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Homesteading on the Prairies

Set in Manitoba in the 1890s, the story traces an Ontario farm family as they move west in search of cheap land. They experience travel on the recently completed CPR, build a sod house, battle a prairie fire and celebrate their first harvest.
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Set in Manitoba in the 1890s, the story traces an Ontario farm family as they move west in search of cheap land. They experience travel on the recently completed CPR, build a sod house, battle a prairie fire and celebrate their first harvest.

Agriculture History - Canada - 1867-1919 All subjects
  • director
    Eva Szasz
  • producer
    Tamara Lynch
  • script
    Jocelyn Rehder
  • camera
    Raymond Dumas
  • sound editing
    John Knight
  • re-recording
    Louis Hone
  • narrator
    Griffith Brewer

Education

Ages 7 to 11
School subjects
Family Studies/Home Economics - Family Diversity and Challenges Geography - Human Geography History - Early Colonization/Settlement

Questions/Activities:

  • What types of tasks were required of Tom in order to help his family make a new home?
  • What were some of the challenges that the Hopkins family faced when settling in the Prairies? How did they cope?
  • Home Chores: Many chores depicted in the film are not as common nowadays. What types of tasks do your students perform at home in order to help their families?

More educational content

Homesteading on the Prairies
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