Keatyn’s Iowa History Adventure: Ioway Life, Pioneer Days, and Community Businesses

Materials Needed

• Large paper, notebook paper, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, and markers
• Map of Iowa and the United States
• Cardboard boxes or paper for building a store, schoolhouse, print shop, or house
• Play money, paper coins, price tags, baskets, and empty food containers
• Paper bags or cloth bags for a pretend mercantile
• String, craft sticks, cardboard, or building blocks for making a wagon, plow, or farm model
• Clay, play dough, or modeling material
• Paper fasteners, scissors, tape, and glue
• Optional: photographs or printed drawings of Ioway homes, pioneer houses, schoolhouses, farms, blacksmith shops, drugstores, and historic buildings
• Optional: safe household items for role-play, such as a spoon, broom, apron, empty jars, paper, and a toy hammer
• Optional digital tools: virtual museum tours, photographs of historic Iowa towns, and a simple timer

Lesson Overview

Length: 3 days, about 60–90 minutes each day

Main learner: Keatyn, age 9

Additional learners: Children ages 8, 6, and 5 may join with simpler tasks.

Big question: How did Iowa people live, work, learn, and help their communities from the 1700s through the early 1900s?

Learning Objectives

By the end of the three-day lesson, Keatyn will be able to:

1. Put important events in order: Ioway life in the 1700s, pioneer life around 1850, a horse-powered farm in the early 1900s, and a mercantile from 1876.
2. Describe at least three ways Ioway people used the land, plants, animals, tools, and seasonal knowledge.
3. Explain how a pioneer household, farm, country schoolhouse, and town businesses worked together.
4. Identify the jobs of a blacksmith, druggist, printer, milliner, miller, and storekeeper.
5. Compare life in the past with life today using a chart, drawing, model, or spoken explanation.
6. Use evidence from pictures, objects, descriptions, and role-play to explain what daily life may have been like.

Success Criteria

Keatyn is successful when she can:

• Place the four time periods in the correct order.
• Explain that the Ioway are a living Indigenous people with their own history, culture, and traditions.
• Name at least three household or farm jobs and explain why each was important.
• Explain what happened inside at least four historic community places.
• Create a final “Historic Iowa Community” project and explain it clearly.

Important History Note

The Ioway, also called the Báxoje people, are an Indigenous people with a long history in the Great Plains and the Iowa region. They are not only people from the past. Ioway people live today and continue their language, families, culture, and traditions. Avoid saying that all Ioway people lived exactly the same way. Daily life changed by season, location, family, available resources, and time.

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Day 1: Ioway Life in the 1700s and Pioneer Life Around 1850

Today’s Objectives

• Locate Iowa on a map.
• Describe several Ioway farming, hunting, gathering, and home-life methods.
• Explain how pioneer families worked together in the 1850s.
• Compare Ioway life and pioneer life without treating either group as one single, unchanging group.

Introduction: “What Would You Need to Live Here?”

Show Keatyn a map of Iowa. Ask:

• What would you need if you had to live in this place without a grocery store?
• Where might you find water, food, shelter, and fuel?
• Which jobs would need to be done every day? Which jobs could wait?

Tell the children: “Today we will learn about Ioway life in the 1700s and pioneer life around 1850. We will look at how people used knowledge, teamwork, and local resources.”

I Do: Ioway People and Seasonal Life

Explain in age-appropriate language:

The Ioway lived in the Iowa region and nearby areas. Families used the land carefully. Their work changed with the seasons. Farming, hunting, fishing, gathering plants, preparing food, making clothing, building homes, caring for children, and teaching skills were all important.

Discuss these examples:

• Farming: Families grew crops such as corn, beans, and squash. These crops could support one another as they grew.
• Hunting and fishing: People used knowledge of animals, rivers, and seasons to find food.
• Gathering: Plants, berries, nuts, and other materials could be used for food, medicine, tools, or crafts.
• Homes: Homes were designed for the local climate and the needs of the family. Different Indigenous homes could look different.
• Community: People shared knowledge and worked together. Elders taught children important skills and stories.
• Respect for the land: People depended on the land and water, so careful use of resources was important.

Teacher reminder: Explain that roles could be shared in different ways. Do not suggest that every Ioway family followed one exact division of work.

We Do: Seasonal Circle Activity

Draw four sections labeled spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Ask the children to place or draw possible activities in each section.

• Spring: preparing fields, planting, fishing, gathering fresh plants
• Summer: caring for crops, gathering food, traveling, making tools or clothing
• Autumn: harvesting, storing food, preparing for cold weather
• Winter: repairing tools, storytelling, teaching, crafting, planning for the next season

Quick check: Ask Keatyn, “Why would a person need to plan ahead for winter?”

