Scaling Activity
During this activity your students will construct 3 “scaled” models of the Flick Cabin in Custer or a building in your town.
Educational Resources - Big Towns and Little Towns
Episode Guide
Things To Do
1. Watch Big Towns and Little Towns.
2. Complete Episode Quiz individually or as a group. (Note: The quiz has additional information and related video.)
3. Student Glossary (PDF)
- Print Crossword Puzzle, (answers), and distribute to class.
- Guided Notes (answers)
4. Discussion Cards (PDF)
5. Class Activity - County Special (PDF)
Episode 13 Script
Related Video
What are Lustron homes? | Dakota Life
Lustron houses are prefabricated, enameled steel houses developed after World War II in response to the shortage of homes. In this Dakota Life story from 2000, SDPB looks at some that were built in South Dakota.
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Videos
SDPB
What are Lustron homes? | Dakota Life
SDPB
Dakota Life: Vanished Towns
SDPB
Building with Rocks - Bon Homme County’s Unique Heritage of Chalkstone and Fieldstone Architecture
SDPB
Wanblee | Lakota Land - Stories from Pine Ridge
SDPB
Dakota Life: Small Towns, Big Screens
SDPB
Red Shirt | Lakota Land - Stories from Pine Ridge
SDPB
Pine Ridge | Lakota Land - Stories from Pine Ridge
SDPB
SDPB Archives: Sioux Falls in the 50s
SDPB
Dakota Life: Vanished Towns
SDPB
Landscapes of South Dakota: Hutterite Colonies
SDPB
Vanished South Dakota: Tinton
SDPB
Vanished South Dakota: Texas Town
SDPB
Vanished South Dakota: Dewey
SDPB
Vanished South Dakota: Trojan
SDPB
Theater Under the Stars | Dakota Life
SDPB
The Blair Colony of Sully County, South Dakota | Dakota Life
SDPB
The vanished South Dakota town of Alsen | Vanished South Dakota
SDPB
The vanished South Dakota town of Sorum | Vanished South Dakota
SDPB Documentaries
Preserving South Dakota's Pioneer Past
Images of the Past
Valley Queen Cheese - 90 Years in Milbank
SDPB
The history of the official South Dakota state nosh, chislic | Dakota Life
SDPB
Freeman, South Dakota's Mennonite Settlement & Heritage Hall Museum | Settlement Stories
SDPB
Take a look around Hill City, South Dakota | Dakota Life
SDPB
What is the Badlands Observatory? | Dakota Life
SDPB
Early history of Deadwood, South Dakota's buildings | Dakota Life
SDPB
How the 1987 fire changed the city of Deadwood, South Dakota | Dakota Life
SDPB
Settlement Stories: The Frawley Ranch / Mennonite Settlement | SDPB Documentary
On this page you will find educational resources for the Dakota Pathways episode called Big Towns and Little Towns. There is an episode guide, additional videos, activities, and more.
Related Resources
Images of the Past
Hot Springs Polio Hospital - Iron Lung
Your students will learn about a medical device called the iron lung, which was used to treat many polio patients.
What's in a Town Name?
Your students should research how their town was named. If they could change the name, what would they change it to and why?
Find Your Own "Images of the Past"
Researching your community? Here are a few online resources for you.
Celebrate the Dark Sky!
Light Pollution
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Activity: Local Landmarks
Every town, big or little, has unique things and places. Your students should research and photograph local Landmarks.
-- Examples Shown Below --
Drive-In Theaters (Activity Below)
SDPB
Theater Under the Stars
Miller residents have enjoyed their favorite flick at the Midway Drive-In Theater since 1953.
SDPB
Family Matters
Owning and running a drive-in movie theater throughout South Dakota is a family matter.
SDPB
Pop from the Past
Popcorn is being popped by the pound at the drive-in movie theaters across South Dakota.
SDPB
Unique Features
Each drive-in movie theater across South Dakota provides a unique setting to enjoy your show.
