What You Need to Know
Tickets, Parking, Scene Stealing
Tips, etc.……………………………..2
Cast of Characters …………………..3
Plot Summary ……………………….3
Vocabulary ………………………….4
About Laura Ingalls Wilder ..……….5
Tear Out Worksheet
Activities ……………………….6 & 7
Conestoga Wagons ………………….8
Things Found on the Prairie ………...8
State Facts …………………………..9
Discussion Topics ...……………….10
Wednesday, October 29
10:30 a.m.
Suggested Reading ...………………11
Grades K-5
Sunshine State Standard Strands
Index and Internet Links …………..12
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
TICKETS: Individual tickets are not issued. Seats
are $4 per student. You will receive one
complimentary chaperone admission for every ten
student seats purchased. Group entry vouchers
will be issued upon payment.
1
PARKING: Parking is free. Please enter at the west
side of the facility located on 1st Street South.
Parking attendants are available to provide additional
assistance for vehicles transporting individuals with
disabilities.
Talk with your class about what they can expect on
the field trip. They need to know how long the ride
will take and that the show will last 50-60 minutes.
Schedule rest room time before leaving school.
While waiting for everyone in your party to arrive, or
while lining up your students to enter the theater,
you may want to lead them in a couple of stretching
exercises. By allowing them to stretch after the car
or bus ride, they will be more comfortable during the
performance.
PLEASE LEAVE THESE ITEMS IN YOUR
VEHICLE: Video equipment, cameras, recording
devices, strollers, food, drinks, gum and candy.
ARRIVAL: Please plan to arrive at least 20 minutes
before show time. Proceed to the entrance with
your group and look for the sign-in table. A
designated representative must stop and sign in for
the entire group. Upon entrance, ushers will seat
groups on a first come, first served basis. Please
wait for seating instructions. You will be seated as
quickly and as efficiently as possible. After the
students and chaperones are seated, students may
use the rest room if necessary. Young students
should be escorted.
The house lights are the lights above the audience.
The performers will use the house lights to cue the
audience. When the house lights fade (become dim)
it’s time for the audience to be quiet because the
performance is about to begin. Let your students
know this will happen. Sometimes, students are
surprised by the dimming of the house lights and
begin to make more noise instead of becoming
silent.
Teach students the difference between live theater
and TV or movies. Stage performers can see and
hear everything that happens in the audience.
Positive interaction is encouraged: applause and
laughter actually encourage the performers to give
their best performance. Talking and restlessness
make it difficult for the actors to concentrate on their
performance and for other audience members to
enjoy the show.
THEATER ETIQUETTE: The audience plays an
important role in providing an enjoyable theater
experience for all guests. Please be a courteous
neighbor: remember to turn off cell phones, keep
your feet on the floor and minimize conversation
during the performance.
EXITING: Ushers will help your group move out of
the theater in a quick and orderly fashion. You will
be directed to the parking area using various routes.
Exit routes may be different from your entrance
path due to the ingress of students entering for the
next performance. Please follow the ushers’
directions.
Encourage students to use non-verbal signals to
communicate during the performance. Instead of
talking with their friends while enjoying the
performance, they should point or smile. Instead of
saying, WOW or COOL students should clap to let
the performers know they are enjoying the show.
EVALUATIONS: You will receive an evaluation form
with your invoice. Please help us improve our
services by evaluating your Class Acts experience.
Our address and pony route is located on the back
of this resource guide.
Theater appreciation takes concentration and
preparation by the actors and the audience.
Reward the actors for their dedication with good
theater etiquette and applause. Enjoy the performing
arts!
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY: If you would like to
Serve on the Education Advisory Committee, please
contact Elizabeth Brincklow, Education Program
Director, at 727-892-5891.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
SCENE STEALING TIPS FOR
TEACHERS & STUDENTS
Laura
Ingalls
Dress the part! Enjoying a show at the theater is a
special event. Encourage students to wear nice
clothes that will keep them warm and comfortable
while inside the theater.
Charles
Ingalls
Caroline
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A young tomboy who is
determined to explore the West
with her Pa, choosing the
wilderness over civilization.
Laura's Pa, a pioneer.
Laura's Ma, a mother and
Ingalls
teacher who would rather be
settled down in a civilized town.
Mary
Ingalls
Laura's sister who loves to read
and wants to become a teacher
and settle down in one place, like
her Ma. She later contracts an
illness which causes permanent
blindness.
Nellie
Owens
one of America's best-loved authors. The
musical takes the audience back in time to
nineteenth century America when most of
the West was unsettled frontier land. The
story focuses on the Ingalls family as they
travel across America in a covered wagon in
search of the perfect settlement town.
