ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02123-2ISBN-10: 0-547-02123-2

1031998

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: N

DRA: 30Social StudiesStrategy:Summarize

Word Count: 622

3.1.1 Build Vocabulary

by Stephanie Cohen

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover ©1995-2007 Denver Public Library, Colorado Historical Society, and Denver Art Museum. 1 © Artville. 2 #S372-67 Nebraska State Historical Society. (frame) C Squared Studios. (bkdg) © Shutterstock. 3 Nebraska State Historical Society. 4 ©1995-2007 Denver Public Library, Colorado Historical Society, and Denver Art Museum. (frame) C Squared Studios. 5 (b) Fred Hulstrand History In Pictures Collection, NDIRS-NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota. (parchment) © Shutterstock. 6 © Artville. 7 ©1995-2007 Denver Public Library, Colorado Historical Society, and Denver Art Museum. (frame) C Squared Studios. (bkgd) © Shutterstock. 8 The Granger Collection, New York. 9 Fred Hulstrand History In Pictures Collection, NDIRS-NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota. (parchment) © Shutterstock. 10 Joseph Sohm/Visions of America/Corbis.

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2

Going to School in the 1800sImagine what school was like for

children in the 1800s. School was just one room. There was only one teacher. Children of all ages learned together.

Your school probably has many classrooms and teachers. All of the children in your class are probably about the same age. And you certainly don’t have to walk more than three miles to get to school today. But pioneer children often did.

The one-room schoolhouse was often also used as a church and a place for town meetings.

�

Welcome to the SchoolhouseAmerican pioneers began to move

west during the 1800s. The first schools were built out of blocks of grass stacked like bricks. Some schools were built from logs. Some were built into the side of a hill, like a dugout.

Children shared benches and desks. Usually, there was a large chalkboard at the front of the room. The teacher wrote out the lessons.

Teachers were often teenagers.

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Where’s the Bathroom?In the winter, a stove heated the

schoolhouse. When temperatures soared, there was no air conditioner. The schoolhouse had no water fountains or bathrooms. There was just one bucket of water for drinking and another for washing. The outhouse, or bathroom, was in a little hut outside the school.

In the 1800s, children had to get wood for the stove.

5

The Road to SchoolMany pioneer children walked to and

from school, even if they lived miles away and even when the weather was bad. Some lucky children rode a horse to school.

If you live more than a mile from your school, you probably take a car or a bus. If you live closer, maybe you’ve strolled to school a few times. But only if it’s a nice day!

Children rode horses and traveled in buggies to get to school.

�

Some teachers rang a bell in a bell tower to begin the day. Others rang a hand bell.

Meet the Teacher Pioneer teachers worked very hard,

even before they announced the start of school each morning. They filled the stove with coal, cleaned the chimney, and filled the water buckets.

Students ranged from 4 to 18 years old. Many fine teachers were just teenagers themselves. If you finished eighth grade and behaved properly, you could become a pioneer teacher.

7

Time to LearnPioneer children went to school to

learn the three R’s: reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. Students practiced spelling and math problems using slates and chalk. They didn’t use paper, pencils, or computers, like you do.

Children often read aloud from the same story.

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Students spent a lot of their time reading a book called McGuffey’s Reader. It was usually one of the only books a student had. There was no library in a one-room schoolhouse. McGuffeys’s was filled with facts, speeches, poems, and essays. Students were proud to learn pages from McGuffey’s and recite them to the class.

Students didn’t move up to a new grade every year. When they were ready, children just moved up to the next McGuffey’s Reader.

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Time to PlayPioneer children had one thing in

common with you. They had recess. They played games like marbles, hide and seek, hopscotch, and jump rope. In winter, they built snowmen and threw snowballs, just like some of you do.

Children enjoyed recess more than 150 years ago.

Students didn’t move up to a new grade every year. When they were ready, children just moved up to the next McGuffey’s Reader.

10

Times Have ChangedA one-room schoolhouse was very

different from your school. Can you imagine school with no computers? No cafeteria? No school bus? Well, at least no one worried about missing the bus.

There wasn’t even a principal. Students just had their teacher, one room, and a bunch of desks. But they learned something new every day.

One-room schoolhouses are often called little red schoolhouses.

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Responding TARGET VOCABULARY Word Builder

Make a word web around the word “fine.’’ Which words mean the same thing as fine? Copy this word web and add more words.

fine

good

Text to Self Write a short paragraph about something that’s fine about your school. Tell why you feel this way. Use some of the words from the web in your writing.

Write About It

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announcedcertainlyfineprincipal

proudsoaredstrolledworried

TARGET VOCABULARY

TARGET STRATEGY Summarize Tell the important parts of the text in your own words.

I sound like something a knight uses in a fight.

3_021232_BL_VRSE_L01_School.indd12 123_021232_BL_VRSE_L01_School.indd12 12 2/16/10 8:38:00 AM2/16/10 8:38:00 AM

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02123-2ISBN-10: 0-547-02123-2

1031998

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: N

DRA: 30Social StudiesStrategy:Summarize

Word Count: 622

3.1.1 Build Vocabulary