These lessons revolve around the move Westward in covered wagons. They are designed to give a better understanding of the geographical region of the Great Basin while gaining an insight on what a trip West in a covered wagon might have been like.
This unit is for use in an American history class, primarily 7th through 9th grades. It meshes nicely with an interdisciplinary focus including Social Studies, Language Arts, and Math.
The principle theme of the unit is a 3-part structure.
The first section deals with the reasons, organization, and motivations of people considering the move West.
Part 2 is the actual westward travel.
Part 3 is centered on settling down in the new frontier.
These individual lesson plans are organized to be taught in one class per day, for one week. 5 lessons. I have included more than enough material for this time allotment. It would be easy to flesh these lessons out to 3 weeks, and include the multidisciplinary input from Language Arts and Math. Included is supplemental computer work, but it is not critical to the unit. Slow speed of delivery, and repetition are suggested for some of the more difficult materials to allow ESL students adequate time for questions and understanding. It is understood that limited English speakers require variations in teaching proceedures. The materials that follow rely heavily on visuals, manipulatives, and group work which helps ti facilitate the 2nd language learner.
*Computer use to include: "Oregon Trail" software. (# of copies depends on computer availability;) Internet access for use of related "web quest" activities.
*The Children's Writing and Publishing software for word processing (Optional.)
Day 1
Why did people want to move out West?
Students will understand the motivations that prompted westward movement.
Textbook, blank U.S. map handouts. Tape off a 10" x 10" section of the room floor.
Standards: No special seating or rules for this unit.
Have students all move to within the taped off square of room. It will be crowded, but not uncomfortably so. Questions: Who would like to move to a more open part of the classroom? How many would like to move? Why? (Again, pacing questions and responses to allow for all students to comprehend.) When students have discussed reasons for wanting more space, have them move back into their seats and begin the days lesson.
Begin discussion with "crowded" eastern U.S. Many immigrants had been lured to America by promises of free land, and limitless horizons. They found instead hard life in eastern cities. Many were farmers by trade. Disappointed, but itching to make their fortunes, they began to listen to advertising of the ìpromised landî out west. Government free land, romantic stories of the West, and personal discontent lead thousands to prepare to move out West.
This lesson should be supplemented with era pictures of crowded city slums, and Horace Greeley's newspapers "Go West Young Man." Difficult words can be listed on the board with definitions, or a vocabulary list could be handed out.
On the U.S. map, students should locate major eastern cities, especially New York, and the city that most pioneers funnelled through--St.Louis. (This is best done with a transparency and overhead projector if available.)
There is a 10 minute section of "How the West was Won" that depicts a family making a decision to head West. It gives a good depiction of the weight of the decision, as well as showing an early town, and fashions. I would leave this to the end, as it could be curtailed time-wise, if necessary.
Short quizzes will be given at the end of each dayís lesson for progress assessment. The students will give brief answers on a separate sheet of paper which will be turned in. Questions on first quiz: Where did most immigrants find work when they arrived in the U.S. (Cities.) What was the profession of most immigrants before they arrived in the U.S. (Farmers.) What things encouraged people to want to move West? (Advertising, land give-aways, discontent, fortune-seeking)
(Review of these quizzes can provide a short warm-up for the following day.)
Many people wanted a fresh start, and the ìgrass is greenerî thinking was in full force. With the government using settlers to ìsettleî the frontier with the bait of free land, people began to congregate their resources for a westward expedition. Preview tomorrows lesson in which students will begin to stock their own wagon, and plan for a wagon trip into the western frontier.
Students will devise 5 "rules" that they think would help ensure their groups survival on their westward trek. These will be due at the beginning of Wednesday's class.
Day 2
What steps were necessary for them to prepare for their journey?
How did they choose their trails?
Students will plan their trip west. They will organize their party members and select jobs that they will perform in their party. They will create lists of supplies needed, and determine practicality due to weight and volume. Students will participate in group activities and decision making.
On the floor, tape a 10' x 4' rectangle. Student's maps and graded quizzes from previous day. Prior to class, find and denote the various "stops along the way" that are detailed in this day's lesson.
To begin class, a 5 minute section of "How the West was Won" will be shown that depicts some travails of wagon travel. It shows the troubles of going up hills, and losing a wheel. (Both very common events.)
Briefly go over previous days quiz questions and correct answers before continuing.
Students will divide up into small groups of 4 with their first task of picking jobs that they will have on their wagon. These will include:
*A trail boss - taskmaster.
*A scribe to record and note their decisions.
