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Pioneers in California
Fourth graders examine the changes the pioneers brought to California in the 1800's. They develop a timeline that includes captions, symbols, and pictures, and write a paragraph describing the experiences of the early California pioneers.
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African-Americans in California's Heartland
Young scholars read and view video about the pioneers moving west. For this African American pioneer lesson, students become familiar with the problems faced by the pioneers and African-American pioneers. Young scholars complete...
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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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Striking It Rich!
Fifth graders explore the California Gold Rush. They explore the lure of gold and the Wild West, how pioneers traveled to the West, and the hardships and people they encountered along the way. Activities be authentic, hands-on, and...
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Heading West
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...
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Pushing the Boundaries: The Pioneer Spirit
Eleventh graders recognize how social reform occurred at the turn of the century. Through a debate, 11th graders determine advantages and drawbacks of traveling west using original sources and descriptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and...
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Westmoreland Trail
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the Westward expansion of the U.S. They play the computer game, Oregon Trail III, read primary source documents, conduct Internet research, write diary entries from the pioneer viewpoint, and...
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Cassie's Timeline
Fourth graders read Cassie's Journey: Going West in the 1860's. In this pioneer literature instructional activity, 4th graders develop a timeline of the major happenings in the story by creating a timeline. Students discuss new...
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Pioneer Currency in Utah: Have you got change for a 5?
Young scholars explore the need for money in a society and the artificial value of coin and paper currencies. They design their own coin and paper currency.
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Pioneer Currency in Utah: Have you got change for 5?
Eleventh graders examine why pioneer society needed a uniform medium of exchange -- not so much among themselves, but for use with non-Mormon suppliers and California immigrants.
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Heritage: Seeking Land or Gold
Students write a persuasive letter home defending their decision either to settle in Utah and farm the land, or to go on to California to seek gold. They analyze a problem, make a decision, and write a letter defending their choice.
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Narrative History - Hypertext Dialogues
Students create scripts about California settlers. The document reflects the settlers' fears, expectations, and realizations.
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The Oregon Trail
Students discuss migration and reasons people came across the Oregon trail. Students create a time line of important events along the Oregon trail. A Historical Time Line is included for student use. Students work in small groups to...
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Westward Expansion
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 6: Native Americans in the West
Students recall their knowledge of Native American people who lived in the West and reflect on how their perspectives differed from pioneers and argonauts of the 19th century.
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Decision-Making Scenerios
Eleventh graders review what they have gathered on the Gold Rush and how the Native Americans lived in the Plains. Using a worksheet, they choose one scenerio they would have liked to be a part of and write their opionions about it...
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The Oregon Trail
Fourth graders discover the significance of the Oregon Trail in Idaho history. In addition, 4th graders conceptualize the Oregon Trail in relation to their own lives. They engage in a wide variety of curricular activities, culminating in...
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Trailblazers- Now and Then
Young scholars examine and study the routes of trailblazers. In this American history lesson, students find a route on a map and compare that to the route of trailblazers. Young scholars will then compare that map with a topographical...
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My Name is America
Students read My Name is America about the Donner Party journey and create a scrapbook of what they read. In this Donner Party lesson plan, students also map out the journal they read about.
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Let's Get Square
Learners predict possible phenotypic and genotypic outcomes for avariety of common plant hybrids. They review and explain the characteristics of dominant and recessive traits and explore Mendelian genetics. Students plot the possible...
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Charles R. Savage Lesson Plan Ideas
Students explore works by English photographer Charles R. Savage. In this visual arts lesson plan, students investigate photography by Savage as they discuss the use of perspective, space, color, and texture.
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Westward Ho!
Pupils participate in an Oregon Trail simulation in order to learn the hardships that the emigrating settlers faced. In this U.S. history lesson, students are required to work as a team and use the internet to research a final...
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Trailblazers - Now and Then
Students, working in pairs, use maps to determine the most efficient routes between two cities. They research which route would have been used by early trailblazers. They present a first person account of one of the trailblazers place in...
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Summarizing and Mapping for Comprehension
Young scholars practice summarization in order to increase their comprehension of non-fiction text. They read and summarize passages by finding the main ideas in passages from a Social Studies textbook. After silently reading the passage...