Laura and her sister Mary are very different.
Mary loves to read and study, her dream is
to become a teacher when she is older.
Laura on the other hand, loves to catch fish,
gophers and butterflies. If she had her way,
she would travel with Pa forever.
Laura's rival who believes that
because the Ingalls are pioneers,
they are dirty and uncivilized.
Follow the Ingalls family across the prairie as
they build new homes, encounter
grasshoppers, fight illness, welcome a new
baby sister and confound nasty Nellie Owens.
Watch the girls as they mature into
sophisticated young women. See how Mary
battles illness and copes with blindness. Little
Laura soon grows out of bugs and butterflies
and discovers new interests.
PLOT SUMMARY
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Growing Up on the
Prairie is based on the childhood years of
Did you know ….
… that school teachers of the late 19th century were expected to wear two petticoats at all times, had to ask
permission to go outside the city limits, and could not be seen with a man in public (or otherwise) unless the man
was her brother or father?
They were also required to keep the school room clean, sweep the floor at least once daily, scrub the floor at
least once a week with hot, soapy water, clean the blackboards at least once a day; and start the fire at 7:00 a.m. so
the room would be warm by 8:00 a.m.
Can you imagine????
3
VOCABULARY
Civilization - Cities or populated areas that have
Little Women - A book written by Louisa May
modern technologies and where the townspeople
follow a set of laws, as opposed to unpopulated areas
of the wilderness. Ma and Mary want to live in a
civilized area where there are stores, homes and
businesses. Pa and Laura want to remain uncivilized
and live on the prairie, traveling across the frontier.
Alcott about four sisters. Mary and Laura read the
book while traveling in the covered wagon and
discuss it.
Pioneering spirit - A feeling of adventure and
curiosity. Having pioneering spirit means going to
new places and doing new things that require courage
and self esteem. Laura and Mary search for the same
pioneering spirit Pa has.
Covered wagon - A large wagon with a high
bonnet like canvas cover; the pioneers used this as
transportation to travel West; also known as a
Conestoga wagon.
Pony express - The system of mail delivery used
in the West during 1860-1861. Riders on horseback
would take letters a certain distance where they would
meet another rider, and pass them on to the next rider.
Laura and Mary write letters to relatives that are
delivered by pony express.
Diploma - This is given to students who have
successfully finished all of the required learning and
classes; this paper allows you to seek higher
education. For example, after the 12th grade you
receive your high school diploma and then are able to
go to college. Mary and Laura want to earn their
diplomas so that they can become teachers.
Portable desk - A desk made of wood that is
easily carried; pen and paper fit inside when not in
use. Pa makes Laura a portable desk for her 16th
birthday so that she can write as they travel across the
prairie.
A desk made of wood that is easily
carried, pen and paper fit inside when not in use. Pa
makes Laura a portable desk for her 16th birthday so
that she can write as they travel across the prairie.
Fiddle - A musical instrument of the string family,
very similar to the violin. Laura says Pa plays his
fiddle when he is thinking about things.
A cheerful, fast tune meant he was happy and a sad,
slow song meant he was troubled.
General store - A store usually located in the
country, that sells a wide variety of items like food,
clothing and household supplies. The general store
was the first grocery store. Laura meets Nellie
Owens at the general store.
Prairie - A large span of land that is mostly flat
with very fertile soil. In the nineteenth century, this
land was covered with thick grasses and spanned
from the Midwest to the West. The Ingalls family
come across a sod house on the prairie and debate
whether to live in this unusual home.
Half-pint - Pa's nickname for Laura. He calls her
this because when she was a baby, she was so small
he commented, "She's only a half-pint of sweet cider,
half drunk up!"
Sunbonnet - A large bonnet or hat made of cotton
that was worn by women to shade their faces and
necks from the sun.
Hillbilly - Referring to a person from a
backwoods or wilderness area. Nellie Owens calls
Laura and her family hillbillies
Tall tales -America is well-known for these stories
which are exaggerated tales of a person or an event.
Some of the facts are enhanced by the story teller to
sound bigger and better than they actually were. Pa
tells Laura of Aloysious, the biggest fish there is and
claims that the fish is so big and strong that no one
has ever been able to catch him.
Hoe-down - A party where couples dance together
in the traditional form of country dancing called
square dancing. The Ingalls family have fun by
having a hoe-down, Pa plays the fiddle and the girls
square dance.
