Sample Activities / Learning Standards

Downloadable Production Guide & Activity Sheet (.pdf)

In Brief

Veteran 1942 Radio personalities Joe and Kate are showing the new girl, Vi what really goes into putting on a radio show. Vi is standing in for one of the actresses in a weekly radio drama called ‘Conestoga Stories.’ Today’s episode is the story of one pioneer family: The Youngmans.

Sam, Emma and Agnes Youngman are joining a wagon train heading west for the Nebraska Territory. When they finally stake their claim in Nebraska, they build a sod house out of prairie grasses and dirt.

The family soon learns the perils of the frontier when a swarm of grasshoppers destroys most of their crops. Hope is renewed, however, through a school play put on by Agnes and her classmates which retells a native tale about the meadowlark, the ‘bird of promise’ whose presence the local Native Americans believe foretells good luck. The Youngmans’ learn that even bad things can have positive outcomes when a winter snowstorm traps the children, their teacher, and a neighbor named Willie in the school house. Willie and the teacher, not knowing each other well before that day, form a common bond while helping the children survive the storm and decide to marry the following spring. Throughout the course of the radio show, Vi finds herself drawn to the characters. By the end of the production, she realizes that even with the adversity that pioneers faced, they ultimately came through with the help of their friends, a little faith and a dream of a better life. Vi is pleased to learn that she has impressed the others with her performance and is offered a permanent job at the radio station.

Teacher Comments

“Really nice job on this presentation. Using the 1940s radio program was a unique way of exposing the students to the westward movement but also to the advances in media technology in the last 60 years. Super job!”
-C. Smith, DeRuyter Elementary, DeRuyter CSD

“I teach Social Studies for our fifth grade and truly appreciated the accuracy of material. This was very well done. Excellent job. ”
-P. Moroney, Cincinnatus Middle School, Cincinnatus CSD

“The actor who prepped the class before the performance did an excellent job. She
related very well to the students and was able to guide their answers to the needed conclusions. Much of the content related to Social Studies curriculum. For ex. The students are taught how cultures must use their natural resources to survive. This play demonstrated that. It also sparked classroom discussion how things change over the years, but that needs are the same (food, clothing, shelter, education, families, jobs). Overall an excellent presentation. Actors did a great job. Students enjoyed the play and Soc. St. content was reinforced. Than you very much.”
-K. Wojciechowski, Oneida Castle Elementary, Oneida CSD