Transition

Say: “People who moved to or settled in Iowa also had to plan carefully. Now let’s travel forward to pioneer life around 1850.”

I Do: Pioneer Life Around 1850

Explain:

Many pioneer families lived on farms or in small settlements. A family might have a small house, a garden, animals, tools, and perhaps a wagon. Some families had moved from another place, while others had lived in the region for generations. Life was hard work, but families also made time for celebrations, visiting, worship, music, and school when one was available.

Household Jobs and Roles

• Preparing meals and preserving food
• Fetching water and bringing in firewood
• Washing clothes and keeping sleeping areas clean
• Repairing clothing and making or mending household items
• Feeding and caring for animals
• Planting, weeding, harvesting, and storing crops
• Caring for babies, children, older relatives, and sick family members
• Repairing fences, tools, buildings, wagons, and farm equipment

Explain that children often had chores, but the chores depended on age, strength, safety, family needs, and the season. Children were also expected to learn, play, rest, and take part in family life. There was no single “house rule list” followed by every family.

Possible House Rules in the Era

• Help with a daily chore.
• Be careful around fires, tools, animals, and wells.
• Respect family members and visitors.
• Put tools and household objects back where they belong.
• Save food and supplies because replacing them could take a long time.
• Listen to adults during travel or dangerous work.
• Attend school or practice lessons when possible.

We Do: “A Day in the House” Role-Play

Assign or choose roles:

• Cook or meal helper
• Water carrier
• Animal caretaker
• Clothing mender
• Garden helper
• Child learning a skill
• Person caring for a younger child

Give each child three pretend task cards. Have them decide which jobs must be done first and why. Keatyn should explain how the jobs help the household.

You Do: Compare and Create

Keatyn creates a two-column chart:

Life in the 1700s	Life Around 1850
Food might come from farming, hunting, fishing, and gathering.	Food might come from a family farm, garden, hunting, trading, or a store.
Work followed seasons and community needs.	Work followed seasons, household needs, and farm tasks.
Tools and homes were made for local conditions.	Families used hand tools, wagons, animals, and locally available materials.

Keatyn adds two similarities and two differences of her own.

Day 1 Formative Assessment

• Point to Iowa on a map.
• Name one Ioway seasonal activity.
• Name two pioneer household or farm chores.
• Explain why families needed to preserve or store food.

Day 1 Closure

Ask each child to complete the sentence: “One thing people needed in the past was ______ because ______.”

Keatyn writes or says one question she still has about historic Iowa life.

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Day 2: A Horse-Powered Farm and the Historic Mercantile

Today’s Objectives

• Describe how a horse-powered farm worked in the early 1900s.
• Explain what a mercantile was and how it served a community.
• Use pretend money and store records to complete a realistic historic shopping task.
• Explain how goods moved from farms, workshops, and factories to families.

Introduction: “Could You Farm Without a Tractor?”

Show a picture or drawing of a horse, plow, wagon, and early tractor. Ask:

• Which jobs could a horse help with?
• What would happen if the horse became tired or sick?
• How would a farmer move heavy crops?

I Do: The 1900s Horse-Powered Farm

Explain:

In the early 1900s, many farms used horses to pull plows, cultivators, hay equipment, wagons, and other tools. A farmer had to care for the horses every day. This included feeding, watering, grooming, cleaning stalls, and checking for injuries.

Farm Jobs

• Prepare the soil with a plow.
• Plant seeds at the right time.
• Remove weeds and care for crops.
• Cut and gather hay.
• Harvest crops and store them safely.
• Care for horses, cows, chickens, pigs, or other animals.
• Repair fences, harnesses, tools, and buildings.
• Take extra crops or goods to market.

Real-world connection: Modern farmers still plan, repair equipment, care for animals, watch the weather, and manage crops. The tools have changed, but careful planning is still important.

We Do: Build a Farm System

Using blocks, cardboard, or paper, create a farm with:

• A house
• A barn
• A field
• A garden
• A water source
• A road or path to town

Use arrows to show how people, animals, tools, and crops move around the farm. Ask:

• Where does the horse get food and water?
• Where are crops stored?
• What might need to be taken to town?

Transition

Say: “A farm could produce many things, but no family could make everything it needed. Town stores helped people trade and buy supplies.”

I Do: What Was a Mercantile?

