Westward Expansion, Trails West

Lesson Plans, Curriculum Ideas, Activities
Technology, How-To's, and WebQuests


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Over the past several years I have been asked countless times for lesson plans and activities for teaching the Westward Movement, and the Trails to the West. This is the beginning of a list of what I, as a retired teacher, consider the very best sites, chosen because of the way the material is presented, original ideas, adaptability to specific needs, and ease of use.

Teachers: Please critique these, and if you use them in the classroom, provide feedback! Good points and bad, usefulness, students' preferences, changes or modifications you made, etc. Also, please submit other Westward Expansion lesson plans found on the Internet for inclusion here. This page is still under construction.

SITES WITH SPECIFIC LESSON PLANS, IDEAS,
And ACTIVITIES FOR THE CLASSROOM

  • Education First: Donner Online A web-based activity in which groups of students work together to learn about a topic by collecting information, images, and insights from the Internet, and then "pasting" them into a multimedia Scrapbook (a HyperStudio stack or a Web page) to share with others. The example uses the Donner Party, and related "learning links" but could easily be modified to emigrants in general, or specific trails. (From Pacific Bell)

  • Emigrant Road: An Oregon Trail Adventure A guide to following the route of the pioneers and visiting Oregon Trail sites as they exist today. Includes Notes For Teachers

  • Exploring the Wyoming State Museum Includes a downloadable "Student Exploration Booklet" which students will use to focus on many important aspects of Wyoming history while touring each of the galleries of the Wyoming State Museum. It integrates the study of Wyoming history with reading, writing, and math activities and provides opportunities for students to engage in research skills as well as higher level thinking skills. Includes teacher hints.

  • Fort Clatsop National Memorial Educational Resources. Includes "Traveling Trunks" relative to the Lewis and Clark Expedition which serve as mini-museums helping you bring history alive in your classroom. They can be set up as exhibits, used in conjunction with other units or used to kick-off, or conclude, your section on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Each trunk contains a variety of "hands-on" objects, books, videos and a resource guide.

  • Fort Clatsop In-Park Programs Includes the following one-day programs at the National Park: (1) Class Of Discovery, an in-depth, hands-on experience of the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Fort Clatsop in 1805-06; (2) Lewis and Who? What is Fort Clatsop? Who stayed there?; (3) Life at the Fort, a first-hand experience of what life was like for the "Corps of Discovery" on the actual site of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's winter encampment in 1805-06; and (4) Introduction to Fort Clatsop. Experience the park on your own as if your school were a large family

  • Gold Rush Players Lots of ideas and instructions on how to produce, stage, direct, cast and costume a play about the Gold Rush in California. This site was created for 4th grade teachers in California, but obviously can be used anywhere! Also includes Teacher Tips, Links, etc.

  • How the Physical Environment Affected Settlements For 4th and 5th graders. Moves through the US from east to west. Includes lesson ideas for The Great Southwest, Settling the Plains, and To The Pacific.

  • In Search Of The Oregon Trail The PBS Teacher's Guide provides background material and suggested activities that can complement viewing the PBS documentary "In Search of the Oregon Trail" in the classroom.

  • Moving West: Life of Native Americans Today This lesson plan is from a German school, but in English. Includes: Indians on the Trail, Wounded Knee, Children on the Trail, and Moving West.

  • Oregon Trail Teacher's Guide From the Whitman Mission NPS site. Includes very extensive teacher's guide with the following topics: Historical Highlights, Indians: The First People in Oregon, The Missionaries, The Pioneers, and Activities for Spelling, Science, Math, Arts & Crafts, Social Studies, Language Arts, Mapping, and Physical Education. Any one of these topics could be used alone.

  • Oregon Trail Think Quest: Teaching Activities Lots and lots of great ideas and resources here for teaching about the Westward Movement and Trails West. Here is just one of many: In 1852, John G. Glenn wrote in his diary of his experiences on the Oregon Trail. Interestingly, 110 years later, John H. Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. In groups, ask students to develop comparison diaries of these two John Glenns. Compare and contrast the motivations, conditions, and experiences of the "Oregon Trail" and the "Outer Space Trail." In 1836, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding became the first white women to go to the Oregon Country. In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Ask students to research and write comparison diaries of these two pioneers. Also includes a bibliography of grade appropriate Oregon Trail Resources.

  • Oregon Trail WebQuest Explore the Oregon Trail, Construct a Covered Wagon, Compare an Oregon Trail Journey to Lewis and Clark's Expedition, Complete An Oregon Trail WebQuest, Plan An Oregon Trail Trip. Lots of links to Oregon Trail sites, teacher ideas, vocabulary words.

