Third graders experience Pioneer life

Ask one of today’s students to clean out the erasers, read by the light of a lantern, or learn in a classroom filled with students kindergarten through 12th grade taught by only one teacher and they’re likely to give you a weird look...and then ask you instead for their Chromebook.

In today’s world of technology, it might be hard for kids to realize what life was like before smartphones, SmartBoards, motorized cars, and even electricity. That’s why third grade teachers at Eagle Grove Elementary put so much effort into teaching their Pioneer Unit. It’s important for the kids to understand the sacrifices pioneer families made back in the day, not only to realize how different school was for kids who probably never in their wildest imaginations could have dreamed of things like iPads and Wifi; but to also understand that families left behind homes, loved ones, and even faced death to pursue the hope of better land. and a better future for themselves and their family.

In this hands-on unit, the students actually became the pioneers. They took on the role of a once real-life pioneer, and they carried out that role the entire time the unit was studied.

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