
(New York – Almanzo Wilder’s Childhood)
Hands-On Activities
- Clean and polish farm tools
- Try rope making or simple knot tying
- Create a farm chore chart inspired by Almanzo’s life
Food Activities
- Make homemade ice cream
- Bake brown bread
- Prepare a “Farmer Boy Feast” (pancakes, ham, mashed potatoes, pie)
Learning Extensions
- Study farm animals and their uses
- Explore the concept of bartering
- Compare farm life then vs. now
Little House on the Prairie
(Kansas – Prairie Cabin & Westward Journey)
Hands-On Activities
- Build a log cabin model (sticks or craft wood)
- Make a prairie bonnet
- Learn a simple Morse code message
- Create your own covered wagon craft
Food Activities
- Make corn dodgers
- Cook prairie chicken (adapt with chicken thighs)
- Create pioneer-style “supper baskets”
Learning Extensions
- Study the Osage Nation (age-appropriate, respectful resources)
- Explore the geography of the Kansas prairie
- Learn about early American settler life
On the Banks of Plum Creek
(Minnesota – Dugout Living & Grasshoppers)
Hands-On Activities
- Build a dugout model using dirt, grass, or clay
- Create a grasshopper life-cycle mini-book
- Make paper dolls like Laura’s
Food Activities
- Bake rye bread
- Make simple prairie soup with vegetables
- Try wild berry jam
Learning Extensions
- Study insects (especially locusts/grasshoppers)
- Explore creek habitats
- Discuss weather disasters and resilience
By the Shores of Silver Lake
(Dakota Territory – Railroads & New Beginnings)
Hands-On Activities
- Make a railroad track craft
- Create a prairie town map
- Start a family timeline notebook like Laura’s life
Food Activities
- Make hardtack (simple, long-lasting pioneer bread)
- Prepare one-pot meals used by railroad workers
Learning Extensions
- Study how railroads changed America
- Learn about Dakota Territory geography
- Explore how towns were built from scratch
The Long Winter
(Dakota Territory – Survival & Harsh Weather)
Hands-On Activities
- Try twisting hay sticks to understand fuel scarcity
- Make snow candy
- Create a storm preparedness kit (education only)
- Build a shoebox “winter town” with cotton snow
Food Activities
- Bake simple sourdough biscuits
- Make oatmeal cakes
- Prepare a minimal survival meal (rice, broth, simple grains)
Learning Extensions
- Study blizzards and extreme cold
- Chart snowfall or temperature patterns
- Discuss perseverance and community cooperation
Little Town on the Prairie
(Dakota Territory – School, Town Life & Growing Up)
Hands-On Activities
- Hold a prairie-style spelling bee
- Practice sampler embroidery
- Make a school copybook using lined paper and simple “caligraphy” pens
Food Activities
- Make molasses cookies
- Create a school lunch pail meal (bread, cheese, apple)
Learning Extensions
- Study frontier schoolhouses
- Compare education then vs. now
- Learn historical games (cat’s cradle, marbles)
These Happy Golden Years
(Dakota Territory – Teaching, Courtship & Adulthood)
Hands-On Activities
- Learn a simple quilting stitch
- Write a letter with ink and a dip pen
- Try a basic music study of the songs in the book
Food Activities
- Bake vinegar pie (classic pioneer dessert)
- Make ginger snaps
Learning Extensions
- Discuss responsibility and young adulthood
- Explore early American teaching methods
- Study the role of horses in pioneer transportation
The First Four Years
(Early Marriage, Hardship & Homemaking)
Hands-On Activities
- Sew a simple apron
- Learn basic budgeting or record-keeping
- Start a family recipe book
Food Activities
- Cook a pioneer stew
- Bake bread from scratch
Learning Extensions
- Talk about perseverance in early marriage
- Explore homebuilding and farming challenges
- Reflect on the transition from childhood to adulthood
Please note: this page is under construction and I will add to it as I update each post. Thank you for your patience.