Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students will learn about the early pioneers in America and their motivations for moving West. They will explore what life was like for these explorers on their journeys, and will list items necessary for westward travel during the mid-1800s. Students will also create a map of the Oregon Trail, conduct research on historical sites along the trail, and present findings via class oral presentations. This lesson will culminate in the presentation of monologues written by students, in which students present the perspective of an emigrant on their journey westward.
Length of Lesson:
Five to six 45-minute periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grade 4.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- identify reasons people choose to explore the west.
- re-create the Oregon Trail on a U.S. map.
- organize a list of supplies needed for a wagon train journey west.
- research the dangers of frontier travel.
- write a monologue from the point of view of a pioneer.
- role-play as a pioneer settler journeying west.
Supplies:
Instructional Plan:
Introductory Activity: Why Go West?
Ask students if they would like to explore space. Why? Discuss what the challenges are in exploring unknown territory (i.e., food source, shelter, cost of travel, fear of the unknown, etc.).
Initiate a discussion about why people were so eager to explore and settle in unknown and unfriendly territories of the West (i.e., gold, farmland, resources, etc.). Explain that the westward movement involved thousands of brave people including pioneers, explorers, frontiersmen, and women.
Introduce the concept of "manifest destiny." Ask students if they think the pioneers had a right to the lands of the West. Remind them that the Native Americans lived in the West years before European colonists set foot on U.S. soil.
Exploring Uncharted Territory
Tell students the story of Lewis and Clark. Explain that then-President Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis to lead a venture to find an easy water route to the Pacific. With frontiersman William Clark, the two headed a team of 31 people west, up the Missouri River, in 1804. Two years later, the team made it to the Pacific, but the route they took would be too difficult for wagons to travel. For detailed information on the Lewis and Clark expedition, see The Corps from PBS's Lewis and Clark site.
Tell students that Lewis and Clark took comprehensive notes and drew detailed maps along their journey, uncovering the secrets of the West for European Americans. And as a result, these explorers paved the way for many more explorers to travel westward.
Teach students about other important explorers, such as John Jacob Astor, John Colter, Jebediah Smith, and John Fremont. See Exploring Unknown Territory handout for additional background information.
Packing for the Unknown
Ask students to recall the last time they went away on vacation. Have them write a list of all the things their family needed to bring with them. Share ideas from the lists.
Now ask students how they think they would prepare for a journey in which they are uncertain of the final destination. This journey could take months—even years—to complete, and the weather conditions, terrain, and resources are unknown. What would they bring?
Tell students to think about how they would cope if they had no refrigerators, no electrical outlets, and no ovens on their journey. How would they eat? Remind students that these are some of the decisions the pioneers had to make before they embarked on their journeys. Place students in groups of four and ask them to come up with a list of items they should take on their travels. After they are finished, compare the students' lists with the list of items the pioneers most likely brought on their journey, see To Equip and Expedition from PBS's Lewis and clark site. Review with the students some of the items they didn't have on their lists.
Mapping the Journey
Tell students that now that they know what to bring on their journey, they have to figure out how they are going to get to their destinations.
Provide information to students on the Oregon Trail, the only path for settlers to cross the mountains in the West. In the mid-1800s, over half a million people traveled west on the Trail in what is now known as "the great migration." For more information on the Oregon Trail, see the comprehensive Oregon Trail site.
Pass out maps of the United States and ask students to map out the route for wagons to travel along the Oregon Trail. Make sure that students include a title, legend, and cardinal directions on their maps.
Tell students to read about historic sites along the trail on the Oregon Trail site. Assign one historic site to one or two students. For homework, they should prepare a paragraph about what is located on this site. Tell students they should be prepared to report on this site to the rest of the class the next day.
Students should present their one-paragraph reports to the class in order from the easternmost site to the westernmost site, so that students can get a sense of what it would have been like to travel on the Oregon Trail. As students are presenting, the rest of the class should note on their maps where the site is located.
The Journey
Remind students that the journey west on the Oregon Trail was extremely difficult. Many had to walk 2,000 miles barefoot, and one in ten died along the way. Ask students what they think some of the most difficult obstacles were in traveling along this route.
Tell students they should review the primary source documents available through the Trail Archive from the Oregon trial site. These documents reveal firsthand information about the challenges faced by people traveling the Oregon Trail. Students should take notes, listing some of the hardships faced by people traveling west.
Have students participate in the interactive activity, Into the Unknown, which was developed by PBS. In this activity, students are forced to make decisions as if they are leading a group of people into the unknown West.
After students have engaged in the activity and independent research, foster a discussion about their findings. What were the problems that the emigrants faced (i.e., cholera, poor sanitation, accidental gunshots, some angry Native American tribes, etc.)? Keep a list of these problems on the board.
A Day on the Oregon Trail
Tell students they will now write a monologue from the point of view of a pioneer in the middle of the journey. The monologue should reflect the students' research into some of the joys and challenges experienced during a trip through unknown territory.
Explain some key points about writing monologues. Tell students that their monologues will be assessed based on the accuracy and believability of the character, originality and creativity of presentation, accuracy of the portrayal of pioneer life, and appropriate incorporation of research materials. For additional tips on monologues, view the section on Monologues on the Playwriting Seminars Web site.
Assessment:
View the extent to which students succeeded in the following areas:
- accuracy and believability of the character
- originality and creativity of presentation
- accuracy of the portrayal of pioneer life
- appropriate incorporation of research materials
Extensions:
Go on to the next lesson in this unit, Pioneer Living.
Sources:
Print:
- Fifer, Barbara. Going Along with Lewis & Clark. Helena, MT: Montana Magazine, 2000.
- Levine, Ellen. If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon.
Illustrated by Elroy Freem. New York: Scholastic, 1992.
- Morley, Jacqueline, and David Dalsriya. How Would You Survive in the American West? Illustrated by David Antram. London: Orchard Books, 1997.
Authors:
-
Bernard Franklin,
Thomas G. Pullen Arts Magnet School
Landover, MD