*A banker to do the mathematics, expenditures, figure out how much supplies the wagon will carry, distance travelled, dates etc.
*A voice monitor, and a scout - keep group aware of when project needs to be completed & voices down.
The next assignment: As a group, draw up a list of the provisions the group will need to take on their westward movement. Those items that are essential are to be highlighted. The following are guidelines.
For a longer unit, class time can be productively used by students evaluating the best route for them to take. In a one week unit, it is probably best to give them the route that they will travel.
On their map locate these points that they will pass through (Included are some story-starters or ideas to add flavor to their trip):
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI. Meet at the south-east corner of Courthouse Square and wait until enough wagons show up to form a wagon train. Tell what you brought with you (supplies, heirlooms, and animals) as well as what the town looks and feels like.
FIRST NIGHT--CROSSED BLUE RIVER. Describe your first day of travel by wagon plus crossing a river. Camp near the flour mills run by river power, and buy flour from either Blue Mill or Fitzhugh Mill. Someone on your wagon train is bitten by a rattlesnake and dies hours later.
CROSSED KANSAS RIVER. Used the Pappan Ferry run by two brothers who used two canoes with poles to carry the wagons over. They coiled a rope around a tree to lower the boat into the water. The river was 200 yards wide, rapid and deep current. Animals swam, and it cost $4/wagon, .25/mule, .10/man. One of your children falls off the wagon and is swept away by the current and drowns.
FORT KEARNY. Mail letters and buy supplies.
ASH HOLLOW. This is the first steep grade you've encountered, and it was so scary that people did not even talk for the last 2 miles. You lost several hours holding the wagons back with ropes (to keep them from racing down the canyon), so you decide to camp in the grove of ash trees at the bottom of the canyon.
COURTHOUSE ROCK. You passed a huge rock that looked like a castle or jail. It was all alone on the prairie and you've been watching it for days. The ground has changed from lush green to browns and tans. In fact, it is so dry that your lips and nose are cracked and parched, but this evening relief came with a thunderstorm, which lit up the sky with all the lightning. Your animals became frightened, and you have to calm them down.
CHIMNEY ROCK. You passed a tall rock formation out in the middle of the plains. It is hot and you're bothered by the boils on the back of your unwashed neck.
SCOTT'S BLUFF. On the south bank of the Platte River, you pass a high cliff. There is no wood and you're forced the use buffalo chips to make your fire (it does give a distinctive taste to the food).
FORT LARAMIE. This Mexican-style fort made of adobe seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere. There is water on two sides. You buy supplies.
INDEPENDENCE ROCK. It's the Fourth of July and you spend the next couple of days celebrating around this huge granite rock that is 3-4 acres in size and looks like a giant whale. You celebrate independence with patriotic singing, picnic lunches, and carving your name on the rock.
SWEETWATER RIVER CROSSING. You camp near the river because it is a lush area with good water and grass for the animals. Indians attack this evening, and while your wagon train fought them off, several friends died.
SOUTH PASS. Today you crossed the Continental Divide, although it was so gradual a climb that you were unaware at the time. This pass is only 3/4 of a mile in parts, but it marks the beginning of the Oregon Territory.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS. You passed this natural phenomenon but did not want to camp there. It is an opening in rock where hot mineral water shoots out and emits a noise like a high pressure steamboat whistle (though not very loud). The water is hot, pungent, and had a disagreeable metallic taste to it. One of your children burned his/her tongue trying to drink it.
SODA SPRINGS. You've decided to camp here in a cedar grove where there are round openings several feet in diameter. One hole contains a natural soda water and you baked several batches of bread with the water you don't have the use yeast. The other hole contains water that is like beer. Several men drank too much of it and got giddy.
FORT HALL. Although this isn't the nicest fort you've stopped at, it does sell fresh vegetables, which you've not had since the trip began. You buy supplies, but they're expensive: sugar - .50/pint; coffee - .50/pint; flour - .25/pint; rice - .33/pint.
FORT BOISE. You've been travelling along the Snake River plain and you finally see a lot of trees in this valley where you decide the camp for the night.
VALLEY OF GRANDE RONDE. You're almost there and now you're in a beautifully lush valley with berries everywhere. You spend several days picking fruit and resting.
BARLOW ROAD. You decide to use the toll road rather than raft down the Columbia River. Even the road, though, is dangerous as it plunges down cliffs, so you have to slow your wagon by wrapping rope around trees to gently guide it down the steep incline. You can see Mount Hood in the distance, and some decide to stay here.
WILLAMETTE VALLEY. You've reached your destination and it's as beautiful as you'd heard.
