Detroit Publishing Co. A Minnesota dugout. Between 1900 and 1910. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016814530/.
Students will identify resources that were used to build the dugout and discuss the challenges of building and living in one. After learning about the Homestead Act, students will consider who would be most likely to be able to take advantage of the act. By the end of the lesson, students will understand that the requirement to build a home on a property and improve the land over five years was a challenge that required resources, skills, and support. They will also understand that these needs, along with the government’s decision to offer this land, impacted migration and settlement.
From 1862–1988, the United States provided 160 acres of unappropriated public land to individuals who were at least 21 years old or the head of a family for a small filing fee and the commitment to show improvements to the land, including building a house, over five years. This policy led to the development of communities of settlers who supported one another; however, it also resulted in a loss of Indigenous ancestral lands.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Homestead-Act
- What materials, skills, and other resources would be needed to build a house like the one in the photograph?
- Why might someone want to build a house like the one in the photograph?
- How might your life be different if you lived in a house like the one in the photograph?
ELA Standard
6.1.4.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly and inferences drawn from the text; summarize the text.
Social Studies Standard
6.4.22.2. Examine the history and memory of migration and immigration in Minnesota during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the impact of immigration on Indigenous peoples.
Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- Project the image and guide student analysis by asking these questions:
- Take a look at the house. What materials do you see that were used?
- Where do you think the materials came from?
- What else might have been needed to construct this house?
- What might be some challenges to living in a house like this one?
- What might make it worthwhile to live in a house like this one, despite the challenges?
- After discussing the photograph, students will read or listen to chapters 1–2 of an oral history from the Minnesota Historical Society.
- Have students create a three-column chart with the following headings:
- Materials from the Environment
- Materials Not from the Environment
- Nonmaterial Resources (Help, Skills, etc.)
- Have students complete the chart in groups to list what would be needed to construct a house similar to the one in the photograph.
- After groups are done, project a blank chart and complete it as a class with each group sharing their ideas. When groups share their ideas, prompt them to point out details from the photograph to support the inferences that they make.
- Read the article to students and show the video about the Homestead Act from the National Park Service.
- Have students Think-Write-Pair-Share for each of the following questions. Discuss each question as a class after students have completed the Think-Write-Pair-Share for the question.
- Who was most likely to benefit from the Homestead Act? What evidence supports this? How?
- Who was likely to be harmed? What evidence supports this? How?
- Who would neither benefit nor be harmed by the Homestead Act? What evidence supports this? How?
- What might Minnesota look like today if the Homestead Act never existed?
- Assign students to expert groups to discuss how the Homestead Act might have impacted the demographics and/or creation/development of the following areas in Minnesota. Their responses should include evidence from the texts examined in class.
- Rural areas
- Small towns
- Reservations
- Assign students to jigsaw groups and have students share the responses from their expert groups.
- After students are done sharing in their jigsaw groups, reflect on learning through whole-class discussion.
- Have students complete an exit slip in response to the question: If you had the opportunity to claim land through the Homestead Act, would you? Why or why not?
Lee, Russell. Homesteading shack built into the side of a hill. Williams County, North Dakota. 1937. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017780851/.