Historic Pella - Straw House Lesson Plan Index

Life in a Straw House and Log Cabin Learn about Pella, Iowa's first Dutch settlers and their lives in dugout straw houses and log cabins. The courage and hardship of working-class immigrants are told through the true stories of Pella's early residents and the Pella Historical Village's straw house and log cabin. Lesson information is divided into K - 2, Grades 3 - 5 and Adult/Senior levels. Browse through the Straw House Life lesson plan by following the More Straw House icon.
	Class Preparation and Discussion - Description of how dugout straw houses were built and adapted for pioneer life. Includes pictures and questions for discussion. Building a Straw House Teachers' Notes
	The Straw House and the Baby - Readers Theater Story - Play adaptation of an actual event in Pella's history, the birth of the first Dutch baby girl. This often-told story recounts how a Dutch immigrant family built a straw house, their ensuing adventures and their move to a log cabin for the baby's birth. The play can be read in Readers Theater format for grades 3 - 5, or told as a story for younger children and adults. The Straw House and the Baby includes songs, photos and biographies of the real characters and pictures of the items described in the play from the Pella Historical Society collections. The Straw House and the Baby readers theater story Songs: The Straw House Song Mother Welma's Baby

	Inside a Dutch sod house - Step inside a sod house from The Netherlands and learn about the lives of poor Dutch field workers. Scale floor plan and sketches of a Dutch sod house in the Netherlands. All age levels can see how people and animals lived together in the amazingly small huts. Dugout sod house floor plan, history and sketches
	Activities - Enhance the story of The Straw House and the Baby with related projects or a class tour of the Pella Historical Village. Historical Village Tour - Museum site tour script designed for students. Art Charcoal Drawing Pretzel Log Cabin Crafts Spool Knitting Quilt Making Songs The Straw House Song Mother Welma's Baby Cooking Dutch Recipes - Make potato soup or serve your class bread and cheese. Games Jump rope rhymes
	Straw House Reading and Links - Learn more about pioneer life and dugout sod houses in America and The Netherlands. Outside reading for all age levels. Books - Favorite books about pioneer life on the prairie. Links - More sod house and log cabin information on the internet.
	Gallery - See how teachers have incorporated Pella Historical Village tours and straw house information into their classrooms Families Long Ago - First Grade tour of the Pella Historical Village log cabin and straw house.