A Pioneer Sampler -- A Look into Long Ago
The year is 1840. The place is a farm in the woods. Signs of spring are beginning to appear as A Pioneer Sampler begins.
Curl up and read about a year in the life of the Robertsons, a pioneer family -- a real change of pace from daily life in the 1990s! A great addition
to the middle-grade curriculum. Included: Activity ideas!
A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 details a year in the daily life of a fictional pioneer family, the Robertson family -- Granny, Ma,
Pa, three daughters (Lizzie, Meg, and Sarah), and three sons (George, Willy, and Tommy the baby). In 1840, the family is living on their "backwoods" farm, far from the nearest town, exhibiting self-sufficiency and the uncompromised
work ethic that is necessary for survival.
A MUST FOR THE MIDDLE-GRADE CLASSROOM
A Pioneer Sampler, written by Barbara Greenwood and illustrated by Heather Collins (published in paperback in 1998 by Houghton Mifflin),
is a book for the middle-grade research shelf. Recommended for children aged 8 through 12, the book can be used by teachers and students in a variety of ways.
-
The handy index provides guidance for the student seeking specific information.
-
The sequential trip through the seasons offers a method of comparing seasonal
activities, then and now.
-
A glossary provides clear definitions of period words. And in each class
there is bound to be at least one reader who will read the book from cover
to cover, cataloguing all the details and becoming an authority on the
period.
SLICES OF LIFE
Those who
do read the book all the way through will be treated to slices of life memorably described by author Greenwood, such as the old
woman who couldn't afford to retrieve a letter that had been sent to her.
"Shhh, she'll hear you ...She can't afford to pay for it. Just comes in and looks at it every so often. From her mother back home,
Mrs. Jamieson told me." The extended family, so common in 1840, provides the opportunity for Granny to instruct her grandchildren and connect them
to their family's past through stories she tells. One story that Granny shares with her granddaughter concerns two tiny rowan trees she brought
to the New World from Scotland. Granny told Sarah of the difficult trip, her efforts to keep her tiny trees alive, and of planting the trees in
her new
"We settled in the new land and my trees flourished... And we flourished, too."
ONE YEAR ON THE ROBERTSON FARM
Beginning with the thaw that signals the onset of spring and continuing through the year to Hogmany -- the Scottish New Year's Eve celebration
--
A Pioneer Sampler reads like a journal of family activities. The journal includes daily chores, school days, and the high points of
the family's year. In the year chronicled:
-
the family worked together tapping maple trees and making maple syrup. (The children, alone in the woods, came face to face with a lynx one night!)
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Willy stood up against a bully at school.
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Pa took the canoe down the river to buy new livestock for the farm. (And happened to bring back a puppy too!)
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the family had a visit from a peddler, who traded his goods for fleece (from sheep) and knitted mittens and stockings. (Pa bought a clock for
Ma -- the first timepiece the family ever had!)
-
native hunters camped by the river and traded hunting bounty for other food they needed. (Willy became friendly with a boy about his age, who
showed Willy how to fish with his hands.)
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crops were planted and harvested -- corn, wheat, hay.
-
the family visited the general store -- only two hours away by wagon
-- where Sarah learns about mail. (The recipient had to pay
when a letter arrived for him or her; some people could not afford to get
their letters.)
The biggest event of the year was building a new house, the third for the
Robertson family on their land in the woods. Neighbors arrived for a "house
raising." the Robertsons visited their German neighbors and shared
the splendor of a Christmas tree.
WORKING THE FARM
Year-round farm activities are covered, some in great detail. Those details
offer opportunities for city dwellers to compare farming, albeit long ago,
to their city lives, and for today's farm dwellers to compare today and
"yesterday." Farm activities include milking; sheep shearing, carding,
spinning, and processing of wool; honey gathering; and preparing for winter.
Sampler's year ends with Hogmany
-- the Scottish New Year's
Eve celebration, and another of the ways the family maintains ties to its
roots. The diversity of the area is stressed as area farm families visit
one another and join in their celebrations.
DETAILED VISUALS
Much of the beauty of this book is found in its details. Sketch-like illustrations
by Heather Collins give the reader a feeling of long ago and offer opportunities
for students and teachers to extend their learning. Readers who see the
children sleeping three to a bed or feeding the hens can also make note
of clothing, footwear, furniture, farm animals, and other picture details.
While captivating in content, several illustrations act as picture maps
or diagrams, and offer even more.
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A family portrait clearly identifies each person, shows relative size and
clothing, and provides a ready reference to the family members.
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A cutaway diagram of the family's log house clearly shows readers how closely
the family lived and worked together.
Activity Idea! Students can make a cutaway drawing of their
own living arrangements, highlighting modern areas corresponding to the
living area of the Robertson family. Some students might research the changes
in home architecture between 1840 and 1998. Another group of students might
identify tools and appliances that have changed the activities of families.
· A two-page spread of the farmyard is a picture map showing the
location of the family's proposed new home, the barn, the log house, and
the original shelter for the family -- their shanty. The illustration provides
a visual overview of the extensive area for which the family is responsible
and makes the descriptive text more real. · The country school attended
by the children is also shown in a cutaway illustration. Combined with
the vivid description of school activities, the school drawing provides
a basis for studying change.
Activity Idea! After reading the descriptions of school
activities, students can identify the parts of the school used for each
activity. Then students can compare their own school to the country schoolhouse,
and determine the similarities of their educational experiences with those
of the Robertson children. The building of the third home
on the family farm during the fall -- a two-story home with a separate
kitchen and parlor -- is illustrated in several scenes. Those scenes show
planning the new house, tools used, the house-raising by neighbors, and
the final cutaway drawing of the new house.
Activity Idea! Students can list each activity of house
building (shared by the whole Robertson family). Encourage discussion of
activities that could bring your students' families together in a cooperative
venture.
EXTENDING LANGUAGE
Old sayings throughout the book such as
"Eat it up, Wear it out, Make
it do, Or go without" help students examine and possibly determine
the reasons for differences between life on a farm long ago and today.
They will gain new understanding of old sayings such as "
Many hands
make light work," and "
Make hay while the sun shines." And teachers
will probably extend their own vocabularies with terms such as
coursing
the bee, the rule of three, shadow clocks, and
wheat gum, along
with many others.
"HOW-TO" ACTIVITIES
Greenwood fills
Sampler chock full of "how-to" activities for school
or home. The activities would be valuable in planning a demonstration day
for other members of the school community. Students can try measuring in
the pioneer manner, making butter or cheese, trying "finger spinning,"
and dyeing cloth using onionskin. The number of activities could fill a
school year, or provide an activity for almost every class member.
THE REVIEWER'S WISH
The only thing really lacking here is a sense of location other than "backwoods."
The fictional family has been placed in an unidentifiable location, making
it impossible for readers to extend their knowledge of the surrounding
area, the geography, and the speed of change. (This book was originally
published in Canada as
A Pioneer Story: The Daily Life of a Canadian
Family in 1840 by Kids Can Press Ltd.)
RELATED WEB SITES ABOUT THE PERIOD
A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family
in 1840 (240pp) is written by Barbara Greenwood and illustrated by Heather
Collins. The book is published by Houghton Mifflin Company,
222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116 . If you are unable to locate a copy
of the book in your local bookstore, ask your bookseller to order a copy
for you.
Article by Anne Guignon
Education World®
Copyright © 1998 Education World
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10/26/1998