Pioneer Life in North America
What was pioneer life like in Canada and the United States?
How did people first settle in these countries?
The life of pioneers who settled west of the original British, French and Spanish colonies established was surprising similar no matter where they settled in North America.
We often use the term "pioneers" when we talk about the early settlers in Canada and the United States. The term actually refers to people who take the lead, go first and pave the way for others. The pioneers settled in areas that were wild and untouched. They had to defend their land in battle and learn how to cope with a whole new way of living unlike any they had previously experienced. Most new settlers were from European that had older developed a civilization over thousands of years. The pioneers were people who had come to Canada and the United States to seek a new life where they could experience possibilities that would not have been available to them back in Europe. They learned to be self-sufficient and inventive by using the materials available to them in order to meet their basic needs.
The following pages have been designed to give students an idea of what pioneer life was like. To assist students further in their studies about the pioneers, there is a unit book (including worksheets) available at The Traveling Pencil online store by using this link - The Life of the Pioneers. Need a good writing and presentation project for the end of the unit? You can access the Pioneer Life Assignment with a ready-made rubric at the Traveling Pencil Store as well.
