When her grandchildren arrive at her home, Grandmother Kinzie tells them the true story of Nellie Lytle, who was captured by the Seneca Indians in 1779.  Only a girl at the time, Nellie shows such strength and determination that her captors soon name her Little Ship Under Full Sail.

Nellie faces many challenges beyond her traumatic and agonizing capture.  With the help of a Seneca chief, Cornplanter, the chief’s mother, and a young Indian friend, she learns to live in a new culture and overcome the grief of separation from her family.  As time goes by Nellie bonds with her new family and becomes a “true” Seneca.

But the problems are still not over as Nellie endures a serious illness and the treachery of a family member.  Then, just as she celebrated her life as a beautiful young woman eligible for marriage, a visitor arrives in the village, and Nellie faces a heart-wrenching decision.  In which world does she really belong if she is faced with a choice?

Based on the life of the great-grandmother of Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low, Little Ship Under Full Sail is an exceptional story, told with the same suspense and drama Panagopoulos’ fans love.

1)   When was your city/town/village founded or incorporated?

2)   What were the names of some of the first settlers to your area?

3)   Why did these first settlers come to your area?  Was it easy to get to?  Was the land very fertile?  Was there a specific resource that drew them to the area?

4)   Where did your county, city/town/village get its name?

5)   Where did the first settlers in your area come from? Did they travel to your area together?  Were they family?

Now, with these questions you can begin your research.  Are there books or publications about your area that you can share with your students?  Do you have a local historical society, genealogy society or museum in your area that you might be able to get a guest to come and speak to your class about local history?

Does your library or your local community library have plat map books that will show your

students where the first settlers lived?

Make sure you teach your class about making research notes and recording information they find for future reference and writing.

Also, help your students to discover which Native Americans lived in your area and at what time period.

* Gender Roles in History - Many people today still believe that only men (historically) were strong and women were not.  Well, this is not true.  Most typical historical stereotypes in books, on television and videos show women to often be second class citizens or timid, shy, reserved and uneducated, but that is not a true representation.

Most historical families knew that they must have a strong nuclear family with many children to survive the harsh realities of settlement life.  Women, it has been said by historians, brought civilization to new settlements, often demanding churches, schools and teachers for their children which placed a large responsibility on the shoulders of our historic forefathers to settle down.

Please check out these web sites for more information concerning women in history and their contributions:

Women's History in America Presented by Women's International Center

     http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

Women in History:

     http://www.historynow.org/03_2006/historian6.html

Women’s History:

     http://resources.kaboose.com/kidslinks/social-studies/womens-history/Womens_History.html

Women’s History:

     http://womenshistory.about.com/

Women in World History Curriculum's Website:

     http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/

Women's History Month:

     http://www.history.com/minisites/womenhist

Historical Figures:

     http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/figures.htm

Women who changed history:

     http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/women/

Women in History Quiz:

     http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/hamel/whistory.html