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Utah Pioneers
Fourth graders investigate the hardships faced by the Utah pioneers. In small groups they calculate a budget using a determined amount of money, select a challenge for the group, and discuss how their group overcomes the challenges...
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Utah Pioneers
Students will understand the hardships that were faced by the Utah pioneers.
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Curiosity Drives Change: Early Pioneers' Sense of Disc
Fifth graders examine the journals of some of the earliest pioneers in Utah. They discover the attitudes of pioneer living and summarize what they have learned.
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Pushing the Boundaries: The Pioneer Spirit
Eleventh graders recognize how social reform occurred at the turn of the century. Through a debate, 11th graders determine advantages and drawbacks of traveling west using original sources and descriptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and...
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The State of Mormonism
Pupils investigate the history of Mormonism and how this religion has shaped Utah's identity. They explore various websites, answer discussion questions, take a virtual tour of the Mormon Trail, and read newspaper articles about Mormonism.
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Headin' West! The Life of a Pioneer
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...
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Map Scale and the Pioneer Journey
Fourth graders, using a map, ruler and calculator, determine the distance the pioneers traveled from Nauvoo, Ill. to the Salt Lake Valley.
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Handcarts - A Unique Form of Transportation
An interesting historical fact about how handcarts benefitted to the Mormon pioneers is the context behind this math lesson. Using given facts and figures regarding the handcart, pupil pairs create math word problems, share them with the...
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Raising the Mormon Battalion
Ninth graders simulate (role play) some of the original emotional responses to this request for soldiers. They list and evaluate reasons for and against creating the Mormon Battalion. They justify their own decision under such...
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Oral Assessment Plan
Students practice active listening skills. In this literacy and U.S. history lesson, students predict the hardships pioneers using the Mormon Trail might have faced. Students view the movie "Children of the Wagon Train," then confirm or...
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Westmoreland Trail
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the Westward expansion of the U.S. They play the computer game, Oregon Trail III, read primary source documents, conduct Internet research, write diary entries from the pioneer viewpoint, and...
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the Effects of Differing Cultures on the Mormon Trail
Fourth graders, in groups, simulate some of the hardships the settlers faced on the Mormon Trail, particularly those problems caused by communication difficulties. They discuss budgets and provision planning with group members and keep...
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A Pioneer Journal
Fourth graders take on the persona of a pioneer boy or girl. They write a fictional series of journal entries describing, from a child's view, some of the events, hardships and adventures of the trek west
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Map Scale and the Pioneer Journey
Fourth graders use a map, ruler and calculato to determine the distance the pioneers traveled from Nauvoo, Ill. to the Salt Lake Valley.
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Handcarts - A Unique Form of Transportation
Fourth graders research the use of handcarts as a form of transportation for mid-19th century Mormon pioneers. They write mathematical story problems about this unique form of transportation and incorporate their researched data.
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Era of Self-Sufficiency - Pre-1890
Students investigate the relationship between physical geography and Utah's settlement. In this Utah land lesson, students view a PowerPoint about Utah land and work in groups to answer questions about the uniqueness of Utah's Mormon...
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Westward Ho
Middle schoolers examine primary sources regarding Western migration. In this Manifest Destiny lesson, students determine why the pioneers moved west and what the trip was like as they examine sources and write journals based on their...
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Pioneer Currency in Utah: Have you got change for 5?
Eleventh graders examine why pioneer society needed a uniform medium of exchange -- not so much among themselves, but for use with non-Mormon suppliers and California immigrants.
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Las Vegas Mormon Fort
Students use maps, readings, letters, photos and drawings to identify why Mormons came to the Las Vegas area and what they hoped to accomplish by establishing an outpost. They consider the roles of early women pioneers and outline their...
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Cycles of Change and Growth in the Mormon Trek: Contra
Fifth graders examine the contributions of Native American Indians, explorers, and Utah's pioneers. They play a "what if" game to illustrate cause and effect.
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Pioneer Currency in Utah: Have you got change for a 5?
Students explore the need for money in a society and the artificial value of coin and paper currencies. They design their own coin and paper currency.
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Utah's Biomes
Fourth graders discover what a biome is and study biomes that are native to Utah in this series of lessons. They examine how Utah's biomes have changed over time due to the influence of the Mormon pioneers and other human populations.
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A Trail Across the Plains
Students discuss how pioneers reached Utah, and create a mural of the pioneer trek with captions explaining what is happening along the trail.
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Communication on the Frontier: Postcards from the Edge
Eleventh graders explore the innovative ways pioneers used to leave messages along the trail to communicate to family and friends who were to follow.