A mercantile was a general store. The word may sound unusual, but it simply means a store that sold many kinds of goods. A historic mercantile from 1876 might have sold items such as:

• Flour, sugar, coffee, salt, beans, and canned food
• Cloth, thread, buttons, needles, and ribbon
• Soap, candles, lamp oil, and household supplies
• Boots, hats, work clothes, and tools
• Farm supplies and animal supplies
• Sometimes medicine, toys, or school supplies

A storekeeper weighed or measured goods, recorded sales, answered questions, and sometimes accepted farm goods or credit. A family might walk, ride a horse, or travel by wagon to the store.

We Do: Set Up an 1876 Mercantile

Make paper signs for sections such as “Food,” “Clothing,” “Tools,” “Household,” and “School Supplies.” Place safe household objects or drawings in each section. Add pretend prices.

Sample price list:

• One bar of soap: 5 cents
• One spool of thread: 8 cents
• One pencil: 2 cents
• One small bag of flour: 20 cents
• One candle: 6 cents
• One work glove: 15 cents

Do not worry about making the prices perfectly accurate. Explain that prices changed by place, year, quality, and supply. The activity is about how a store worked.

You Do: Mercantile Challenge

Give Keatyn a pretend customer card:

“Your family needs supplies for one week. Choose four items. You have 50 cents. Explain why you chose each item and calculate the total.”

Keatyn may choose to be the customer, storekeeper, bookkeeper, or delivery helper. She must:

1. Read the price tags.
2. Choose useful supplies.
3. Add the prices.
4. Pay with pretend money.
5. Write or draw a simple receipt.

Quick Check

Ask:

• How was a mercantile different from a modern grocery store?
• Why might a farmer trade eggs, butter, or crops?
• Why were records and careful measuring important?

Day 2 Formative Assessment

• Keatyn labels three parts of a horse-powered farm.
• Keatyn explains two jobs done by horses.
• Keatyn lists five goods a mercantile might sell.
• Keatyn completes a pretend purchase and receipt.

Day 2 Closure

Have Keatyn explain the path of one item:

Example: “A farmer grew wheat, the wheat was processed into flour, the flour was taken to town, and a family bought it at the mercantile.”

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Day 3: Community Businesses, Households, and Country Schoolhouses

Today’s Objectives

• Explain the work of a blacksmith, druggist, printer, milliner, and miller.
• Describe what a country schoolhouse looked like and how it was used.
• Connect household chores and community jobs to the needs of a town.
• Create and present a model or scene showing historic Iowa life.

Introduction: “What If Your Town Had No Stores?”

Ask: “If a wagon wheel broke, your family needed medicine, or you wanted a newspaper, where would you go?”

Tell the children: “Today we will visit the important workplaces that helped historic communities function.”

I Do: Historic Community Workplaces

Blacksmith Shop

A blacksmith worked with hot metal. Blacksmiths made and repaired horseshoes, hinges, nails, tools, wagon parts, and other objects. The shop was noisy and hot. The blacksmith used a forge, hammer, anvil, tongs, and water for cooling metal.

Safety note: Use paper or play dough tools for pretend work. Never let children handle hot metal or fire.

Drugstore

A historic drugstore sold medicines and health supplies. A druggist prepared or sold remedies, bandages, soap, and other items. Some old medicines were very different from modern medicines and were not always safe. Today, trained doctors and pharmacists use tested medicines and safety rules.

Safety rule: Never pretend that an unknown historic medicine is safe to eat or use.

Print Shop

A print shop made printed materials. Printers arranged letters, spread ink, placed paper on the type, and pressed the paper to make a page. Print shops could produce newspapers, advertisements, announcements, labels, books, school papers, and church notices.

Before modern computers and printers, printing took careful setup and physical work. A printed notice helped information travel from one person to many people.

Millinery

A millinery was a shop that made or sold hats and other headwear. A milliner might decorate hats with ribbon, fabric, flowers, feathers, or other materials. Customers could choose a hat for work, travel, church, celebrations, or special events.

Mill

A mill used machines powered by water, animals, wind, or later engines to process materials. A gristmill ground grain such as wheat or corn into flour or meal. The mill helped turn farm crops into food that families could use or sell.

Country Schoolhouse

A country schoolhouse was usually a small building serving children from nearby farms. It might have one room, a wood stove, desks, a chalkboard, maps, books, and a teacher’s desk. Children of different ages often learned in the same room. They studied reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, history, and geography.

Children might walk or ride to school. The school year and schedule could change because of weather, farm work, or local decisions.

We Do: Community Job Matching Game

Write these problems on cards and match each one to the correct workplace:

• “A wagon needs a metal part repaired.” — Blacksmith
• “A family needs flour made from wheat.” — Mill
• “A family wants a hat for a special event.” — Millinery
• “A town wants to print a newspaper.” — Print shop
• “A person needs a bandage or health supply.” — Drugstore
• “A child needs to learn reading and arithmetic.” — Country schoolhouse

After each match, ask, “What tool or object might be found there?”

