Little House on the Prairie

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Where does Laura ask if Jack will go?

2. What does the wolf turn out to be?

3. What instrument does Pa play?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is the family going west?

2. What does Pa do before he starts a fire?

Paired Resource

“Dangers on the Westward Trails”

• This article discusses the dangers that settlers faced on the westward trails.
• This resource relates to the themes Masculine Self-Reliance, Feminine Dependence and The Racial Attitudes of White Settlers.
• What dangers did settlers face on their journey west? What dangers do the Ingalls family face? What dangers do you anticipate they will face as they settle in their new home?

Chapters 5-10

Reading Check

1. What does the family use as a door before the house is finished?

2. What does Ma set on the mantle-shelf?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Ma sprain her ankle?

2. How does Pa get away from the wolves that are chasing him?

Paired Resource

“Women and the Myth of the American West”

• Various historians were interviewed by Time magazine to answer the question “What opportunities did the American West offer women that they may not have had back East?”
• Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing
• This connects to the theme Masculine Self-Reliance, Feminine Dependence.
• This article could lead to a discussion about opportunities afforded to (some) women on the American frontier.

Chapters 11-14

Reading Check

1. What kind of animal skin do the Native Americans wear?

2. What does Pa get stuck in while digging the well?

3. What does Pa ask for in exchange for helping the cowboys?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Pa angry with Mary and Laura?

2. Why does Mr. Scott make fun of Pa?

Paired Resource

“Without Peas and Things Put Into It: Food on the Frontier”

• This article from PBS discusses the diet of people living on the frontier and their methods of food preservation.
• This connects to the theme of Masculine Self-Reliance, Feminine Dependence.
• What kinds of foods did pioneers eat? How was their diet different from yours? How would the Ingallses’ acquisition of a cow change their lifestyle?

Chapters 15-20

Reading Check

1. What does Mrs. Scott think is the cause of the fever ‘n’ ague?

2. What does Ma tell Mrs. Scott not to talk about in front of the children?

3. What is in the toe of the girls’ stockings?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Laura save Mary and Carrie from being burned?

2. Why does Pa make a chain for Jack?

Paired Resource

“History Through a Native Lens: The Reservation Era”

• This is a timeline of events in the mid-to-late 19th century that shows acts of violence and government policies against Native Americans. It also highlights acts of resistance.
• This connects to the theme of The Racial Attitudes of White Settlers.
• What does this timeline tell you about European settlers’ attitudes toward Native Americans? How would these events have shaped the Ingallses’ perspectives?

Chapters 21-26

Reading Check

1. Which Native American tribe did not want to harm the white settlers?

2. What does Laura ask Pa to get for her?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What rumor does Pa hear from the people in Independence?

2. Why do Native Americans set fires on purpose?

3. Why doesn’t Pa lock the door when they abandon the house?

Recommended Next Reads 

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

• This middle-grade novel, set in the American West in 1880, follows the life of Hanna Edmunds as she and her family settle in Dakota Territory. Hanna attempts to get an education and establish herself as a dressmaker but faces racism from the white settlers because she is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant.
• Shared themes include The Racial Attitudes of White Settlers.
• Shared topics include westward expansion, life on the frontier, and discrimination.
• Prairie Lotus on SuperSummary

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• This is the first novel in the Little House series. The story portrays a year in the life of the Ingalls family in their original Wisconsin home.
• Shared themes include Masculine Self-Reliance, Feminine Dependence.
• Shared topics include life on the frontier.
• Little House in the Big Woods on SuperSummary