Diving deeper into books is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling! I love helping my kids learn more about the books they are reading. Having quality literature guides helps make this process so easy. That’s why I was thrilled to review the Little House on the Prairie Study Guide from Progeny Press.
My family has read through most of the books in the Little House series, so it was fun to go back to this one and really study it in depth. Since the study guide was written specifically for students in grades 4-6, I decided to have my fourth grade daughter be the one to primarily use it. However, many of the activities were so enjoyable that often the other kids wanted to get in on the fun too.
What Is the Little House on the Prairie Study Guide?
A digital product, I received both the Little House on the Prairie study guide and an answer key as PDF files. They were simple to download from the Progeny Press website.
You can print out copies of the pages you need. Many can also be filled in on the computer. I opted to have my fourth grader use the computer to answer the vocabulary and short answer questions. Then, we orally discussed the longer questions and did the projects off the screen.
Here is a sample vocabulary page that she completed directly in the PDF:
She learned a little about using an online thesaurus for this activity too!
How the Study Guide Is Organized
At the beginning of the study guide, there’s some great background information about Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author. Students can also read some background information about the setting and what was going on during this time in history.
There are a few prereading activities to help set the stage for learning. Recommended activities include some basic map work, going camping/cooking over a fire, and starting a nature journal.
The study guide is broken into five parts, with about five chapters in each part.
For each section, you find the following questions and activities:
- Vocabulary
- Short answer questions requiring students to think about the story
- Dig Deeper questions requiring students to make connections or share how they’d respond
- Optional projects and activities
The optional projects and activities were my family’s favorites! There was such a variety, including cooking, map work, hands-on projects, and cultural activities.
Some were complicated, and others were easy, like making a simple two-ingredient molasses milk. My kids thought it was a tasty treat!
The Little House on the Prairie Answer Key
The answer key PDF was very simple, but it was nice to have the answers to make grading go quickly. This is just a PDF with the answers listed, like this:
How We Used the Progeny Press Study Guide
I read aloud Little House on the Prairie, at a pace of approximately two chapters a week. Each time we’d read a chapter, we’d go through the appropriate section of the guide and look for questions related to the chapter we read that day.I had my fourth grader complete them at that time, instead of trying to do everything all at once.
When we reached the end of the section, we’d sit together and finish up the corresponding pages in the Study Guide.
When it came time to do the projects, the other kids would often ask to participate too. So they all had fun building log cabins out of Lincoln Logs, drawing pictures of personified grass, and making a star mobile.
What We Thought of the Little House on the Prairie Study Guide
I though the Little House on the Prairie Study Guide really helped my fourth grader to dig deeper into the book. It helped her improve her vocabulary, think critically about different aspects of the book, and become an active reader instead of a passive one.
If I could make one change to the format of this guide, I would have made the sections smaller. It would be much easier to complete a page or two after each chapter and then have the projects still for every five or so. Having to go in each time and figure out which questions corresponding to which chapter was a pain.
But, that is my only complaint about the product. Other than that, I thought the questions were great, the activities were age-appropriate, and it was a good way to dive deeper into a classic book.
During a previous school year, I also reviewed a different study guide from Progreny Press. You can read about my experience with that one in the post below:
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide Review
This time, I was one of 48 reviewers, checking out several different study guide titles. To learn more about the amazing line of products available from Progeny Press, click on the banner below:
