Introduction
It's a Saturday morning and you feel sunshine on your face as you start to wake up. You are looking forward to a day of reading and playing games. You sit up as your dog, Henry, starts licking your face.
"Henry!" you say, "cut that out"! But that's not Henry licking your face! It's a cow! No, not a cow. An ox! There is an ox licking your face! As you look around you realize you aren't in your bedroom, either. You are leaning up against the wooden wheel of a covered wagon! There is a woman standing next to you, wearing a very strange looking dress.
"Excuse me ma'am, could you please tell me where we are? And what year it is?" you ask.
"Why whatever do you mean? It's 1862 and we are traveling out West to claim land! Now get up so we can get started for the day" she says.
"Oh no!" you mutter, "What have I gotten myself into!"
SS4H3 Explain westward expansion in America- Students will be able to explain the importance of Westward Expansion.
Task
You wake up and you have time-traveled to 1862 America during the time of Westward Expansion! In order to get home to play with your dog (and enjoy your Saturday) you must explore what life was like during this time and why so many people chose to travel west!
For this task, you will create a brochure advertising westward expansion to your classmates. Your brochure should include the following:
- a neat front page with an illustration (or printed picture) depicted Westward Expansion.
- a description of everyday life for someone traveling.
- a description of the clothing worn during this time.
- a description of the food eaten during this time.
- a description of why people chose to travel west.
- please remember to write your name!
Your brochure should be neat and clearly written. You may work with a partner if you remain academically honest in your work.
(Reminder: Academic honesty means that your work is your own and not copied from the internet or another student)
Process
Use the following links to help you create your brochure. Remember, everything you need is here! Start with number one and keep going!
1. Read this article about the Homestead Act of 1862 (this will tell all about why people wanted to move West).
2. Next, watch this Brainpop about Westward Expansion (you may try out the other features of this site as long as you use your time wisely).
https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/westwardexpansion/
3. Clothing:
https://www.theclassroom.com/what-kind-of-clothing-did-the-pioneers-wear-12078462.html
4. Food/Why did people travel west?:
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/learn_interp_nhotic_kidstrail.pdf
5. Lastly, watch this content video to wrap everything up. If you have any questions, please ask me!
Evaluation
You will be graded on a scale of 1-3:
3: You did a fabulous job following the WebQuest and convincing your peers to travel westward. Your work is clearly written and neat. You have shown me that you understand Westward Expansion by following instructions. Let's get the wagon ready to go!
2: You followed most of the instructions and did a good job on your brochure. There are some things that could have been improved upon, but overall you did a nice job. I might travel west on your advice!
1: I think we need some review on how to follow instructions OR Westward Expansion. I will follow up shortly with you to schedule a time for us to meet to talk about this assignment! Until then, I think I will stay where I am. No traveling for me!
Conclusion
For our conclusion for this lesson, I would like you to think about these questions:
1. How did people live life differently in 1862 American versus today?
2. How would you feel if you lived during Westward Expansion?
3. What was the most interesting thing that you learned about this period of history?
4. Is there anything else you would like to know?
Pick the one that you like the most. We will be having a class discussion about this later this week.