Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. In this pioneer activity, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write about...

Students explore the life of a pioneer and the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and pioneering. Students complete activities, maps, writing and reading to experience pioneer life. Handouts and worksheets are included...

Eighth graders read standard road maps and topographical maps, and examine the lives of pathfinders who opened the trails to the West. They develop Living History presentations, role-playing a character from the past.

Eleventh graders recognize the interaction between early settlers and indigenous people in the U.S. They recognize the impact of the Indian Removal Act on displaced Natives in the early West and the impact on Native attitudes today.

Students simulate and plan a trip from St. Louis to the Sacramento Valley as early emigrant parties would have. They list necessary provisions for the amount of time they would spend traveling.

Students participate in cyber hunt activities involving Lewis and Clark in order to gain a better idea of what it was like to be an explorer of the vast western lands. For this history lesson, students may choose to study the route that...

Students research and examine the lives and culture of western mountain guides during the early to mid 1800s. Students write reports about a guide they research, do a simulation of the guide by keeping a journal, managing money and...