Exercises, Academic Projects, and Tasks Incorporating the Reading of

Views From My Schoolroom Window

1. Describe the roles of geography, terrain, and weather in the shaping of Laurentine's story.
   
   
2. Natural disasters and calamities of varying kinds were discussed. Select one and relate it to the the probability of inclusion in a modern-day diary.
   
   
3. How did Laurentine's brother's and sister's moves impact her life?
   
   
4. Did you think the main character was self-critical? If so, why?
   
   
5. Who was Laurentine's "father confessor?" Describe the consistency of their relationship over time.
   
   
6. If Laurentine had illustrated her diary, what five views or items would you have encouraged her to include?
   
   
7. Do you think Laurentine knew that her diary might be read? If so, discuss how she may have felt about that possibility?
   
   
8. Identify three (3) books that Laurentine read for school or personal enjoyment. Select one of them and with your online browser, search for a substantial passage to read (at least 3,000 words), then discuss its key points in a short review. Also indicate how difficult (or not) it is to borrow or purchase a copy of this book in modern times.
   
   
9. How did school evaluations, examinations, and/or recitations impact her life?
   
   
10. Select one of the following characters from the book and discuss what else you would have liked to read about this person: Ma, Pa, Fayette Smith, Warren Parker, Fet, Amoret, Flora, or William Doty. Taking what you know (or think you know; you can embellish), write a letter from that person to Laurentine dated January 1, 1871.
    
    
11. Laurentine's observations of nature are often written in a personified manner. Take one of those cases and translate the sentiment into modern day language. Compare the two, hers and yours and discuss the probability that you might use the technique of personification of nature or weather someday too.
    
    
12. How and why did Laurentine's perception of Teachers' Meetings change over time?
    
    
13. In what major ways did she change as a teacher at 15 years old compared to a teacher at 21?
    
    
14. Discuss whether Laurentine's writing foreshadowed civic affairs, local, national or international political conditions?
15. How have the customs associated with death and dying changed in 150 years as seen in her diary?
    
    
16. Discuss the logistics of keeping a diary in modern times. Do you think it is practical and/or possible to maintain the type of record that Laurentine kept?

1. Discuss the varying ways in which music was important in Laurentine's life.
   
   
2. What were some of the cultural opportunities (art, music, theater, museum, performance artists, etc.) that were available in Janesville in the 1850's-1860's? Discuss one of them that most impressed you.
   
   
3. Conducting a Tableaux was quite a popular social and artistic activity in the mid-19th century. In a small group, create a plan for a modern day Tableaux in your town that you would expect to sell-out all performances!
   
   
4. Based upon the diary, what kinds of decor or artwork might we have found in Laurentine's home in 1860? Can you identify online some representative examples to share with the class?
   
   
5. Are melodeons still manufactured today? How were their sounds different from their closest sounding musical instrument?
   
   
6. Decorating school for special events involved widespread participation. Discuss the ways in which this activity (decorating a room or a building) is different from current activities at school. What can we infer from any differences?
   
   

1. How did concern for wardrobe maintenance compare during Laurentine's era to that of teachers today?
   
   
2. Discuss any differences you may have noted in social customs and entertaining aspects at home in a small prairie town in 1860 compared to that found in many modern day cities and towns.
   
   
3. What was the typical diet like in 1858? What did a typical household require to sustain themselves through a harsh winter, for example?
   
   
4. Delegation of household duties was often based on sheer necessity. Discuss one chore in particular -- keeping the fire burning in the stove -- and how it could hold grave consequences.
   
   
5. Discuss the financial arrangement made between Laurentine and her parents for paying her way, contributing to the household, yet building a 'nest egg.'
   
   

1. (Team Project) Create an end-of-the-year recitation & examination for your class before the public in a community auditorium. Stage the event, create the program, and identify the representative subjects to cover with 2-3 major examples of learning that could be addressed by random members of the community at large.
   
   
2. Putting it in historical context, describe the meaning of the visits of the "Madisonites" to the Janesville schools.
   
   
3. List a dozen or more examples of archaic vocabulary from the book that you would not find easy nor comfortable to include in your writing or verbal dialogue today. By contrast, were there words that now you have learned you would like to use?
   
   
4. From Laurentine's diary, what did you learn about the role of clubs, churches and civic groups in developing or strengthening communities? Discuss one institution in which her family participated in a significant way.
   
   
5. Teaching was often a 'mixed bag' for Laurentine. What do you think she gained that served her well in her personal life in the years following 1870?
   
   
6. With a brother (Fet) known for his 'wanderings,' discuss how Laurentine felt about responsibility and duty to family.
   
   
7. During the ages spanning 14 to 20, discuss how Laurentine felt about marriage?
   
   
8. Life was not all work! Discuss at least 2 outdoor social activities and how you felt about their relevance in today's era by contrast.
   
   
9. How did Laurentine's parents involvement in her education compare to the expected level of parents' involvement today?
   
   
10. In what ways, if any, did Laurentine benefit from having Ella, Emma, Frank and Louie around?
    
    
11. Discuss any change in attitude towards teaching that Laurentine may have experienced during the course of the diary.
    
    
12. From reading the innermost thoughts of a schoolteacher in the mid-19th century, discuss what aspects of current teachers' lives you might like to know more about.
    
    
13. Compare/contrast the issues of a male schoolteacher from the same time period with his diary or letter collection.
    
    
14. Taking any one of Chapters 2, 3, or 4 fictionalize entries to help fill the gaps in time so that we might have another vista of the 'rest of her story' or at least the one you might imagine Laurentine might have in a creative writing project.
    
    

Study homesteading maps and early plat maps of the region identifying surnames with characters from the book.

Visit the Wisconsin Historical Society website to learn more about pioneer settlers during the era that Rock County and Janesville were settled.

Visit the New York historical societies and museums (online or in person) from the ancestral communities of Laurentine's parents and grandparents.

Encourage scholars to visit local, county, regional or state historical societies or museum online and in person with the objective of researching unpublished letters of some 'unsung heroes and heroines' in their communities.

Promote browser searches and out-of-print book searches such as abebooks.com and amazon.com to locate other published accounts of pioneer teachers in the 19th & 20th centuries. Encourage their comparisons by geography, socioeconomic background and gender.

Search on auction sites such as eBay for ephemera (e.g., papers, post cards, bits and pieces of local history) that could help depict a story.

If other occupations mentioned in the book captured someone's attention (e.g., railroad engineer, minister, photographer, doctor) investigate how those careers have evolved over 150 years.

Encourage scholars to undertake their own research and oral interviews of retired teachers and others with an eye toward establishing historical records through publication. On demand publishing through AuthorHouse, for example, provides an efficient way to produce a proud and shareable record of their accomplishment with friends, family, and other researchers for all time.

Instill the awareness that History is Alive! It's just waiting for You to come along and help!