By the Shores of Silver Lake Week 3 Lesson Plans

These weekly lessons were made to go along with ‘By the Shores of Silver Lake‘ written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are planning to go through the whole series and I am keeping track of the different topics we are learning about here on my blog. We hope you enjoy these as much as we have!

Mornings:

We start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a picture of the prayers that we say and a video of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Not the prettiest example but that’s what we’ve been using for the past few years.

Don’t have a flag? Grab one HERE and 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.

After this, we have our calendar time also where we go over such things as the Days of the Week, the months, and some basic math.

This one came from Lakeshore Learning.

The younger kids will also be watching some of these videos while I work with the older ones:

We may also use some of the songs found HERE.

And we will be trying out some relaxing background music with Google.

We also like to use this song during our ‘Morning Time’ to help the kids learn the 50 States.

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.

We will be discussing some of the character qualities that are displayed in the book but if you would like to do a separate character study lesson you can download one HERE.

Answers can be found HERE.

Answer Key Password: momsrock

Here are our lesson plans for the week:

Language Arts

Week 3: Chapters 9, 10, 11 & 12

(Horse Thieves, The Wonderful Afternoon, Payday, Wings Over Silver Lake)

Reading:

READ CHAPTERS 9, 10, 11 & 12

You can read it or let the kids help to read it aloud.
You can also access an audio version:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Chapter Nine (Horse Thieves):

Why was Pa upset? Who did the men suspect?
What did Ma say was as ‘bad as drink’?
Who was Old Johnny? What did Ma do to help him?
What did Ma say about Laura’s hair? What should she do before bed?
What did Pa say would never happen at Silver Lake?

Chapter Ten (The Wonderful Afternoon):

What chores did Laura have? How did these compare to earlier years?
What did Aunt Docia bring? Who was responsible for them?
What were Lena’s chores? How do they compare to your chores?
What did Ma say she wanted her girls to do?
What did Pa take Laura to see? How long did they stay?

Chapter Eleven (Payday):

What interesting thing did Laura see? Who was it?
What did Pa bring to Ma for safekeeping? Where did she hide it? Was this a good place? Why or why not?
What did Laura see in Pa’s pocket?
How often did the men get paid?
What scary thing happened that night?

Chapter Twelve (Wings Over Silver Lake):

What was Laura going to be when she grew up? What do you want to be when you grow up?
What did Pa bring home? Why hadn’t he wanted to kill it?
How big was the swan? Click HERE for a picture.
What plans did they have for the feathers?
What bird was not fit to eat? Why?

Additional Reading:

OLDER CHILDREN:

Each child will complete a reading lesson from our McGuffey Primer Books or other reading materials that we chose for the day.

YOUNGER CHILDREN:

Younger kids will also be doing one lesson a day from Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

We are also working through All About Reading Level Pre-reading with William as he needed something a little different from what we had been doing.

Vocabulary/Spelling:

Print: By the Shores of Silver Lake Vocabulary Word List Week 3

OLDER KIDS:

Day One: Write your words three times each.
Day Two: Write your words in ABC order.
Day Three: Look up definitions and use five of your words in a sentence.
Day Four: Test (optional) or Worksheet:
- By the Shores of Silver Lake Week 3

Parents click HERE for the answer key.**see instructions at the top of the page.

YOUNGER KIDS:

Spelling You See Level A

Handwriting:

OLDER KIDS:

Spencerian Penmanship

-or-

A Reason for Handwriting, Transition to Cursive, Book T, Based on Scripture Verses

YOUNGER KIDS:

A Reason for Handwriting: Level A: Manuscript Student Workbook

Writing:**

We will be using the Writing Activity Station Kit from Lakeshore Learning for some of our lessons.

Write a story about what you want to be when you grow up.

*Remember to use the thesaurus to come up with different words.

WATCH THESE VIDEOS ON IDIOMS:

Learn what the phrase ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ means and write out 2 or 3 long-range goals. (p. 105)

What does ‘discretion is the better part of valor’ mean? (p.121)

Other Activities:

GROUP:

Work on your lapbook.
Play Hold The Phone – Idiom Game
Continue reading: Gutsy Girls: Strong Christian Women Who Impacted the World: Book Three: Fanny Crosby (Volume 3)
Continue reading through In a Pickle: And Other Funny Idioms or get a copy of Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms to help with some of the lessons.
Watch Signing Times: My Favorite Things
Work on your Moby Max account

OLDER KIDS:

Continue reading your book. Book Report due next week!
Play Hangman
Play this grammar game HERE.
Free Choice Activity
Bonus Points: Read to a younger sibling

YOUNGER KIDS:

Reading: The Ugly Duckling or watch the movie HERE.
Tell someone about the book. (Oral Book Report)
Work with the Alphabet Theme Box from Lakeshore Learning.
ABC Mouse

Math

** For fun you may try ‘ciphering’ on a slate with a slate pencil.

Group:

Do an activity from Building Thinking Skills® Level 1.
Do an activity from Math Games.
When you are finished with your math work you can play an Educational Game.

ROTATE THROUGH THESE ACTIVITIES:

Older Kids:

Read p. 109 to learn more about Pa’s job description.
- Complete this worksheet: By the Shores of Silver Lake Math Week 3
Have you ever seen a time-card? Or an earning statement (time-check)?
- Read through and complete pages 17-23 of this pdf workbook
Work on a lesson in your Ray’s Arithmetic Books or other math workbooks.
Work on Khan Academy

Parents click HERE for the answer key.**see instructions at the top of the page.

