Bring the Apple River Fort and the Black Hawk War into your classroom! Below are several, easily adaptable lesson plans, activities, and other resources for students of all ages. Topics include the Apple River Fort, the Black Hawk War, Sauk and Fox history, Illinois history, and more.
In celebration of the Illinois Bicentennial, the Illinois State Board of Education created a
series of lesson plans and activities. One lesson plan, "Heroes of Illinois," can be tailored
to include Black Hawk and other participants in the Black Hawk War.
Elizabeth Carvery, former director of the John Hauberg Indian Museum at Black Hawk
State Park, developed this companion curriculum for her book Twelve Moons: A Year
with the Sauk and Meskwaki, 1817-1818 (copies are available at the Fort's gift shop).
The Sac and Fox Nation's Sauk Language Department is dedicated to the survival and revitalization of the Sauk language. This website is a great resource for learning the Sauk language, and has all sorts of stories, videos, games, and apps to help students.
How does our culture make us similar or different? The State Historical Society of Iowa has developed a series of primary source sets for Kindergartners through 12th graders. Note: Meskwaki lesson is designed for 1st graders, but can be tailored to any level,
In The Black Hawk War-Reconstructing "Stillman's Run," students will read through three very different accounts of the Battle of Stillman's Run. Thinking like a historian, they will attempt to reconstruct the events of that fateful day.
Indian Women explores the lives of Sauk and Meskwaki women in the 18th and 19th centuries, Despite contemporary opinion, these women held important economic, social, and political power within the tribe. A teaching guide with three class activities included.
"A woman's work is never done." Women played a tough, but integral role in surviving and settling the Illinois frontier. Students will explore the lives of Native, European, and American women in Illinois. A teaching guide with three activities included.
From its native inhabitants to French explorers to American farmers, freedmen, and immigrants, countless people have settled in the Prairie State. In this lesson, students will learn about the joys and hardships of frontier life. A teaching guide with five activities included.