Home
second child born to Charles Phillip Ingalls, a
carpenter, farmer and woodsman and
Caroline Lake Quiner-Ingalls, a teacher.
LAURA INGALLS WILDER
1867-1957
During her school years, Laura was
considered the best student in her school and
was offered a teaching job by the founder of
Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February
7, 1867 near Pepin, Wisconsin. She was the
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Dakota. At the time, there was a shortage of
teachers. Even though Laura was only 15
years old, she was hired, providing that she
would not reveal her age. Seeing this as an
opportunity to make some money for herself
and to help out her family during the hard
winter, Laura accepted the position.
continued to write many more books about
her life experiences.
In 1954, Laura was presented with the Laura
Ingalls Wilder award, an honor established in
her name by the American Library
Association. It is still given today every three
years to the writer or illustrator who has
made "a substantial and lasting contribution
to children's literature". Such famous
authors as E.B. White, Dr. Suess, Beverly
Cleary and Maurice Sendak have been
awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.
At sixteen, Laura became engaged to
Almanzo Wilder (Manly) and they were
married in 1885. In the winter of 1886,
Laura and Almanzo had their first child
named Rose.
It was not until Laura was in her sixties that
Rose encouraged her mother to write down
her childhood memories of life on the prairie
lands.
Survived by her daughter Rose, Laura died
on February 10, 1957, leaving a library of
books about her childhood on the prairie as
her legacy. These stories continue to be
considered a national treasure.
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MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Laura’s Pa called her “Half-Pint”, his nickname for her. Do you know what a “half-pint” is? Take a look at the
table below and see if you can answer the questions that follow:
2 cups =
2 pints =
4 quarts =
3 teaspoons =
4 tablespoons =
16 tablespoons =
TELL ME ….
1 pint
1 quart
1 gallon
1 tablespoon
_ cup
1 cup
How many cups are in 1 pint? _______ cups
How many pints are in 1 quart? _______ pints
How many tablespoons are in 1 cup? __________ tablespoons
How many tablespoons are in _ cup? ______
tablespoons
How many teaspoons are in 1 tablespoon? ______
teaspoons
How many quarts are in 1 gallon? _______ quarts
How many cups are in a half-pint? ________ cup
CHALLENGE
If it takes 2 cups to make 1 pint, how many cups will it take to make 1 quart? ___________ cups
If it takes 4 quarts to make 1 gallon, how many pints are in 1 gallon? ___________ pints
If it takes 2 cups to make 1 pint and 2 pints to make 1 quart, how may cups are in one gallon? ______ cups
Scavenger Hunt
Using the library or books from the classroom, do some detective work and come up with the facts asked for
below each state!
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Trace the state of Kansas.
Trace the state of Nebraska.
Kansas entered the Union on what date?
Nebraska entered the Union on what date?
What is the population of the state of Kansas?
What is the population of the state of Nebraska?
What is the capital of Kansas?
What is the capital of Nebraska?
Average annual temperature in Kansas:
Average annual temperature in Nebraska:
What kind of wild animals might you find in Kansas?
What kind of wild animals might you find in
Nebraska?
Why is Kansas the perfect state for these animals’
habitat?
Why is Nebraska the perfect state for this animals’
habitat?
CONESTOGA WAGONS
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Conestoga wagons, or
covered wagons, were first
built during the mideighteenth century, by
German farmers in the
Conestoga River Valley of
If you spent a day on the prairie, you would
find many different things. There are over
100 different varieties of wild flowers, 230
species of birds, 32 kinds of salamanders,
toads and frogs, 24 species of snakes and 208
types of wild grasses.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The
Conestoga wagon had many unique features
such as curved ends so that cargo would not
shift too much when going up or down hills
and high wheels so that the wagon would
clear tree stumps while riding through the
wilderness.
The wild grasses are broken up into three
main categories: Tall, Medium and Short
prairie grasses. There are many types of
prairie grass, such as buffalo, big blue stem,
weeping love, arrowfeather, indian, windmill
and puffsheath drop seed.
Women wove canvas canopies to fit over the
top of the wagon and to protect the
belongings. Some wagons could hold up to
two or three tons of weight, using anywhere
from two to six horses, mule or oxen to pull
the load. Conestoga wagons were used to
haul produce, firs and other goods from one
part of the country to the other before
railroads were built. After the introduction
of the railroad, Conestoga were no longer
needed for transporting goods but continued
to be used for personal use, such as moving
out to the frontier lands.
Living amongst the different types of grasses
are many prairie animals like deer, elk,
rabbits, gophers, coyotes, badgers, owls,
bobcats, falcons, wolves, eagles, buffalo,
antelope and prairie dogs. Many of the
animals have special adaptations that make
the prairie a unique environment for them.