Of course, the stops made can be simplified for time's sake.
The students should now plot the route between points on their maps. They should label & mark mountains, and rivers. (A brief description of the work of cartographers could happen here.
Daily quiz questions: What are the heaviest items a wagon had to carry? (Water.) What were two important items to take with you? (Variety of answers.) How will you cross rivers? (A creative thinking question with a number of possible answers.)
It took almost all of a familyís savings to buy and outfit a wagon. Some people had to work their way across. There were very few places to buy supplies, so planning was very important---it meant life or death for your family. It was easy to get lost, so most wagon trains hired guides and scouts. Some guides abandoned the wagon trains after they were deep in the wilderness. There was danger every day.
Tomorrow your wagon will embark on its rugged journey westward. Good luck.
Homework: Announce to the students that as they are about to move west, they must do the following before the next class day:
Create a new identity for themselves. This would include an old-fashioned name, age, occupation, spouse, and family (minimum of two children and possibly grandparents, cousins, uncles or aunts living with them). Having a spouse is required because most adults were married then.
Day 3
What obstacles did they face?
Students will deliberate on group rules.
Students will calculate their travel figures.
Students will use creative thinking in timed emergency situations.
No videos today
Questions begin this lesson. Which sports have the most rules? Are there any sports that have no rules? Do you know of any groups of people that live with no rules? What are some of the things that could happen to a group of people who had no rules? (This leads into the formation of the list of rules-to-live-by that the groups will now write based which is based on Monday's homework.)
The students will begin by compiling their list of rules and regulations the party will follow on the trail. When they have agreed to a list of no more than 10 rules, every member of their party will sign it. (This will be turned in later.)
Next, the groups will estimate their arrival dates based on a rate of travelling 15 miles a day over flat land. They will need to take in to account the terrain, weather, feed & water for the animals. They will write their estimated arrival date on their rules list sheet.
It's time for them to begin their actual trip west. There will be planned and unplanned things occurring. They will deal with weather, terrain, natives, and human nature. Luck will be involved, as dice or a spinner will help determine fate. It is not a race vs. each team, per se. Rather it is a race against inclimate weather, and supply shortages. Situations can be thrown at the pioneers which call for creative problem solving. (For example, spoilage of a large percentage of food stock by dampness, or insects. Disease was also quite common.) Group decision-making should be quite evident on this trip. Life or death situations can be proposed that call for quick action and thinking. (Example: A harness snaps while helping push a wagon up a hill. Each group has one minute to form a plan of action.)
Depending on the class time available, chance rolls can be made for each week of their journey, or more (less) often.
Possible dice or spinner categories:
It is fun to keep track of each groupís progress on a map using pins, or wagon markers. The groups should begin to spread out after several "weeks" of travel. Make sure to emphasize the geographical features that they pass through. Their "travels" should end up on Friday. So, do about 1/3 of the journey on Wed., Thurs., and Fri., if you are planning one week's lesssons.
The quiz questions for the day---Why did wagon trains need rules of conduct? Name 3 things that can slow your progress.
The pioneers embarked on their great journey with high hopes and expectations. They assumed many things about the frontier that would prove false, and sometimes fatal. Managing four to six 1000 lb. animals and a cumbersome wagon over various terrain proved a daunting task. Everyone on the wagon had to help. Kids, parents, grandparents. Their journey would toughen them, or kill them. But it did a lot to prepare them for the harsh life ahead.
Students should consider that they are often trespassers upon Indian lands. How should the native Americans be approached, or treated?
Day 4 The struggle of the journey continues
Students will continue work on map-making skills.
Students will experience some of the hardships of the pioneers.
Students will become familiar with the geography of the west.
Video "How the West Was Won."
Outline maps of the U.S. (ideally showing mt. ranges)
Pictures of the Sierra Nevada mountains would be beneficial
5 to 7 minute segment of video depicting the Sierras crossing. This was a daunting challenge, and when completed, a magnificent achievement.
Give each student a blank map of the U.S. With an overhead projector, give them a map of the trails (used by pioneers) to copy on their blank map. Have them label each trail. Explain that some trails had advantages (less snow, flatter terrain) with other disadvantages (longer distances, hostile natives.) People chose for different reasons.
Explain that the wagon trains faced some of their greatest challenges towards the end of their journeys. They had to cross the Sierras. For much of the year, this was possible--though tough. If the timing was wrong, it could be lethal.
This is a good spot in the unit to bring in information about the Donner Party and their tragedy. It is a fascinating and sad story that rivets children's attention. Details can be pulled from text, or pulled from the internet at one of the sites listed at the end of the unit.
