Welcome to Sanlian,Unit 1 Little House in the Big Woods,By Laura Ingalls Wilder,Unit Overview,In this unit you will : Read about the life in the wilderness in the United States in the early daysLearn how to preview a bookTake a test in fast readingKnow a story about a Christmas presentRead more about how children feel towards their dear ones,About the author:,Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, in February 1867. She was the second of four daughters born to Caroline (Quiner) and Charles Philip Ingalls. Wilders early life was spent constantly moving from place to place. Her father called himself a pioneer man and dreamed of going west to explore and settle on unknown territory. They traveled through thick woods, over barren prairies, through the swollen Mississippi, and over icy waters all in their covered wagon. They moved from Missouri, to Kansas, to Wisconsin, to Minnesota, to Iowa and finally settled in De Smet, South Dakota, where her father claimed a homestead. Laura and her three sisters grew up in De Smet. Wilder, however, never could quite see this place as home. The many moves in her early childhood made Laura come to the conclusion that the only way to know that she was truly home was to have her family around her. Following in her fathers dreams, Wilder called herself a pioneer girl and made her home where her family took her. Wilder did not begin writing her first book, Little House in the Big Woods, until 1931 and it was released the following year. The instant success of the,book led to the Little House series, which became popular with young readers. Wilder took great care with each book to make sure that the point of view was consistently from that of a child. All except Farmer Boy were Newbery honor books and the entire series was reprinted in 1953. In 1954 the American Library Association established the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in her honor and Wilder was the first recipient. The award is now given every five years to the author who has made a substantial contribution to childrens literature. Most recently it was presented to Virginia Hamilton, who was also the first black author to win the Newbery Medal. A weekly television series, Little House on the Prairie, which was based loosely on Wilders books, began in 1974 and ran for many seasons. Wilder died in February 1957 in Mansfield of a stroke. Forty years after her death, children continue to read and enjoy her books.,About the story,Lauras daughter Rose grew up listening to her mothers stories of those pioneer days. She urged her mother to write them down so that other children could enjoy them as well. So in the 1930s and 40s, Laura recorded her memories of those days of long ago in a childrens series known as the Little House books which includes Little House in the Big Wood (1932) Farmer Boy (1933) Little House on the Prairie (1935) On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937) By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939) The Long Winter (1940) Little Town on the Prairie (1941) Those Happy Golden Years (1943),Cultural background notes,1. Westward Movement in America Westward movement in America carried settlers across America, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The westward movement began in the early 1600s with European settlements along the Atlantic Coast of North America. It continued until the late 1800s. By that time, the western frontiers of the United States had been conquered. An abundance of land and other natural resources lured Americas pioneers westward. Fur traders, cattle ranchers, farmers, and miners led the push to the west. Merchants and other business people followed. These hard-working men and women faced great dangers, endured severe hardships, and suffered loneliness and boredom in the hope of making a better life for themselves and their children. Some of them looked to the west for wealth or adventure. Others sought to improve their social position or increase their political power.,The pioneers struggled westward across hills, mountains, and prairies on foot and on horseback. Some floated through the Erie Canal on barges or traveled down rivers on flatboats and steamboats. Others crossed the rugged wilderness in covered wagons. For many pioneers, the Cumberland Gap, the Oregon Trail, and other roads west became paths to opportunity. The American frontier shifted westward in stages. The first American frontier ran along the Atlantic Coast. Settlers began to cross the Appalachian Mountains after territory west of the mountains came under British control in 1763. During the early 1800s, the next push westward took settlers into the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi River Valley, and the plains along the Gulf of Mexico. By the mid-1840s, adventurous pioneers had reached what are now California and Oregon in the Far West. The last frontier was the Great Plains between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. The settlement of that region began in the 1860s. In 1890, the U.S. Bureau of the Census reported that no frontiers remained in the United States. The pioneers had conquered the West.,