1. FARMING THE PLAINS

2. Who wouldn’t want to live here?

3. What is the geography of the Great Plains?
The Great Plains are flat, dry and grassy land
The Wheat Belt is located on the Great Plains

4. What do you notice about the Great Plains?

5. With a partner: Using this map, explain why the Great Plains are so important to America

6. How did Railroads affect settlement?
3 big changes:
Goods moved quicker and farther
People can travel easier
Cheap Land Opportunities

7. What was the Homestead Act?
1862
Provided cheap/free land to Americans
Act provided for 160 acres per application out West
5 Year requirement attached to land (why?)

8. Turn and Talk: Have you seen a modern-day version of this type of advertisement?

9. Sod House for a Sodbuster on the Plains

10. The Wheat Belt Farming technology was changing
That new technology was changing the way people farm and produce
Made farming the Great Plains a possibility

11. New Technology Threshing Machines (knocked seeds loose)
Windmill (water)
Binder (allowed crops to be gathered quicker)
Mechanical Reaper (cut as fast as 5 men)
Seed Drill (dirt dry and hard)
Steel Plow (dirt dry and hard)

12. How did this new technology change America?
Food becomes cheaper (why?)
Less farmers needed (why?)
More free time (what might this lead to?)
Population shifts (Where? Why?)

13. Turn and talk - Which technology do you think was most important for the successful cultivation of the Great Plains?

14. Farming Acrostics
Individually create an Acrostic that describes lives of farmers on the Great Plains.
1) Use the words GREAT PLAINS for your acrostic
2) Be sure to include the page number you found the information (pgs80-83 in the text)
3) Be creative, write in the voice of the people from that time
Example:
My house is shabby and the town is a dump. (pg 75)
I found gold only 1 time this month, where are the riches?
New technology like hydraulic mining helps me out.(pg 76)
Every farmer complains we are flooding their crops (notes)
Rot gut is my beverage of choice, I wish there were some women about (notes / pg 77)

15. Struggles of the Plains Indians
Native Americans
Struggles of the Plains Indians

16. Cultural Differences Native American way of life
Nomadic
Buffalo
No concept of land ownership
Lifestyle threatened by  
Farmers, ranchers, miners

17. Think – Pair – Share
Knowing what we learned about the miners, farmers and ranchers, why do you think the 2 cultures could not co-exist peacefully?
Brainstorm a catalog of reasons
Write a short argument 4-5 sentences supporting whichever reason you feel is most significant

18. What was the US response to the “Native American problem”
Step 1 – Push them West
Step 2 - Assimilation
Step 3 – Reservations
Step 4 – Destroy their way of life (kill’em)

19. Turn and Talk: What do you see?

20. The Reservation System
The Indian Peace Commission established a reservation system
Commission promised to compensate Native Americans
***Payments rarely arrived. Starvation led to violence***

21. The Dawes Act and Other Policies of Assimilation
The Dawes Act gave plots of land to Native Americans but failed as a policy of assimilation.
The Citizenship Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans.
Carlisle School for assimilation

22. Final Clashes Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876
Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890 
Flight of the Nez Perce, 1877

23. Wounded Knee
As you watch the video record key names and events from the video. You will be putting together a timeline after the video.

24. Wounded Knee
1) What was the Ghost Dance and how did the Gov’t respond to it?
2) Describe life on the reservations
3) How did Big Foot respond to the US military?
4) What happened to the children?

25. Jigsaw Activity
You will be jig sawing sections from their text that highlight the struggles of the Plains Indians – ( Pgs sections – Struggles of Plains Indians, Last Native American Wars and The Dawes Act) As you read you will identify:
key events
results of the key events
How it changed the Native Americans
B) Complete the guided questions associated with the above reading activity.
C) Create an annotated (detailed with summary) timeline that highlights the conflicts between Native American populations and the US government