  • Overland Journey WebQuest As a group students will explore the topic of an overland journey to the American West in the mid 1800's. Each member of the team will become an expert in one part of the topic. Then each one will have to come back together to perform a task that gets to the heart of "what's the truth and who says so?" Includes background information, the task, the group process, and a teacher's guide.

  • Teacher's Guide to "The Oregon Trail", a 2-hour historical video documentary This site includes: Background on the Oregon Trail, information about the video, a brief outline of each video, vocabulary words, topics for discussion, activities, and test questions,

  • Teaching With Historic Places Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story. This is just one of many lesson plans at this web site. It includes gackground information for the teacher, links to readings, maps, activities, and supplementary resource material.

  • Trails Diary Project From Minot, Maine. A project to write a newspaper article using Emigrant Diaries and Journals found on the Overland Trail Pages, and The End of the Oregon Trail Web Site

  • Westward Expansion Resources Lots of links to sites, and also "Topics for Discussion."

  • Westward Expansion, Trails West By covered wagon and handcart the emigrants came west across the plains and mountains of America. What was it like to walk 2,000 miles for the promise of fertile ground, a chance for fortune, and the dream of a new life? Who were these individuals who risked the arduous trip? What were the living conditions along the trails from Missouri to California and Oregon? This web site includes projects and lessons for insight into this six-month journey, using newspaper accounts, contemporary books of the era, and personal diaries of the people who forged an expanding nation. (From CyberBee)

  • Westward Expansion WebQuest An extremely well thought out WebQuest, links include a wide variety of Westward Expansion sites, "Looking Deeper," "Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus," and a place for "real world" feedback.

  • Westward Movement These lesson plans geared for 7th to 9th graders 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. Includes very detailed, step-by-step instructions for conducting the lessons. Background information, bibliography, quiz questions, mapping activities, and homework. There are also suggested situations which call for creative problem solving.

  • Whitman Mission Teacher's Guide Very extensive and detailed downloadable Teacher's Guides. Includes: General Information, Cayuse Indians, Whitmans and the Pioneers, and Activities for: Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Art, Writing, Mapping, and Math. Any of these topics or activities could be used alone.

  • Wyoming State Museum Discovery Trunk Program A Great Idea! Teachers participating in the Discovery Trunk Program will enable their students to better understand and appreciate history and the people of the West through hands-on experiences with historical objects. Each trunk contains reproduction artifacts, a teacher's guide, and an audio/video component. This particular "trunk program" site is for Wyoming teachers only, but can definitely be easily adapted! Has very extensive and detailed downloadable Teacher's Guide, which includes background information, suggested lesson plans, a description of the artifacts, student activities, discussion ideas, and bibliography and an audio/video component. Teacher's Guides are included for "The Frontier Army," "The Mountain Man," and "The Plains Indians."

    • SITES WITH INFORMATION ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, ETC

  • Internet Resources for Social Studies Instruction Evaluating Quality of Information, Content-Rich History Sites, and Searching Tips.

  • Curriculum Ideas: Now that I have a connection to the Internet, what do I do with it? This page is dedicated to examples of how the Web can be used in the classroom. Language, Math, Science, Social Studies

  • Emerging Technologies Resources Over 12,000 resources organized by topics for teachers, students, parents,administrators, and other educators. Includes links to download sites, curriculum guides, kids sites, research sites, workshop presentation materials, tutorials on the net, and many, many more. Nicely organized, easy to locate specific information.

  • HyperStudio Download a Free Evaluation Copy identical to the full version of the software in every way, except for a limitation of being able to create only 4-card projects in any given file. A great way to learn how to use this software! Includes hundreds of megabytes of sample HyperStudio projects, created by actual users in many different areas of use. Examples include professional multimedia projects, a resume, a kid-produced electronic magazine and classroom-created student projects across a wide range of curriculum and grade levels.

  • Teacher's Closet Are you a new teacher or an experienced teacher looking for some new tricks of the trade? Well, you have come to the right place. This is a TrackStar site with a wealth of information and phenomenal resources, from directories of lesson plans to discussions on the latest educational topics.

  • TrackStar: An on-line interface that helps instructors organize and annotate on-line resources and file them in the TrackStar database (optional). This site has thousands of links to web sites, organized by grade level and topic. Here is a listing of Trails West Tracks

  • Treasure Chest of Technology Ideas Includes good information and URLs to refer to about Technology Planning, Copyrights, Hardware and Software.

  • The WebQuest A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

  • Also check out Links to the Overland Trail Pages from Educational Sources and Libraries Hundreds of links here, and lots more ideas!


    Please submit additional Westward Expansion and Trails West lesson plans, ideas and activites!

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