Curated OER
Oregon Trail Word Search Worksheet
For this word search worksheet, students locate 18 words that describe the Oregon Trail expedition. They find words that are located in a word bank at the bottom of the page.
National First Ladies' Library
Who Wants to be a Pioneer?
Students write a story based on their research of the Oregon Trail. Using the Internet and traditional sources, they engage in research about pioneer's experiences on the Oregon Trail during westward expansion. Students write a story...
Curated OER
Oregon Trail Landforms
Fourth graders explore landforms located along the Oregon Trail. They discuss the significance of the Oregon Trail, identify visual landforms, and explain the definition of each one. Students complete worksheets, color, and label maps.
Curated OER
Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Students write a fantasy story about travelling back in time to the period of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research and take notes about the Oregon Trail, and write a first and a final draft of their short story about their visit to...
Curated OER
Adventures along the Oregon Trail in Nebraska
Pupils discover how the land and people we develop relationships with in Nebraska affect our survival--past, present, and future. They write about and interview their grandparents, parents and peers and compare them with people on the...
Curated OER
Establishing Borders: U.S. Expansion
Learners interpret historical maps and locate territories annexed by the United States in the 1840. In groups, they research the war with Mexico over Texas from both perspectives and answer on a worksheet about expansion.
Curated OER
Westward Movement/the Oregon Trail Using Power Point
Fifth graders research and examine the Westward Movement using a computer. they create their own word search from facts they discover in their research or while interacting with the Oregon Trail software. They create PowerPoint...
Curated OER
The Trail
Pupils identify major geographical features shown on the core map, explain map symbols used on the core map, create a picture of the condition of the trail in the 1840s, and construct a chart of average temperatures and rainfall.
Curated OER
Education On The Trail
Fourth graders explain the unique experience of pioneer studenT education on the trail. They invent ways to provide schooling to pioneer students while they were on the trail.
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
PBS
Pbs: Archives of the West: Across the Plains in 1844
A memoir by Catherine Sager Pringle, one of the orphans who was taken in by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. Find out about the journey on the Oregon Trail and the Whitman Massacre.
Other
Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions
Written in 1859, this handbook provided pioneers with valuable guidance on everything from choosing which route to gake to the west, to what kinds of tents to use, to how to deal with Indians. It was an invaluable source for those making...
Other
Overland Journal: Food on the Oregon Trail
A well-researched and very readable essay discussing the food supplies pioneers carried with them on their journeys across the frontier to the West.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Marie Dorion
A biographic view of the life of Marie Dorion. As a young Native American woman, she led white men to the Oregon Territory. She was only 24 years old and was pregnant at the time. Her actions made her a symbol of bravery and endurance!
Organization for Community Networks
Academy Curricular Exchange: Simulation Oregon Trail
A fascinating lesson plan depicting life in the mid 1800's and comparing it to modern day life.
Discovering Lewis & Clark
Discovering Lewis & Clark: The Botanists
This section of Discovering Lewis & Clark examines Lewis's role as a naturalist and features biographical sketches of botanists David Douglas, Frederick Traugott Pursh, Thomas Nuttall, and Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz.
Other
Road Trip Usa: Cross Country Adventures on America's Two Lane Highways
Learn all about America without ever leaving home. Select a driving tour, then find colorful information about what all the small towns have to offer. Many fun facts about famous historical destinations are given. Based on Jamie Jensen's...
Other
Oregon California Trails Association: Historic Trails Learning Center
Information portal for the organization that oversees the preservation of the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the Applegate Trail, and the Mormon Trail.
University of Richmond
American Panorama: The Overland Trails 1840 1860
Interactive map highlights the emigrations of men and women over the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails in the 1840s and 50s. Also features a timeline of migration, diary entries from individual migrants, and a flow map showing how...
Library of Congress
Loc: Nation Expansion and Reform: Traveling on the Overland Trails, 1843 1860
Primary source information about traveling the Overland Trails, both to Oregon Country and California.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Go West: Imagining the Oregon Trail
A 2,000-mile trek across a continent-with no idea what awaits you on the other side. Tell your students to put on their traveling shoes and prepare for the journey of their lives! In this lesson, students compare imagined travel...
History Link
History Link: Travel Through Time and Culture
An interesting site with a K-6 Social Studies and Technology Curriculum based on field trips and site visits around the Seattle/Tacoma area.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail
Lesson plans that introduce the Oregon Trail to students and guide them into an activity where they create a personal narrative describing their journey out west. Provides a link to an excellent site that details many aspects of the...
Digital History
Digital History: America's Manifest Destiny [Pdf]
After a brief discussion of Manifest Destiny in other parts of country, read about the Texas rebellion against Mexico, the battles against Santa Anna, and the treaties that made Texas an independent country. [pdf]