Younger Kids:

Work on your Math-U-See Primer or another workbook.
Practice with Numbers & Counting Theme Box
Work on Khan Academy or ABCmouse.com

Geography and History

State Study

This week we will study New Mexico.

Complete your notebooking pages.
Older kids can write a report about the state.
Play The United States of America Puzzle

Railroad History:

Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?
Continue learning about the railroad:
- DK Eyewitness Books: Train: Discover the Story of Railroads from the Age of Steam to the High-Speed Trains o from the Age of Steam to the High-Speed Trains of Today
- Famous Trains (Dover History Coloring Book)

Famous People:

Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?
Continue reading a book about Fanny Crosby. Report Due: Week 5.
- Fanny Crosby’s Life Story: Autobiography of a Christian Poet, Lyricist and Mission Worker Blind from Infancy
- Gutsy Girls: Strong Christian Women Who Impacted the World: Book Three: Fanny Crosby (Volume 3)

Bonus

Learn about prices and wages from the 1800s below:
- Prices and Wages by Decade
- Typical Wages 1860-1890
Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?

Extra:

Live the Adventure Club you can also find some of them on AMAZON.
Social Studies Quiz Game Show
Play GeoBingo USA Educational Geography Board Game

Science

Pick one or two topics to learn about:

Do you remember what Laura watched with Pa?

COMPARE AND CONTRAST RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT:

The 1900s:

Now:

Discuss what you learned.
Would you like to work on the railroad? Why or why not?
Make a Venn Diagram showing the differences and similarities.

WHAT IS COAL?

Discuss what you learned.
Learn more about fossil fuels and play a game HERE.

WHY DO ANIMALS MIGRATE?

Discuss what you learned.
What did you find most interesting?

SWANS

Discuss what you learned.
Learn more about swans HERE.
Learn more about waterfowl HERE or HERE.
Choose a breed of waterfowl from HERE to write a report on or get some notebooking pages to work on. Your report will be due next week. Be sure to include:
- diet
- habitat
- communities
Do this jigsaw puzzle HERE.

Extra Activities:

Do you remember who Old Johnny was? Why do we get old?

Discuss what you learned.
What did you find most interesting?

Other:

Life Skills

Memory Verse:

We will be memorizing Romans 8:31-39 during this unit study. Print it HERE.

Work on memorizing one verse during the week for a special prize.
- Verse 33:Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Older kids can copy the memory verse down in their notebook.

Character

What makes a good leader? Click HERE to learn about some important leadership qualities.
Why is cooperation so important? Click HERE to learn more about cooperation.
Work on Let’s cooperate.

Manners

Continue reading about hospitality. Choose one of the books below to read from:

READ:

A Life That Says Welcome p. 159-194
Practicing Hospitality p. 199-228

DISCUSSION:

What are some things you learned?
What are some areas you need to work on?

TRY ONE OF THESE ACTIVITIES:

Fun Activities

WATCH A DUMP TRUCK IN ACTION:

OTHER:

Plan a field trip to a historical site near you.
Try having duck for dinner:
- Spit-Roasted Wild Duck p. 39 of The Little House on the Prairie Cookbook.
Research ways to preserve foods with Preserving Everything.
Click HERE to learn about fun and unusual holidays.

Bonus Skills — Choose one or two to work on

Practice these until you finish this unit study and then we will move on to new skills.

SUSIE’S CHEM FREE ZONE

Many of the Ingalls’ beds were either filled with hay or stuffed with feathers. Have you ever thought about what else might be in your bed?

It’s always a good idea to air your bed out a little in the morning before making it up. You can also clean your mattress to get keep it as healthy as possible.

You can watch this Norwex video about the mattress cleaner.
Discuss what you learned.
Make your own Shampoo and Conditioner

KIDS COOK REAL FOOD

Work on your next lesson.
Help to prepare a meal using your new skills.
Could You Live Without Dairy? Why (& How) You Probably Should Try it & How Not to Die Trying

SKILL TREK

Work on at least one task a week.
Practice your new skill this week.

HERB STUDY

Using one of the following for your study:

Discuss what you learned.
Be sure to jot down some notes.
Play Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game, a cooperative board game

TRIM HEALTHY YOU

Read through your lesson.
Discuss what you learned.
Complete any bookwork.
Try out a recipe using your new information.

PE, Health & Safety

Health & Safety

CONSTRUCTION SITE SAFETY

GUN SAFETY

Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?
Go to Kids Health and find a related topic to learn more about. Play a game with permission.
Do an activity from the Health & Safety Theme Box

Games/Outdoor Play

Play Hopscotch p. 131 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
Go outside and play for 30 minutes.

Bonus:

Did you know that Square Dancing is a good exercise for helping you to have strong bones?

If you haven’t already signed up for classes have your parents check for a local club near you.

Music, Arts & Crafts

Crafts:

Craft-tastic – String Art Kit – Craft Kit Makes 3 Large String Art Canvases – Bird Edition
Or choose a craft from Pioneer Crafts For Kids

Art:

Draw some of the birds mentioned on p. 124
Try techniques from Zentangle for Kids p. 62
Choose a coloring page from one of these:

Music:

We will be learning some of the hymns written by Fanny Crosby

A Railroad Man for Me p. 119 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook

**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO! TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!

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–Thank you!