Continue the classes trek across the continent by wagon with another series of "chance" roles. Sprinkle in an emergency or two (a rock tumbles under a wheel while crossing a swift stream) to generate quick thinking ideas and plans. Advanced warning of dangers can lead to interesting plans. Sometimes co-operation is the only salvation. (The wagons may have been tied together to prevent one from washing away.)
Quiz questions: What two events doomed the Donner Party? What geographical features make the Sierras tough to cross?
The pioneers had overcome much to make it this far. Yet uncertainty still lie before them. The swift waters and jagged mountains they faced were almost insurmountable, yet they persisted. With luck, they would soon be living in lush California--where land was free, gold was laying around on the ground, and a family could thrive. A few actually found it that way. But most had to settle for something entirely different. Tomorrow our settlers will arrive in California, and we will see what that meant for them, for the land, and for the Native Americans they encountered along the way.
Take U.S. maps home and color in different geographical features theyíve encountered on their westward adventure.
Day 5
What impact did the migration have on Native Americans? The environment?
How were their lives different when they arrived and settled in the West?
Students will understand part of the impact of the Westward Movement on our nationís cultural life.
Students will learn about the impact on environment, and native Americans.
Video "How the West Was Won"
Video clip (5 min.) "How the West Was Won" depicting the end of the trail.
First, itís time to bring all the wagon trains to trail's end. Include one last hazard (such as coming upon a couple of burned out, vandalized wagons) and then have them role into "the promised land."
This is it! Many settlers felt that they now had it made! All they had to do was arrive out West, and everything would be smooth. Today we will look at what happened to the average settler family as the settled down out West.
For starters, most farmers became farmers. Most businessmen became businessmen. Most seamstresses became seamstresses. In other words, they brought their former lives with them, for the most part. Many wagons carried the owners ìtools of the tradeî that they earned a living with back east. It was what they knew, it could feed their families, it's what they did.
Many did try to "strike it rich" in mining, or gambling, but most people settled in and "civilized" an area near other people. There was safety in numbers, and danger close by. Wild animals, and wild people. Thieves had little fear of being caught by the law because there was very little enforcement. It was "frontier justice." That means you protected your family and your things yourself.
Many things changed with the arrival of more and more settlers. Perhaps the greatest impact was on Native Americans. Use the example of the Cherokee.
The text can provide information here on the values that lay behind the actions and statements of the people involved in the Cherokee removal. What values and goals motivated President Jackson? What values influenced the actions and responses of the Cherokee?
Ask students to imagine they were forced to leave their homes suddenly last night, taking nothing with them. In a 2 minute quick-write, have them write about what they would miss most.
The scope of harm done to Native Americans can't be covered in this series of lessons, but students should be made aware of a systematic removal of indigenous peoples under the guidelines of the Federal Government. Settlers were encouraged to "civilize" areas of the frontier by government land grants. A sad chapter in our history.
Instead of a quiz, students will begin a unit-ending one page essay on their journey. They can list the problems their group encountered and how they were overcome. They can write about effective and useless rules, teamwork, planning, and overcoming obstacles.
These lessons teach a critical era of U.S. history. One that not only spread the boundaries of our country, but one that helped shape our very image of ourselves as a hard-working, risk-taking people. The "frontier" image that still lives in many minds. The students have probably come away with a good understanding of what it took to make that journey, and have a new respect for the people of that era. They will have practiced group decision making, planning, and crisis management. They will have examined the impact of the era from multiple perspectives, and gained appreciation of what was accomplished, and what was lost. They have met historical heroes and villains, and are leaving the unit with a good grasp of an important saga in American history.
The following are web-quests that guide a student through web pages on a search for information. They may take up to a class period (or longer) to complete.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/donner
Description: The plight of the Donner Party remains one of the most poignant episodes in the history of westward expansion during the 19th Century. "Donner Online" is a type of Web-based activity in which you learn about a topic by collecting information, images, and insights from the Internet, and then you "paste" them into a multimedia Scrapbook (a HyperStudio stack or a Web page) to share your learning with others.
Author: Tom March
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/travel/pony.html
Description: Plot the route of the Pony Express. As you do this, discover the types of terrain that had to be crossed by the riders and plan the number of stations and change of horses needed to get mail to California.
Author: Houghton Mifflin
/SCORE/activity/blazers/index.html
Description: Present day roads were once the paths followed by the early trailblazers. But why did they take the routes they did? Today it's your turn to follow these roads and learn about the lives of the early explorers like Jedediah Smith.
Author: Ralph Kline