By the Shores of Silver Lake Week 6 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 6: Chapters 21, 22, 23 & 24

(Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Days, On The Pilgrim Way, The Spring Rush)

Reading:

READ CHAPTERS 21, 22, 23 & 24

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

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Chapter Twenty-One (Merry Christmas):

What was different about the table?
What presents did Mr. & Mrs. Boast get?
How did Ma make biscuits without sour milk?
What did they have for Christmas dinner? How was this different from previous Christmases?
What did Mrs. Boast surprise Mr. Boast with?

Chapter Twenty-Two (Happy Winter Days):

Who cooked New Year’s dinner? What did they have?
Where was Pa planning to go? Why?
What did Mrs. Boast offer to share with Ma?
What else did Mrs. Boast bring from Iowa? What did Laura do with them?
What project did the ladies work on? Click HERE to see a picture.

Chapter Twenty-Three (On The Pilgrim Way):

Who were the visitors? Why were they there?
What did Reverend Alden tell Ma about?
What did the men use in place of covers?
What did Reverend Stuart ask Ma for? Did she give it to him?
What was the name of the new town?

Chapter Twenty-Four (The Spring Rush):

Why did Pa say there would be no music tonight?
Who came to the house? What did Ma and Pa do?
Why didn’t Pa leave in the morning?
How much did they charge for food and shelter?
How did the feed so many people? What problems did they run into?

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 6

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 Vocabulary Worksheet Week 6

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:**

Play this writing game HERE.

CHOOSE ONE PROMPT BELOW:

Write a letter to a friend.
Write out a menu for Christmas dinner or New Year’s dinner.

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

WATCH THE VIDEO ON IDIOMS BELOW:

Have you heard this expression before? Go back and read it again on page 221.
What does it ‘take a stab at it‘ mean?
What do you think Pa meant when he said ‘I’ll have it before I’m a week older‘?

Other Activities:

GROUP:

Work on your lapbook.
Play Later Gater
Start reading: Who Was Louis Braille?
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.
Play Grammar Gorillas
Play this reading game HERE.
Bonus Points: Read to a younger sibling

YOUNGER KIDS:

Read: The Popcorn Book or Three Blind Mice
Work with the Alphabet Theme Box from Lakeshore Learning.
Teach Your Monster to Read
Do this jigsaw puzzle HERE.

Math

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

Group:

Find out how much it cost to mail a letter in the 1880s.
- How does this compare to today?
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. 226 to see how much they charged for shelter and meals.
- Complete this worksheet: By the Shores of Silver Lake Math Week 6
Time to review some of the skills you’ve learned so far.
- Read through and complete pages 37-38 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 Maryland.

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

Development of the Plains

WESTWARD EXPANSION: THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1862 & THE FRONTIER THESIS

Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?
Learn more about homesteading claims HERE.
Begin learning about the Development of the Plains:

Famous People:

Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?
Begin reading a book about Louis Braille. Report Due: Week 9.
- Who Was Louis Braille?
- Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille
  - (AUDIO VERSION)
Print out this Braille Alphabet Chart and study it.
Complete and activity from HERE.

Bonus

YESTERYEAR GAZETTE

Get a copy of the Yesteryear Gazette or another newspaper for this lesson.

Find an article that interests you and complete an activity below:
- Newspaper Article Worksheet
- Teaching With Newspapers (DON’T CUT UP ANYTHING WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMISSION!)

IOWA COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND

Reverend Alden mentioned the college to Ma. We will learn more about this in later books but you can learn more about Mary’s time there by reading the articles below:

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:

WHAT ARE SEEDS?

Discuss what you learned.

HOW DO SEEDS GROW?

Discuss what you learned.
Choose an activity:
- Germination Science Experiment
- Seed Jar Germination Experiment

SPRING

Discuss what you learned.
What is your favorite thing about Spring? Why?

Temperature

Let’s learn about wind chill:

Discuss what you learned.
Print and complete pages 33-35 of this PDF workbook.

Extra Activities:

HOW POPCORN WORKS

Discuss what you learned.

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 36:As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Older kids can copy the memory verse down in their notebook.

Character

Discuss what you learned.
How did the family serve others?
Read Having a disabled child in the family

Manners

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

READ:

A Life That Says Welcome p. 128-153
Practicing Hospitality p. 47-72

DISCUSSION:

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

TRY ONE OF THESE ACTIVITIES:

4. FUN ACTIVITIES

OTHER:

Make an apron from My Little House Sewing Book p. 42
Plan out a holiday meal.
Try a recipe from The Little House on the Prairie Cookbook.
- Sour Dough Biscuits p. 80
- Cambric Tea p. 186
- Johnny-Cakes p. 21 or try Hoe Cakes
- Popcorn p. 215
- Rabbit n’ Dumplings p. 37
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

Norwex Chemical Crashers Part 2

Discuss what you learned.
What are some changes you can help to make in your home?

KIDS COOK REAL FOOD

Work on your next lesson.
Help to prepare a meal using your new skills.
20 Recipes Kids Can Make

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

STRANGER DANGER

More Stranger Danger tips HERE.

INTERNET SAFETY

More Internet Safety Tips HERE.

Discuss what you have learned.
What was the most interesting thing you learned? Why?
What should you do if you see a stranger?
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 Long Rope Jumping p. 176 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:

How To Make The Best Popcorn Craft? Easy Summer Crafts For Kids.
Or choose a craft from Pioneer Crafts For Kids

Art:

Try techniques from Zentangle for Kids
Choose a coloring page from one of these:

Music:

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

Camptown Races p. 36 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook

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

**This post does contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use. We may earn a teensy weensy small commission (at NO EXTRA cost to you) if a purchase is made through these links. These links help to support our family, our blog, and our homeschooling mission.

–Thank you!