We Do: Historic House Discussion

Draw a simple house plan with areas such as kitchen, sleeping area, storage area, work area, and porch. Discuss how each area might be used.

• Kitchen: cooking, preserving food, washing dishes, gathering for meals
• Sleeping area: resting and caring for children
• Storage area: keeping food, clothing, tools, and household supplies
• Work area: sewing, repairing, preparing food, or completing schoolwork
• Yard or outbuildings: gardens, animals, firewood, wells, and tools

Ask Keatyn to explain how a household depended on community businesses and how businesses depended on families.

You Do: Final Project—Build a Historic Iowa Community

Keatyn chooses one project option:

Option A: Three-Dimensional Town

Build at least four places using boxes, paper, or blocks. Choices include a mercantile, blacksmith shop, drugstore, print shop, millinery, mill, schoolhouse, farm, or house.

Option B: Illustrated Historic Town Map

Draw a map with at least six labeled places. Add roads, a river or water source, farms, and homes. Draw arrows showing how people and goods move through the town.

Option C: Historic Iowa Newspaper

Create a one-page newspaper from 1876 or the early 1900s. Include:

• A town name and date
• An advertisement for a mercantile, blacksmith, drugstore, or millinery
• A short article about a farm or schoolhouse
• A small drawing or map
• A list of household chores or community news

Option D: Historic Role-Play

Perform a short scene in which a family visits two community businesses. The scene must explain what each business does and how it helps the family.

Project Presentation

Keatyn presents the project using these sentence starters:

• “My community is set in ______.”
• “The most important places are ______ because ______.”
• “One household chore is ______. It matters because ______.”
• “A blacksmith, printer, druggist, milliner, or miller helps people by ______.”
• “One way life was different from today is ______.”
• “One way life was similar to today is ______.”

Summative Assessment Rubric

Skill	Excellent	Developing	Beginning
Historical order	Correctly places all four time periods in order.	Places most periods correctly.	Needs help ordering the periods.
Historical understanding	Explains accurate details about Ioway life, pioneer life, farming, and town life.	Explains some accurate details.	Gives few details or needs frequent help.
Community jobs	Clearly explains at least four historic jobs or workplaces.	Explains two or three jobs.	Needs help matching jobs to workplaces.
Application	Shows how homes, farms, stores, and businesses depended on one another.	Shows some connections.	Shows few connections.
Communication	Presents ideas clearly with labels, drawings, writing, or speech.	Shares some ideas clearly.	Needs substantial support to explain the project.

Differentiation for Younger Children

• Age 8: Label pictures, count pretend money, help read job cards, and write one or two sentences.
• Age 6: Sort pictures into “farm,” “house,” “store,” and “school.” Draw one chore and act out one historic job.
• Age 5: Match tools to workplaces, practice words such as farm, store, school, horse, and house, and help build the model.

Support for Keatyn

• Provide a timeline with pictures before asking her to write dates.
• Use a word bank: Ioway, season, harvest, pioneer, mercantile, blacksmith, druggist, printer, millinery, mill, schoolhouse, chore.
• Allow her to answer by speaking, drawing, typing, or writing.
• Offer partially completed charts and sentence starters.
• Read information aloud while Keatyn studies pictures or objects.

Extensions for Advanced Learners

• Research the current Ioway Tribe and identify one way Ioway people continue their culture today.
• Compare a 1876 mercantile with a modern grocery or online store.
• Calculate a larger historic shopping bill and make change.
• Write a diary entry from the viewpoint of a child attending a country schoolhouse, carefully using “might have” rather than claiming every child had the same experience.
• Investigate how a product traveled from a farm or workshop to a family’s home.

Final Recap and Reflection

Review the four time periods:

1. 1700s: Ioway families used seasonal knowledge, farming, hunting, fishing, gathering, crafts, and community cooperation.
2. Around 1850: Pioneer households and farms depended on many daily chores, careful planning, animals, hand tools, and cooperation.
3. 1876: Mercantiles and other town businesses helped families obtain supplies and services.
4. Early 1900s: Many farms still used horses to pull equipment and wagons while families cared for animals, crops, tools, and homes.

Ask Keatyn:

• Which job would you most like to try? Why?
• Which chore would be hardest for you? Why?
• How did people help one another in a historic community?
• What is one thing you understand better now?
• What question would you like to investigate next?

Exit ticket: Keatyn completes this statement:

“A community works well when people ______. In historic Iowa, one example was ______.”