Summary:
In Oklahoma there was a Land Run in 1889. There is a family that wanted to compete for this land but the father, unfortunately becomes hurt and cannot compete. The boy in the family begs his father to let him compete in the horse race. After much convincing, the father allows his son to compete with all the other men. The race for land was a very difficult.

Personal Reflection:
This book does a great job of explaining what the Land Run of 1889 in Oklahoma consisted of. It also shows how rough such a run was for its participants. The author does a very good joy of use in her vocabulary in drawing the picture for the reader.

Extension Ideas:
1. After reading this story to the students it would be fun for them to have their own kind of race.
2. Once the class has competed outside in a race have the students explain a little about their experience. Intertwine here how the students experience and those who were on the Land Run could be similar.

Summary: This book tells a short story about the Oklahoma Land Run. The story starts out by telling the reader about a family that had dreamed of getting the free land and when the time had come the father had hurt himself and would not be able to attend the race for land. The little boy was begging his father to let him do the races with the horses and the father was very hesitant in not wanting the little boy to race against all the grown men. He ended up letting him race and it was a bumpy ride but they made it to a creek and staked their land.

Personal Reaction: I liked this book. I have never read it before an it was very interesting to me how they gave a short story of the land ran where young children could understand what happened in that point of history and still keep them entertained with a story.

Classroom Extension: One classroom extension you could do would be to have a color page of the Oklahoma Land Run with the horses and people running like the front cover of this book. Another thing you could do as a extension would be send home a note to the parents for extra credit asking them to tell their children if they have any family history stories of the land run and if so to write them down so we can share with the class the following day. ( )

The Oklahoma Land Run genre is historic realism. This story is about a young boy taking part of the Oklahoma Land Run in 1889, with his father. This is story is set in an actual event that took place in 1889 in the Oklahoma territory. The father had hurt his arm and feel that they will not be able to take part in the land run. The young boy convinces his father to let him drive the team and wagon and find the land that they want. The father agrees and they set out. The story describes what take place in the race to find land. The story tells how people jumping the gun, pushing and shoving, and running others off the road. It also gives insight at how hard it was to find a claim. Once the boy and father find a piece of land they like and think the family could live there, the boy ran around to find the claim number. After finding the claim number, he laid back and dream of what it will be like to live there with his family.

Person Reflection
I found this book fun. I like how the author used a little boy’s excitement to drive the team and wagon in the land run to help his father find their new home. She caught my imagination; I could feel the excitement as the crowd waited for the cannon to fire. The Illustrations help in telling the story and expressing the excitement. This is a great book to use during our State History unit and yearly land run reenactment.
Extension ideas
I would have the students write or tell me what they would like their land to be like, will it have a creek , tree or nothing at all.
I would have them tell me how they would go out and find the land, on horseback, wagon, on foot or something different.
I would have them write or tell me what they would bring with them ( )