Westward Expansion: 1800-1875
Westward Expansion: 1800-1875 involved exploration as well as movement of people to the frontier and to the North to freedom. Topics explored in this unit include the journey of Lewis and Clark, pioneer life, the Pony Express, and the Underground Railroad.
The trade books for the Primary section of this unit are Pony Express; Sacajawea: The Journey West; Winter Days in the Big Woods; and Follow the Drinking Gourd. The trade books for the Upper Elementary portion of the unit are A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman; A Picture Book of Sitting Bull; The Way West: Journal of a Pioneer Woman; and Lewis and Clark. The unit does not include the actual children's literature books.
About the Series:
Social Studies curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with background and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These materials encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Price: $29.95
Student Activities
Classroom activities include making log cabins, composing poems about slavery, writing a peace treaty, and listing items to be packed in a covered wagon. Students also create eating utensils out of gourds, use Morse Code, write journal entries, create maps, and design certificates for explorers. Although activities are organized into primary and upper elementary sections, many assignments can be adapted to suit either age group.