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Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand. |
The Oregon Trail Unit begins with an introduction to life in the mid-19th century. Students learn about the push and pull factors that led pioneer/invaders to travel on The Oregon Trail. They learn the geography of the trail, the hardships of the trail and role play packing for the trail. We focus on The Denny Party to personalize all those details. Creating a book of writing, drawing, and maps, students will finish the unit with a complete book on The Oregon Trail. In addition, students will be prepared, by the end of the unit to successfully complete the WA State CBA, People on the Move. |
LESSON |
INTEREST BUILDING |
ACTIVITY |
REVIEW/ASSESSMENT |
| Life in 1850 |
Students learn about what life was like in the mid-19th century. |
Students activate the Purple Words in a passage that illuminates 19th-century life on a farm. |
Students complete a compare/contrast pictorial comparison of life in 1850 with life today. |
| Push Factors |
Students learn about the difficulties of life in the U.S. of the 1850's on farms and in cities in the East. |
Students role-play life in a tenement, experiencing some of the factors that made people want to leave cities. |
Students work to create a cost/benefit graphic organizer to help them think about what made people decide to set out on The Oregon Trail. (CBA Prep) |
| Pull Factors |
Students learn about the appeals of life in San Francisco and Oregon Territory. |
Students play a Gold Rush Risk-taking game to understand the limits of the "Pull" reality. |
Students add to the cost/benefit graphic organizer. (CBA Prep) |
| US Geography |
Students work with four different U.S. maps to better understand the obstacles that pioneer/invaders faced on The Oregon Trail. |
Students compete in a TCI-inspired Geography Challenge. |
Students create their own US maps, demonstrating their knowledge of US geography. (CBA Prep) |
| More US Geography |
Students experience US maps in a different way to better understand the geographic obstacles on The Oregon Trail. |
Students choreograph and dance a US Map Dance that illustrates the geography of The Oregon Trail. |
Students demonstrate their understanding of the obstacles on The Oregon Trail by drawing a correct map of the route. (CBA Prep) |
Packing for The Oregon Trail |
Students hear stories about The Oregon Trail, leading to an investigation of what a family on The Trail would have to pack to survive. |
LOAD YOUR WAGON! Using found objects as items in wagons, students work in groups to load a cardboard wagon and fill out a spreadsheet to show what they would take on The Oregon Trail. |
The worksheets are scored and analyzed to see if the imaginary family would have survived. |
| Re-packing for The Oregon Trail |
Students learn about the dangers of the Oregon Trail, both real and exaggerated. |
After learning how well (or poorly) they packed the groups re-pack their wagons more carefully. |
Again, the worksheets are scored and analyzed. |
| The Denny Party's Journey |
The story of the Denny Party's trip across the Oregon Trail, landing one of them at Smaquamox. |
The class plays Tableaux Charades to better remember the details of the trip. |
Students draw a map of The Denny Party's trip and put The Party on their Cost/Benefits graphic organizers. (CBA Prep) |
| Smaquamox to Duwamps |
The story of the birth of the city of Seattle, starting at Smaquamox and ending at Duwamps. |
The class begins researching and organizing information on the Denny Party or another group of Pioneer/Invaders in order to be ready to write the "People on the Move" CBA. (CBA Prep) |
The CBA: People on The Move
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The class continues researching and organizing information and begins writing the "People on the Move" CBA. |
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Click here to read about Objectives and Social Studies GLEs for the unit. |
Historian in Residence © 2011 Mary Anne Christy |
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