The prairie dog's eyes, for example, are up
on its head and set back, enabling it to look
all around to locate predators. They live in
'towns', which may have a population of
thousands of dogs. When a dog is
threatened, it will bark a warning cry and
back flip to warn the others there is danger.
THINGS FOUND ON
THE PRAIRIE
Recipe for Apple Tea - Pioneer Style
Pare and slice three or four pleasant sour apples. Pour 1 pint of boiling water on them
and boil for 6 to 8 minutes. Let them stand till they are cold, then pour or strain off the
water, and sweeten it a little. It is a refreshing fall drink!
Serves 4
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STATE FACTS
MISSOURI
KANSAS
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
Nickname: Show Me State
Entered the Union on August 10, 1821
as the 24th state
21st largest state
Population: 5,117,073 (1990 census)
Capital: Jefferson City
Average annual Temperature: 57
Average annual rainfall: 40 inches
Average annual snowfall: 8-20 inches
_
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Nickname: The Sunflower State
Entered the Union on January 29, 1861
as the 34th state.
15th largest state
Population: 2,477,574 (1990 census)
Capital: Topeka
Opened for settlement in 1854
Average annual temperature: 56
Average annual rainfall: 16-40 inches
Average annual snowfall: 15 inches
Mineral Resources include coal, lead,
zinc, iron-ore, limestone, marble, granite, _
clay, sand, gravel and silver.
_
Economy depends mainly on
agriculture.
Mineral resources include petroleum,
natural gas, coal, salt, crushed stone and
cement.
_
Agricultural crops include: beef, cattle,
sheep, poultry, soybeans, rice, cotton,
wheat, corn, hay, vegetables and dairy.
_
Economy was based on wheat and cattle
ranching and is now based on
agriculture and mining.
•
Transportation routes include railroads,
barge traffic on the Missouri and
Mississippi rivers.
_
Agricultural crops include soybeans, oats,
sunflowers, rye, barley and livestock.
_
Transportation routes include railroads
and river ways.
_
Physical geography is made of flat to
rolling terrain.
_
_
Physical geography includes terrain
ranges from flat to hilly in some areas
and mountainous in others.
High frequency of tornadoes.
DISCUSSION TOPICS
Pre-Performance
Post Performance:
9
1. Talk about the American West. Locate 1. Discuss the Laura Ingalls Wilder
it on a map and discuss different
performance. What did your students
aspects of life there. Can your students
like/dislike? How did it compare to the
imagine what life would have been like
books?
if they were growing up on the prairie?
2. Compare/contrast pioneer days to
life now.
3. Discuss the role of family in your
students' lives. Is family important?
What are the roles of family
members? What are some positives
and negatives of being part of a
family?
2. Ask your students this question: If
they had led the pioneer life that Laura
and her family did, what are some of
the things they would miss/not miss?
3. Talk about the topics discussed before
the performance. Have your students'
opinions changed? Why or why not?
4. Discuss education with your students.
Is it important to go to school? Why
or why not?
4. Why did Laura change her mind about
going to school? Would your students
have done the same?
5. What would your students like to be
when they grow up? Would anyone
like to become an author?
5. Encourage your students to read one
or all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.
(see index on page 11)
OUT OF THE BOX
As a class, design an advertisement for the Conestoga
Wagon. This can be either as a poster, a newspaper ad,
or a television or radio commercial. You could have
“research teams”; one who researches the look and get
the graphics for the ad (if not radio), one who researches
the function and benefits of the wagon, and another to
determine cost to manufacture and price!
Blair, Gwenda, Laura Ingalls Wilder, New York: G.P.
Putnam's Sons, 1981. (Grades 2-4 Fiction)
Brenner, Barbara, Wagon Wheels, New York: Harper
& Row, 1978. (Grades K-3, Fiction)
Burns, Paul C., & Hines, Ruth, To Be A Pioneer,
New York: Abingdon Press, 1962. (Grades 3-6,
Fiction)
Carey, Mary, Step-by-Step Candle Making, New
York: Golden Press, 1972. (Grades 4-6 Nonfiction)
Coffman, R.P. & Goodman, N. G., Famous Pioneers
for Young People, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.,
Books, 1980. (Grades 3-6, Nonfiction)
SUGGESTED READING
Aliki, How A Book Is Made, New York: Thomas Y.
