Oregon Trail

Grade Levels: 3 - 6

INTRODUCTION

Using resources found on the Internet such as maps, documents, and photos, students will construct their own class map of the Oregon Trail.

OBJECTIVES

• Students will become familiar with the geography of the Oregon Trail and some of its historic sites.
• Students will practice the skills of teamwork and cooperation.
• Students will practice basic website navigation and printing.

MATERIALS

• A large map of the United States with state borders
• Oregon Trail worksheets
• 4-5 sets of crayons, pencils, & scissors
• Tape
• Website: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/
• Website: http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Sites.html

PROCEDURES

1. Tell the class that they are going to make one large map of the Oregon Trail. Break the class up into teams and assign each team one of the following states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Assign each team member one of the following roles: Map Maker (someone who likes drawing), Site Maker (someone who likes writing), Photo Maker (someone who likes photography).



2. Distribute the Oregon Trail worksheet to each student. Review the role of each team member and remind them that the more they work together, cooperate, and stay on task, the better their map will be.



3. Teams should go to the following website: http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Sites.html and click on the state that bears their team name. The Map Makers should draw an outline of their state and color it. Their state should be large enough to fill up the entire back of the worksheet and that they should not use the color red for any lines on their map. Using pencil, the Map Maker should lightly draw in the Oregon Trail as it appears on the online map.



4. Choose one of the historic sites from the online map. The Site Maker should write a one-paragraph description of the historic site on the back of the worksheet. The information should include: the site’s name, where it is located, and its significance to the Oregon Trail.



5. After the map is drawn and the site is chosen, the team members should do the following:

Map Makers: All of the teams’ Map Makers meet to put the states together, just as they appear on a map of the United States. Then, using red crayon or marker, they connect the entire Oregon Trail from state to state.

Site Makers: Take the description to the Map Makers’ map, make a mark on the trail to show where their site is, and paste their description near it.

Photo Makers: The Photo Maker can go to the following website: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/ to select and print a historical photo from their state. Cut out the photo, copy its brief description, and tape it to the class map.

6. When the map is finished, hang it on a bulletin board and use it as a reference.

ASSESSMENT

Use the Oregon Trail Map Rubric to assess student understanding of the material covered in this lesson.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

Once the map is finished, ask each group to present their state to the rest of the class, describing the historical site and photo they chose.

STANDARDS CORRELATION
Standards at McRel:

http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/

• Understands the factors that led to U.S. territorial expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
• Understands the impact of territorial expansion on Native American tribes.
• Understands how the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed American lives and led to regional tensions.

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