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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Go West: Imagining the Oregon Trail

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students access the Oregon Trial website to find information on what it was like to experience traveling the Oregon Trial. Then, in groups, they create dioramas depicting events that could have happened along the Oregon Trail.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Oregon Trail

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. Working in groups, they write a scene for the movie that is historically accurate and based on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Oregon Trail

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students use maps and diagrams to examine the Oregon Trail. In groups, they create their own poster of the trail showing the different types of artifacts found along the way. To end the lesson, they identify the sources of water and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wagons Ho! Hard Times! Hard Choices!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
You have just hit the lesson plan jackpot! This isn't just a lesson, it's a ten-day unit covering westward expansion, pioneer life, and the Oregon Trail. Activities include baking, model building, role-play, newspaper writing, science...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Study History through Journal Keeping

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Journal writing can be a fun way to bring history to life. Upper graders read a series of journals from the time of the westward expansion, specifically the pioneer journey along the Oregon Trail. They compose an ongoing journal from the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Selling of the West, or The Portrayal of Emigrant Travel on the Oregon Trail

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students compare and contrast the realistic and romantic art and literature about experiences on the Oregon Trail. Using this information, they compare their viewpoints and write messages on what they believe it was like on a trip down...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oregon Trail Diary

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Students pretend they are on the Oregon Trail and keep a diary of their adventures. In this Oregon Trail lesson plan, students write about their decisions to move, crossing rivers, buying supplies, and more.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore the Manifest Destiny. They interpret quotations, study point of view in writing, research English words that derived from Mexico, and analyze reasons why settlers moved west. After writing journal entries in first-person...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Movement/the Oregon Trail Using Power Point

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research and examine the Westward Movement using a computer. they create their own word search from facts they discover in their research or while interacting with the Oregon Trail software. They create PowerPoint...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adventure Writing: Oregon's Landscape as a Setting

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Party like its 1849

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore prairie life. In this Oregon Trail lesson plan, students read literature regarding the move west and participate in cross-curricular activities. Students should take digital photographs of the participation in activities...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oregon Trail Cooking

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students compare differences between cooked and fresh greens. They realize how simplicity of recipe makes for easy travel on the Oregon Trail.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering the Oregon Trail

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore U.S. history by researching the Oregon Trail. In this American exploration lesson, students read the story On the Shore of the River and define the exact path early settlers took to find the state of Oregon. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Trail

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students identify major geographical features shown on the core map, explain map symbols used on the core map, create a picture of the condition of the trail in the 1840s, and construct a chart of average temperatures and rainfall.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Expansion

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the components of the Westward Movement in the United States. Understanding the past and the linkages it has to the present is the intended goal of this seventeen day unit.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Patty Reed's Doll: The Story of the DonnerParty

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore westward movement through eyes of doll belonging to Patty Reed, member of Donner Party. They write journal entries from points of view of characters in book, Patty Reed's Doll, participate in Pack the Wagon game, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat, "Trail of Tears"

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study Fulton and his Steamboat, the "Trail of Tears," the Oregon Trail, the Transcontinental Railroad and the Pony Express in this series of lessons.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneering Children on the Move

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students inquire about life for pioneer children. In this pioneer period lesson plan, students analyze photographs of children, make information foldables, and create a covered wagon that was typical of the ones of the past. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The 21st Century Lewis and Clark Trail

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students create a better route through the Rocky Mountains for the Lewis and Clark expedition after tracing the original path.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Trip Back in Time: Missouri quarter reverse

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
I love time capsules. After reviewing elements of pioneer life, your class will create a time capsule that would have belonged to a pioneer in the 1830s. Each person must write a description of each item they would have brought and why...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Numbers in Art

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students choose a number from one to twelve and tell a number story about it. They listen to the teacher read "Numbers in Art" by Lucy Micklethwait. Students choose three numbers from one to twelve and view works of art while looking for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: The U.S. Westward Movement

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students research the U.S. Westward movement. In this U.S. history lesson, students research the topic, complete a creative writing activity for the lesson, and a design activity for the lesson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Adventure Begins: "Boys I Believe I Have Found a Gold Mine!"

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students view and discuss historical documents regarding Native Americans and Californians prior to the gold rush in the 1940's. They complete a variety of activities designed to show what they have learned from these sources and class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning About Occupations

For Teachers K
Students examine the occupations of a variety of community helpers such as doctors, policemen, firemen, nurses, and others by listening to a read aloud. They find pictures in magazines to glue to a classroom mural of occupations.

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