Crowell, 1986. (Grades K-2, Nonfiction)
Alcott, Louisa May, Little Women, New York:
Bantam Books, 1983
Anderson, William, Laura Ingalls Wilder: A
Biography, New York: Harper Collins, 1992. (Grades
4-6, Nonfiction)
Anderson, William, Laura Ingalls Wilder Country,
New York: Harper Collins, 1992. (Grades 4-6,
Nonfiction)
10
Cooper, Terry Toof & Ratner, Marilyn, Many
Friends Cooking, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.,
Books, 1980. (Grades 3-6, Nonfiction)
George, Jean Craighead, One Day in the Prairie, New
York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1986. (Grades 2-5,
Fiction)
Giff, Patricia Riley, Laura Ingalls Wilder: Growing
Up in the Little House, New York: Penguin Books,
1987. (Grades 3-5, Nonfiction)
Lanky, Kathryn & Knight, Maibah, Searching for
Laura Ingalls: A Reader's Journey, New York:
Macmillan Publishing, 1993. (Grades 3-6,
Nonfiction)
Provis, Malcolm, How Families Live Together,
Chicago: Benefic Press, 1963. (Grades K-3 Fiction)
Shumway, G., Durrell, E., & Fray, H., The Conestoga
Wagon: 1750-1850, Pennsylvania: George
Shumway, 1964. (Grades 4-6, Fiction)
Steine, Megan, Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer Girl,
New York: Dell Publishing, 1993. (Grades 3-4,
Nonfiction)
Tunis, Edwin, Frontier Living, Cleveland: The World
Publishing Company, 1961. (Grades 4-6, Nonfiction)
Winter, Oscar Osburn, The Transportation Frontier,
New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1964.
(Biblio)
Zochert, Donald, Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls
Wilder, Chicago: Henry Regncry, 1976. (Grade 6,
Nonfiction)
Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (all published by Harper
Collins, New York, NY):
Little House on the Prairie
Little House in the Big Woods
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
These Happy Golden Years
The First Four Years
Sunshine State Standard Strand Index
Vocabulary
Page 4
(K-2)LA.A.1.1.3
(3-5)LA.A.1.2.3
Measure for
Measure
Page 6
(K-2)MA.B.2.1
(3-5)MA.B.1.2
Scavenger
Hunt
Page 7
(K-2)LA.A.2.1.5
(K-2)SS.B.2.1
(3-5)LA.A.2.2.8
(3-5)SS.B.1.2
Out of the
Box
Page 10
The student uses knowledge of appropriate grade-, age-, and
developmental - level vocabulary in reading.
The student uses simple strategies to determine meaning and
increase vocabulary for reading, including the use of prefixes,
suffixes, root words, multiple meanings, antonyms, synonyms,
and word relationships.
The student compares, contrasts, and converts within systems of
measurement (both standard/nonstandard and
metric/customary).
The student measures quantities in the real world and uses the
measures to solve problems.
The student uses simple materials of the reference system to
obtain information.
The student understands the interactions of people and the
physical environment.
The student selects and uses a variety of appropriate reference
materials, including multiple representations of information,
such as maps, charts, and photos to gather information for
research projects.
The student understands the world in spatial terms
(K-2)LA.D.2.1.4
The student knows various types of mass media (including
billboards, newspapers, radio and television.
(3-5)LA.D.2.2.3
The student recognizes different techniques used in media
messages and their purposes.
11
Discussion
Topics
Page 8
(K-2)LA.A.1.1.4
The student increases comprehension by rereading retelling
and discussion.
(K-2)LA.E.2.1.1
The student uses personal perspective in responding to a work
of literature, such as relating characters and simple events in a
story or biography to people or events in his or her own life.
The student recognizes the use of comparison and contrast in a
text.
The student knows that the attitudes and values that exist in a
time period affect the works that are written during that time
period.
The student responds to a work of literature by explaining how
the motives of the characters or the causes of events compare
with those in his or her own life.
(3-5) LA.A.2.2.7
(3-5)LA.E.1.2.4
(3-5)LA.E.2.2.3
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Growing Up on the Prairie theater experience may also meet criteria in the following Sunshine State
Standard strands: LA.A.2.2.2, LA.C.1.2.1., LA.C.1.2.2, LA.C.2.2.1., LA.E.1.2.4., LA.E.2.2.1., SS.A.1.1., SS.A.1.2.,
SS.A.4.1.,SS.A.4.2., TH.C.1.2., TH.D.1.2., TH.E.1.2.
Internet Links:
http://www.lauraingallswilder.com
http://library.thinkquest.org/001587
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/frontierlife/essay6-3.htm
http://emintsteachers.more.net/orlandom/pioneers.htm
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