Westward Expansion Unit Study

Westward Expansion Unit Study

Our time spent learning about pioneers and the Westward Expansion was so full, fun and meaningful. As with most of our unit studies, this one was very literature-rich and included a healthy portion of project-based learning.

What Did We Learn?

I tried to pulled together a unit plan that was as thorough and chronological as possible. While there might be a few holes here or there, or even some overlap, I felt like my upper elementary and middle school children soaked in a great deal of understanding about the time period.

The person or event listed in bold was the focus, while the following events or people were covered with lesser importance.

Daniel Boone – pioneer, frontier boundaries after Revolutionary War, Wilderness Road, Northwest Ordinance

Thomas Jefferson – Louisiana Purchase

Lewis and Clark – Northwest Passage, plants and animals discovered (nature journals), geographic barriers, cartography, map of Native American tribes across N. America

Sacagawea – Conestoga wagons, Monroe Doctrine, fur trade, Oregon Fever

War of 1812 – America & Great Britain, disagreement over shipping & trade on seas – Embargo Act, Henry Clay, fought in America & Canada, Star Spangled Banner, Treaty of Ghent

Jedediah Smith – Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail

Davy Crockett – prairie schooner, Jason Lee, Independence Rock

Trail of Tears – Indian Removal Act, Andrew Jackson, Cherokee history

Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) – six states created from 1816-1821, wagon groupings, Pony Express

The Battle of the Alamo

Oklahoma Land Run

Chisholm Trail and Cowboys – Buffalo Bill, Ben Holladay, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickok

How We Ordered Our Unit Study Work

Each day looked somewhat similar to the next, making sure to include some of each of the following.

• Reading for research with notebooking

• Timeline and map work

• Reading for pleasure

• Work on one or more projects (project ideas below) and/or work on a hands-on project from Westward Ho!, Pioneer Days or Wild West Days

 Westward Ho!: An Activity Guide to the Wild West (Hands-On History) Pioneer Days: Discover the Past with Fun Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes Wild West Days: Discover the Past with Fun Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes

Our Living Book Historical Selections

Living literature is always a huge part of our history units! Each of these books made a great contribution in our pioneer unit. Some were read as a family, some were assigned during individual reading time, and some were enjoyed on CD in the car.

 The Sign of the Beaver A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-32 The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe The Bears on Hemlock Mountain The Ballad of Lucy Whipple Lewis and Clark for Kids: Their Journey of Discovery with 21 Activities (For Kids series) Dandelions A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 The California Gold Rush (True Books) If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon (If You Lived…(Prebound)) Caddie Woodlawn Sarah, Plain and Tall Little House on the Prairie (Little House, No 3) Wagon Wheels, Level 3, Grade 2-4 (I Can Read ) Tree in the Trail Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express (I Can Read Level 3) Facing West: A Story of the Oregon Trail (Once Upon America)

Other Great Resources We Used

The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a wonderful documentary narrated by Dean Butler – Almanzo from the television series!  My children are Little House on the Prairie fans and this DVD fascinated them.  We’ve never been able to make a trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, but this was almost as good.

 Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Oregon Trail computer game was a favorite of my students when I taught school and it’s been a favorite of my own children as well.  Will you survive the journey?

 The Oregon Trail: Adventures along the Oregon Trail, 5th Edition

I’m always looking for great online resources.  These are all free and wonderful.

Louisiana Purchase Game

Easy Fun School Lewis and Clark Unit

Easy Fun School Santa Fe Trail Unit

Easy Fun School Gold Rush Unit

Westward Expansion Project Week

After several weeks of fun activities, field trips and daily lessons, we finished off our Westward Expansion unit with a “project week”. At the end of most of our units, I prepare a list of projects for my children to choose and complete. Each project requires a fair amount of research and assimilating the information into a something that is presented to the family at the end of the week.

On Monday of our pioneer unit, I gave the kids a Westward Expansion Test and a project list (below), both of which were to be completed by Friday. I don’t always give tests, but I like to surprise them once in a while with new methods of assessment. As for the projects, Caleb had to choose three, while Mahayla had to choose four. Besides math, a little grammar and reading, projects were the only things on the schooling agenda during the week.

Project Choices:

Click on the image below to view and print the project list.

The Projects:

Here’s what the kids came up with. As usual, I’m not only pleased, but very surprised at their ingenuity and eagerness to do a good job. Give ’em and inch and they’ll take a mile – that’s a good thing in this case!

Mahayla: 6th Grade

She couldn’t decide, so chose to complete five instead. (Yes, I know.)

1. A diorama and file folder report on Lewis and Clark shared many of the facts learned during the unit study.

2. A quilt square handicraft project showed her how difficult it must have been for the pioneers to sew almost everything themselves. She researched pioneer quilt squares on the internet and came up with this one named “Oh Suzanna”. She completed the entire quilt square from start to finish without any help from me. Not bad for a first timer, huh? My granny would be so proud!

 

3. She wrote a five page report on Sam Houston, who happens to be in our family line. She had to interview my mom who has done extensive genealogy research, and had to find information on her own.

 

4. She prepared a cowboy meal of chili and homemade crackers that was yummy!

Homemade Crackers

1 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cube butter

1/4 c milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Use fork to mash butter in until it looks like crumbs. Add milk and stir until dough forms a ball. Sprinkle flour on counter and roll dough into a flat rectangle with a rolling pin. Use a knife to cut the dough into small squares. Place onto a greased cookie sheet and poke holes into the crackers with a fork. Bake for 9 minutes. Makes about 24 crackers.

5. And she was Flying Sparrow in their original play entitled “Cowboy and Indian”. It was complete with five scenes, a playbill and a script!

 

 

Caleb: 3rd Grade

In his usual fashion, he chose projects that required lots of hands-on and little writing. That’s okay, though, because he was still required to give a presentation about the projects. Even with very little writing, the information he gleaned and presented was very good.

1. He made a model of the Lewis and Clark keelboat using several of the toys he has around the house.

 

2. He made a 2nd model of the corner watchtower from a fort that might have been set up along one of the trails west. He said he would have built the whole fort, but ran out of Lincoln Logs!

 

3. And he was Jeremiah (with a great country accent) in their play “Cowboy and Indian”. As you can see, the play ended rather sadly. Jeremiah and Flying Sparrow couldn’t find a better way to solve their conflict except through the use of guns. Maybe we watch too many Gunsmoke episodes on Sunday afternoons?

And that comes to the end of another fabulous unit study. We sure had fun, learned a ton and made lots of memories. I will never regret these moments spent teaching my children.

You might enjoy these pioneer lessons, too!

 Homemade Lewis and Clark Journals Lewis and Clark To-Scale Mapping Lewis and Clark Day

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