Curated OER
Wagons Ho! Hard Times! Hard Choices!
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...
Curated OER
The Westward Movement
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion
Students locate California and New York on a map and explore available means of travel in the 19th century. Students explore the role of trade in pioneer America and simulate various barter transactions.
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Overland Trails To The West
Consider the political, physical, and geographical factors that led to and marked the Westward Expansion. Learners will track the various routes developed during the 1800's. They create a first person journal describing what they see,...
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Bison on the Plains
Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration lesson, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through middle America in...
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The Wild, Wild West, or Was It?
Fifth graders explore the American West. In this Westward Expansion lesson, 5th graders examine the opportunities that the West offered American pioneers. Students watch a montage video and analyze primary documents regarding the topic.
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AIH-5: Westward Expansion
Fifth graders research how the westward expansion affected the American Indians.
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Busting the Prairie: Planning a Homestead Community
Students research, design and advertise a homestead community. This is an extensive instructional activity with a variety of ativities and learning experiences.
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Wagon's West: Life on the Trail
Young scholars investigate what life on the Oregon Trail was like. In this Westward Movement lesson, students eat foods that were eaten by settlers on the trail as they read textbook pages about the trial. Young scholars then draw an...
Huntington Library
The Corps of Discovery: The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Don't miss this fantastic comprehensive lesson plan on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, packed with instructional guidance, worksheets, map work, informational texts, and secondary source materials.
Curated OER
Let's Party like its 1849
Students explore prairie life. In this Oregon Trail lesson, students read literature regarding the move west and participate in cross-curricular activities. Students should take digital photographs of the participation in activities and...
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BEGINNER LEVEL LESSON PLAN
Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs) for evidence of Native American culture and construct a cultural symbol. They are explained what the stars and stripes stand for on the American flag. Students work as...
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A Helping Hand: The Role of Guides During Western Expansion
Students research and examine the lives and culture of western mountain guides during the early to mid 1800s. Students write reports about a guide they research, do a simulation of the guide by keeping a journal, managing money and...
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Looking at Lewis and Clark
Fifth graders review information on Lewis and Clark by using a variety of resources. With partners, they travel between stations researching different information based on the expedition. They check each others work and share it with the...
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Introduction to Mining in Utah
Students come up with a definition of mining together as a class. They take notes and explore how three mining towns in Nevada were begun.
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Oregon City: A Convergence of Endings
Learners describe the activities that occurred in the Willamette Valley before the establishment of the Oregon Trail and agricultural settlement and explain the impact that American settlement had on the landscape and native groups who...
Curated OER
The Relationships and Cultural Exchanges Between Native Americans and the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver
Learners are introduced to the geography of the Columbia River basin and its history. Using the internet, they research the relationships between the Native Americans and the Hudson Bay Company. They also discuss the effects on the...
Curated OER
A Sense of West Virginia
Students consider their perceptions of the world through their 5 senses while visiting the West Virginia State Museum. In this West Virginia history lesson, students discover how knowing about the past helps with their understanding of...