Curated OER
Who is Who in the Old West?
Students consider the backgrounds of those who settled the Old West. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students participate in a simulation that requires them to role play miners, ranchers, Native Americans, Chinese, African Americans,...
Curated OER
The Nez Perce and the Dawes Act
Eleventh graders explore westward expansion in the United States. In this US History instructional activity, 11th graders watch the epic struggle of the Nez Perce. Students evaluate how a variety of Americans viewed Nez Perce through a...
Curated OER
Wagon's West
Students travel to the American West. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students discuss the Oregon Trail and then play the computer game of the same title. Students take on the roles of those who travelled the trail.
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny
Students identify the implications of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students view a PowerPoint presentation on the topic and then respond to questions based on the details of the presentation.
Curated OER
Heritage: Famous People of the West
Fourth graders investigate the impact of Brigham Young and Jim Bridger on westward expansion. They conduct research, develop a class information chart, and create a cartoon strip depicting what happened when Jim Bridger and Brigham Young...
Curated OER
End of the Line: What Happened to the Blue Ridge Railroad?
Sixth graders study the westward expansion and the role of railroad construction to the expansion. In this railroad history lesson, 6th graders complete KWL activity for the topic. Students view a PowerPoint about the growth of railroads...
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny
Students explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students discuss the impact of Manifest Destiny on different groups of people who inhabited the West. Students create journals about the...
Curated OER
An Orderly Wagon Train Migration
Sixth graders work in small groups to organize a wagon train for a trek westward. They determine leadership responsibilities and rules needed to make a successful trek.
Curated OER
Going West: The Artist Who Painted the Way
Fifth graders study the artists and artwork of the Westward movement. In this Westward Movement lesson set, 5th graders examine the characteristics of the art of this era. They look at the lives of the artists and think about how the art...
Curated OER
Wagons West
Students examine life on westward trails. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students analyze textbook passages about life on the Oregon Trail and the motivations of the people who settled Oregon.
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny Questions
In this Westward Expansion worksheet, students respond to 7 short answer questions about America's vision of Manifest Destiny and its effects.
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny Lesson Plan
Learners examine how Americans justified Westward Expansion. In this American history lesson, your historians will watch a Manifest Destiny Powerpoint presentation and discuss each slide then participate in a class discussion about...
Curated OER
Whats so Different Between Them
Students evaluate primary sources. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students will write essays that compare and contrast the differences and similarities between pioneers and Native Americans. Students will engage in a wide variety of...
Curated OER
The Settlers are Coming, but the Natives are Here
Students examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students participate in a classroom simulation and then write paper about how the Native Americans and settlers could keep the...
Curated OER
Wounded Knee Massacre
Middle schoolers interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students examine sources regarding the Battle of Wounded Knee from the perspective of Lakota fighters and...
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny
In this Westward Expansion worksheet, students read assigned textbook pages which describe Manifest Destiny and respond to 33 short answer questions.
Anti-Defamation League
Viewing History from Multiple Perspectives
Celebration or protest song? The full text of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" opens a study of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Louisiana Purchase, and Western Expansion from various perspectives. Middle schoolers examine...
DocsTeach
Patent Analysis: Joseph Glidden's Barbed Wire
Barbed wire may have made cattle farming easier, but it brought to an end the free-roaming days of the plains. No longer could Native American groups continue their nomadic lifestyle, and the days of cowboys herding large groups of...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion
Eighth graders explore the components of the Westward Movement in the United States. Understanding the past and the linkages it has to the present is the intended goal of this seventeen day unit.
Curated OER
Wagons West
Students prepare to travel west. In this Westward Movement lesson, students participate in classroom activities that require them to prepare for a trip west as pioneers.
Curated OER
Wagon's West: Life on the Trail
Learners investigate what life on the Oregon Trail was like. In this Westward Movement instructional activity, students eat foods that were eaten by settlers on the trail as they read textbook pages about the trial. Learners then draw an...
Curated OER
Pioneer Scramble
Learners explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Movement lesson, students study why Americans emigrated west in the 1840s and 1850s. Learners create interactive timelines, write exploration reports, and complete an art...
Curated OER
The Growth of the United States
In this westward expansion worksheet, students fill out a graphic organizer of predictions and short answers of how land was acquired in the United States. Students do this for 6 land territories.
Curated OER
African Americans and the Move West
Middle schoolers examine the phases of westward migration in the United States during the 19th century focusing on the incentives that led many African Americans to make the move.