Teacher Resources
Free teacher resources and classroom study guides for The Prescott Girls, a middle-grade historical novel inspired by real nineteenth-century needlework samplers, family history, and life in 1830s Maine. These materials support grades 4–7 with lessons in history, literacy, geography, artifact analysis, early American education, letter writing, and critical thinking.
Explore the Real Location
The Prescott family story is grounded in a real historic site. The Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, Maine, where the girls lived, is preserved today by the Lincoln County Historical Association.
Teachers and students can explore the history of the building, its role as a courthouse, tavern, and post office, and its later life as a family home.
Lincoln County Historical Association
Pownalborough Court House Museum
Free Classroom Study Guides
Designed for grades 4–7, these printable study guides connect literature with history, geography, and primary sources to support classroom discussion and critical thinking.
The guides include discussion questions, historical background, artifact-based learning activities, a study of Beckie Prescott’s 1835 sampler, a printable Maine map, and classroom materials about the sugar boycott, communication in the 1830s, and the Old Pownalborough Court House.
Start Here
These printable study guides can be used individually or together as a complete unit, helping students explore life in 1830s Maine through literature, history, and primary-source-based learning.
An Overview - Using the Study Guides View
A guide to selecting, sequencing, and combining the study guides to support lessons in history, literacy, and critical thinking for grades 4–7.Discussion Guides
Discussion Questions (Teachers) View
Chapter-based discussion questions with supporting quotes to guide classroom conversation, deepen comprehension, and encourage students to think critically about characters, themes, and historical context.Discussion Questions (Students) View
Chapter-based discussion questions designed for students to explore characters, themes, and historical ideas through reading, reflection, and classroom conversation.More Resources
Beckie Prescott’s Sampler View
Analyze a real 1835 sampler stitched by eight-year-old Beckie Prescott to understand how girls learned literacy, numeracy, needlework, and moral instruction in early nineteenth-century Maine.Needlework and Girls’ Education in Early America View
Explore how needlework, sampler making, and stitching were used to teach literacy, arithmetic, discipline, and moral lessons in early American girls’ education.The Old Pownalborough Court House View
Explore the history of one of New England’s oldest courthouses and how it evolved from a center of law and government into the home where the Prescott girls lived.Geography of The Prescott Girls View
Explore how rivers, coastal towns, and travel routes shaped daily life in 1830s Maine and connected the communities in the Prescott family’s story.Printable Maine Map (1833) View
Use this map to trace the towns, rivers, and travel routes that connect the Prescott family’s journey across Maine, from New Sharon to Dresden and the coastal trading ports beyond.Letters and Communications in the 1830s View
Discover how letters carried news, ideas, and personal connections across long distances in the 1830s, linking families and spreading new ideas before modern communication.How Historians Trace Artifacts View
Learn how historians use clues from objects, records, and family connections to trace artifacts and reconstruct the lives of the people who made and preserved them.Creating the Illustrations View
Explore how historical research, character studies, and artistic interpretation were used to create illustrations that reflect life in the 1830s while bringing the story to life.