Christine Y. House
THE TRAILS WEST
In this lesson, we will explore the various trails that settlers took West from Missouri. We will examine the reasons that people took these trails as well as the kind of people who made the journeys. We will examine the Oregon, the Mormon, the Santa Fe and the California Trails. We will begin this lesson by reading about the various trails to find the answers to initial questions (above). We will also look at the kinds of provisions that were necessary in order to make the journey.
The students will be divided into four groups. Using a United States map, each group will trace one of the trails and learn about the geography of the states through which that trail goes to get an idea of the challenges that were faced. The findings will be shared with the whole class so that they can compare and contrast the trails. The class can then compare these journeys with one that might be made today using interstate and other paved roads, snow tires, air conditioning and other conveniences of modern day travel.
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A. The students will learn to identify and locate the following states and rivers and understand their significance.
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*Iowa
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*Platte River
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*Missouri
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*Columbia River
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*Kansas
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*Rio Grande
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*Nebraska
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*Independence Rock
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*Wyoming
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*Chimney Rock
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*Colorado
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*Great Salt Lake
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*Utah
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*Rocky Mountains
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*Idaho
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*Sierra Nevada Mountains
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*Oregon
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*Missouri River
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*Washington
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*Clearwater River
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*Nevada
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*Snake River
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*Illinois
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*Colorado River
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B. The students will pay particular attention to the roles and responsibilities assumed by men, women and children. They will, through small and whole group discussions be able to identify specific tasks. We will compare these to modern tasks as well as those of people who lived in the East during the nineteenth century.
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C. Students can build models of the kinds of transportation used or can create a relief map of the territory covered.