This month in Social Studies, we are traveling back in time to the wild, challenging world of Frontier America, focusing specifically on the settlement of Kentucky in the 1770s—the era of pioneers like Daniel Boone!
What Are We Learning?
Your students are exploring the incredible resourcefulness and resilience of the first settlers. Ask them about it! They are learning how pioneers couldn’t just call a moving truck or hire a builder. They had to create their own shelter from the second they arrived.
We’ve been studying:
The “Half-Faced Camp”: The emergency three-sided shelter (basically a lean-to) that settlers built for their first few nights, relying on a large fire for warmth.
Building a Log Cabin: Students are learning the step-by-step process of building a permanent home, from felling the trees to the hard work of “notching” the logs so they fit together like Lincoln Logs.
“Chinking and Daubing”: Ask your student what this means! They’ve learned how settlers sealed the gaps between logs using a mixture of rocks, moss, and a homemade mud-like plaster to keep the wind and rain out.
Bringing History to Life: Upcoming Events!
We are so excited to move our learning from the classroom into the real world with two upcoming events.
1. Field Trip to Fort Boonesborough State Park We have a class field trip scheduled to visit the reconstructed Fort Boonesborough! This is where Daniel Boone and his party established one of the first settlements in Kentucky. Your students will get to stand inside a real “station,” see examples of log cabins, and watch craftspeople demonstrate the daily skills pioneers needed to survive. This trip will directly connect to everything we’ve been discussing in class. More details and permission slips will be sent home next week.
2. Our Communities Daniel Boone Festival! To celebrate the end of our unit, our class will be attending the “Daniel Boone Festival” held in our community. Students will share projects, demonstrate pioneer crafts or games, and showcase what they’ve learned about life on the frontier.
3. Building a Frontier Shelter. As the culminating activity the students will build a frontier shelter at home.
Thank you for your support at home. The best way to reinforce this learning is to simply ask your student, “What did you learn about the pioneers today?”
Fred Hoskins
Knox County Middle School
Knox County Public Schools
Grades 6th-8th
