A brief video examines the lives of single women during the 1862 Homestead Act. Experts discuss the history of homesteading while actual letters written by female landowners detail their hardships and perseverance experienced on their way to claim their piece of land. 

Concepts

women's history, the homestead act, famous women, farming, north dakota, south dakota, territories

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Plan to view the video during Women's History Month, which is in March
• Direct pupils to write one question and one comment about what they saw
• Visit the library to gather a collection of books on the subject, display them and allow learners to browse them when time permits 

Classroom Considerations

• If class members watch the video independently, have headphones available or ask them to use their own

Pros

• Downloading and sharing the video is made easy with clickable links 
• Letters are reenacted and made to look historical 

Cons

• The video is slow at times