PBS LearningMedia
Activity - Inverse Proportions and Shadows in the Real World
In this video, students take a quick trip through the history of drive-in theaters and are then asked to consider the question, "What is the relationship between the size of an object’s shadow and the object’s distance from a light source?"
In the accompanying classroom activity, students do a hands-on experiment about the size of their own shadows at different distances from a projector or other light source.
Vanished South Dakota: Towns of Yesterday
SDPB visits remnants of once-thriving towns to discover what led to the birth, boom, and demise of formerly prosperous communities throughout the state.
South Dakota Counties
Explore South Dakota Counties with Images of the Past. New content added regularly.
What I learned from McDonald's "Pollock to Pollock" ads.
It’s not every day you see grain elevator operators or pollock trawlers on TV.
Town-Building and Persistence on the Great Plains: The Case of Presho, South Dakota
The SDSHS chronicles the history of Presho in the early 1900s.
History of the Sears Catalog home, the Alhambra
In the early 1900s, Sears sold houses to homesteaders. People could order their homes, which would arrive in South Dakota via railcar. Every part of the home was detailed so you could assemble.
Changing Times, Changing Spaces - The South Dakota Stores of J. C. Penney
The first J.C. Penney store opened on 1 April 1916, on Main Street in the tiny farming community of Redfield.
Why is Johnson Siding, South Dakota called "Johnson Siding"?
The answer — like the answer to so many town etymologies — has to do with the railroad, and a sawmill.
Carlock: The Dancehall Without a Town
Across South Dakota, many downsized towns have lost their once-hopping dancehalls. At Carlock, the dancehall stuck around after the town left.
The Great Murdo Fire of 1910
Murdo, SD had only just gotten started as a town when disaster struck on a cold February night in 1910. Has a large fire taken place in your town's history?
Temples of Justice: SD County Courthouse
Documentary that looks at the history of South Dakota courthouses. The program highlights several cities across South Dakota that were in the running to be county seats.
Urban Areas, Diversity Grow In South Dakota
South Dakota’s population is up by 8.9%, according to new numbers from the 2020 Census.
The Middle of Everywhere - Connecting Rural South Dakota
A look at the advances made over the last century and a half that have allowed South Dakotans to stay connected to each other.
SDPB
The prairie castles of Codington County, South Dakota | Dakota Life
In this Dakota Life story from 2000, we meet the people who published a book documenting the abandoned farmsteads of Codington County, South Dakota. Learn about their passions for documenting the history behind many of those buildings.
What are Masonic Temples?
Learn about the history of Masonic Temples in South Dakota.
The Story of the Rising Hail Colony
A scattering of crumbling chalk rock cabins on the river bottoms near Marty, SD, on land owned by the Ihanktowan Nation, are all that’s left of a communal ownership scheme.
The Manchester Biscuit Company
The business continued to expand outside of Sioux Falls and had branches in Aberdeen and Rapids City.
Think Deadwood Was Wild in the 1870s? Try Yankton.
Early Deadwood’s reputation as a raucous and unlawful place in the 1870s is well known and much deserved, but another of Dakota Territory’s first towns was just as wild.
Small-town Survival on the Great Plains: Miller, Dakota Territory, in the 1880s
The South Dakota Historical Society takes a look at the history of Miller, Dakota Territory in the 1880s.
All Roads Led To Strool: The Rise and Fall of One Man's Town
The rise and fall of the town of Strool in Perkins County, South Dakota.
The Boom and Bust of Central City
The South Dakota Historical Society dives into the boom and bust of Central City.
Some Black Hills Ghost Towns and Their Origins
This 1972 article from the SDSHS looks at some of the ghost towns in the Black Hills.
Related Resources
South Dakota Standards
South Dakota academic content standards serve as expectations for what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade. The review, revision, development, and feedback process involves stakeholders throughout the state of South Dakota and is an ongoing and critical component to ensure South Dakota students in every classroom receive current and relevant learning experiences. The goal is that all students will graduate college, career, and life ready.
Content standards are set by the South Dakota Board of Education Standards. They are reviewed every five to seven years. Content standards do not mandate a specific curriculum.