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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The U.S. Westward Movement

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students, working in groups, research and write about one of the trails that were used during US Westward Movement. They create a travel brochure for their trail keeping in mind the era in which the travel took place.
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Handout
Oklahoma Historical Society

Oklahoma State University: Encyclopedia: Jesse Chisholm

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief biography discusses the life of American pioneer Jesse Chisholm, who blazed the Chisholm Trail.
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Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: School Publishers: Join a Cattle Drive

For Students 3rd - 6th
At this site take a look at maps of cattle drives from the ranches and ranges of Texas to the market places in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.
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Website
Other

Seymour Chamber of Commerce: The Great Western Cattle Trail

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the Great Western Cattle Trail, that was used in the 1800s, and stretched from Bandera, Texas to Dodge City Kansas.
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Handout
Other

Southwest Collection: The Texas Ranching Frontier

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the cattle drive era that occurred in the late 1800s. It gives details about the drives from Texas to the north.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Ways of the Cowboy

For Students 5th - 8th
The cowboys were the background of the cattle boom in the 19th century. Read about their life, and their demise.
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Handout
Other

Ellis County Museum: Texas Cattle Trails

For Students 9th - 10th
This article surveys the cattle kingdom and cattle boom in Ellis County, Texas that started in the 1840s.
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Handout
Ancestry

Ok Gen Web Project: The Chisholm Trail and the Overland Cattle Trade

For Students 9th - 10th
Description of the establishment and use of the Chisholm Trail for cattle drives in the mid- to late-1800s.