NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Native Americans and Settlers
Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...
Smithsonian Institution
Stamp Stories of Westward Expansion
What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...
Curated OER
Integrated Lesson Plan
An ambitious and engaging lesson on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Legendary Westerners - Can One Person Really Make a Difference?
Fourth graders research famous Americans from the Westward Movement and complete an interview. For this Westward Movement lesson, 4th graders work in pairs to research someone who was important during this time period. They prepare and...
Curated OER
Impact of Westward Expansion on Indigenous Populations
Students study the impact of westward expansion on Native American populations. They create a diorama of a Native American scene, write imaginary letters as a pioneer child reflecting on his/her experiences, and create story sticks that...
Curated OER
American Indians
Learners research early Indian adaptations in this instructional activity. They research the different American Indian tribes. They also research and compare the tribes' rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came...
Curated OER
Exploring Pioneer America
Fourth graders research pioneers who had a strong influence on westward expansion. In this westward expansion lesson, 4th graders write an essay about four pioneers and an interview script about one. Students work in pairs to present...
Curated OER
Moving West
Students research the Westward Movement and struggles encountered by the pioneers as they moved from Nebraska, Westward along the Oregon Trail. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students read an Oregon Trail poem and...
Curated OER
Keeping the Home Fires: The lives of Western women
Fourth graders explore the various trails that settlers took West from Missouri. They examine the reasons that people took these trails as well as the kind of people who made the journeys. They examine the Oregon, the Mormon, the Santa...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Settlement of Frontier Alabama
What comes to mind when the class imagines settlers traveling out West? The lesson teaches pupils about the western frontier of Alabama and what life was like for people traveling West—in wagons with few possessions. Scholars write,...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Curated OER
Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny
Fourth graders examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush. They analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny.
Curated OER
Mapping the West
Students determine how Americans' perception of the geographical features of the West changed following the Lewis and Clark expedition. They analyze historical maps of the West.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: Homestead Act of 1862
Through the use of primary sources, 4th graders will understand the main concepts of the Homestead Act and use that information to write a letter to a relative explaining why they moved to Ohio.
Other
Historic Trails: Oregon/california Trails
Find a map of the Oregon Trail and California Trail and click Historical Trails tab to discover the hardships and daily grind of traveling on the Oregon Trail.