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 Alaska Ag in the Classroom presents
Hopeful Harvest: Alaska's Agricultural History Told By Voices of the Past
These lessons are designed to be a social studies supplement for high school students in Alaska studies.These lessons are still under review and you are encouraged to offer comments and corrections by emailing akaitc@alaskafb.org. Documents are downloadable as Word documents. If you require a pdf file, contact Alaska AITC.
| Pre 1900 |
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 Pioneer Agriculture: Early Efforts
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Lesson Outline: Excerpts from Orlando W. Miller's book The Frontier in Alaska and the Matanuska Colony look at agriculture's earliest years in Alaska. Students will complete a mapping and graphing exercise related to experiment stations and ag statistics, and present oral or written arguments about the wisdom of opening the stations in remote areas of Alaska. |
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| Early 1900-1930 |
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Need for Seed: Farming in Remote Areas in early 1900s
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Lesson Outline: Experiment Stations provided outposts of information and seed in the early years of farming. Letters exchanged regarding availability of seed show scope of farming. Students use maps and statistics to look at agriculture in rural areas of Alaska in early 1900s sd compared to today. |
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Letters about seeds |
Fairbanks 1918: Cold Reality
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Lesson Outline: Employee at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Fairbanks relates his experiences in a letter to a co-worker. Students will look at vocabulary and expressions, and complete a writing exercise. |
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Snodgrass letter |
Agricultural Possiblities: Anchorage Region
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Lesson Outline: Agricultural Development Agent Milton Snodgrass presented a report on Alaska agriculture in 1929, including a focus on Anchorage as an agricultural market and center. Students will look at how those conditions have changed and stayed the same, and research current market opportunities. They will develop their own virtual farm products for sale and devise marketing plans. |
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Snodgrass report "Agricultural Possibilities -- Anchorage Region" |
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| Early 1931-1940 |
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Then and Now
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Lesson Outline: Agricultural Development Agent Milton Snodgrass compiled a report in 1931 called "What Alaska Needs," and some of those needs are still revelant today. Students look at the needs in 1931 and today, are assigned a research reporter and/or discuss or debate the needs. |
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What Alaska Needs |
Memoirs
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Lesson Outline: Matanuska Colony pioneers Chris Anderson and Minnie Swanda tell their stories in memoirs that are part of We Alaskans — Stories of People Who Helped Build the Great Land. Students have exercises in mapping and vocabulary, and will discuss or write essays reacting to the experiences of the pioneers. |
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Swanda and Anderson memoirs
Map of Colony farms (970K JPG) |
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| Links to More Alaska Ag History |
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