Cultural Lit. 18: The Oregon Trail & Native Americans

Students read Dancing With the Indians by Angela Shelf Medearis. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Native American festivals and traditions. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing,...

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...

Students examine Native American dolls. They discover the connections between the dolls and the Native American culture and customs. They also use maps to locate the position of different tribes.

Many know that Native Americans were forced off their lands and moved west, but how did these people react? The Red Sticks faction of the Creek nation opted to defend themselves and their lands in a series of wars called the Eastern...

Why do many Native Americans live on reservations? An interactive resource teaches about how reservations came to be and the tragic history behind Native Americans moving from their lands. Teenagers read passages, view images, and click...

What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...

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,...

After observing a map of trails that settlers took in the 1800s, your class will write a journal with the perspective of a settler. In their journals, they must describe the trail they traveled, geographical features they saw, states and...

Fifth graders are introduced to the removal of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears. In groups, they examine the political factors that caused this removal and its effect on society. To end the lesson, they discuss various ways to...

Young scholars investigate U.S. history by reading American Indian stories. In this Cherokee Indian lesson, students identify the cruelty inflicted towards Native Americans by the European settlers and the "trail of tears" that were...