Westward Expansion
A Web Quest for Fourth Grade Social Studies and Language Arts
by Jan Barrett
Introduction| Task| Process-Student Page| Evaluation| Conclusion| Teacher Page| Credits
Who are these mystery people? Why do they look like they are from the early 1800's?
It's the early 1800's and people are leaving the East to move out West. Some traveled out West to get rich, to practice their own religion, to escape the law, or for adventure. You will become one of these pioneers and your classmates will guess your identity.
We will learn about the many changes that the Westward Movement brought to the United States. The West was unsettled, unknown territory, there were fierce Indians, and the weather was harsh, but many people chose to head West. We will discuss the key people who contributed to the Western Movement and what influenced them to move West.
You will have a new identity - a person from the 1800's. By researching and gathering information about the "new you" you will be able to give a mystery report with at least ten clues about who you are. Your classmates will try to guess your identity. Your costume will also give hints about your mystery person. You will prepare a PowerPoint presentation about your person in computer lab.
First you will be assigned a mystery person to research. You will keep this person a secret from your classmates, as they will try to guess your identity. Then you will use the internet and media center to find factual information about your person.
Next you will look for answers to the following questions:
Where were you born?
What was your occupation?
What was your role in the western expansion?
When were you born and when did you die?
If you were married, what was their name?
What hardships did you encounter?
You must also include four interesting facts about your person.
Then you will put each question and answer on separate cards to help organize your information. On another card take notes about what you will include form your costume: cowboy hat, buckskins, wigs, long dress, Indian dress etc. Your costume may be made from actual clothes or you may draw a life size picture of the costume and attach it to you.
Next you will write your report using your notes as if you were that person. For example: "I was born in Kentucky in 1801... Your report will end with... "Who am I?"
Then on Friday you will read your report wearing your costume. Your classmates will try to guess who you are after you have read your report.
Finally you will use your index cards to make a PowerPoint presentation during computer lab. Each slide will include at least two facts and a graphic, clip art, or picture.
Links to help you find information about your mystery person:
Thomas Jefferson Jefferson's Macaroni Machine Jefferson's Plow Design Jefferson's Letter to Banneker about Blacks Sales Agreement Between Jefferson and Madison Jefferson's Life Jefferson and the Library of Congress Declaration of Independence Biography of Jefferson New Nation Election
Daniel Boone Boone's log cabin Boone on the Trail Adventures of Daniel Boone Portrait of Daniel Boone
Andrew Jackson Winning the Battle Winning the Battle Page 2 Winning the Battle Page 3 Life of Jackson
Samuel Morse Morse's Picture Morse Sent the First Telegraphic Message
William Lewis Lewis and Clark Picture Timeline of Lewis New Nation Missouri a State Expedition Photo
Meriwether Clark Timeline of Clark Lewis and Clark Picture New Nation Missouri a State Expedition Photo
Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony Second Day of Seneca Falls Convention
Sacagawea Sacagawea's Picture Life of Sacagawea
John Sutter Sutter's Picture Life of Sutter
John Calhoun Calhoun-Journal Article Calhoun on Pictorial Envelope
General Sherman 1st Person Narrative Sherman's Biographical Information Collections of Sherman's
Zackary Taylor Z. Taylor's Picture Life of Taylor
James Monroe Monroe's Letter to Jefferson Monroe Asks for Advice from Jefferon James Monroe Sought Advice from Thomas Jefferson Monroe takes Adam's Advice Monroe's Portrait
Horace Mann Horace's Portrait Life of Hoarce Mann
Chief Little John Ross Chief Little John's Portrait Life of Chief Little John Chief Little John-Indian Removal Act
Samuel Slater Cotton Mill Cotton Mill Page 2 Cotton Mill Page 3 Cotton Mill Page 4 Cotton Gin Photo
Two rubrics will be used to score the oral presentation and the written report for the assessment.
Now that you have completed this activity you should have learned some new and interesting facts about some of the famous people who were a part of the western expansion. Be sure to swap PowerPoint presentations with other classmates and try to guess their mystery person.
Teacher's Page
During computer lab sessions the students have been viewing different websites including Library of Congress that pertain to westward expansion.
Resources Needed:
Picture of wagon train, board & marker, journals, key vocabulary words, word sort cards, sticky notes, rubric, computers, overhead projector, PowerPoint program, word list and article for story impression- Pioneer life in Sacramento, Concept Development Maps, internet.
Day 1-The teacher will have students make predictions from the wagon train picture headed West about the next unit. The laptop computer will be connected to the television for everyone to view. The students will make predictions and record them in their journals. Afterwards, will share their journal entries. The teacher will ask students to consider what might motivate them to move to a different region from the one they are living in today. Then the teacher will ask them to infer what might have happened to American Indians as European settlers continued to move west. Next, the teacher will clear up any misconceptions or conflicting understandings. Then the teacher will assign each student a famous mystery person from the era to research. See Process. The students will use the internet to find information to write ten clues about themselves; this will be put on a PowerPoint program in the computer lab at a later date. A rubric will be given to help clarify what will be expected of them for this assignment. The teacher will begin reading aloud from the novel, Dear Levi, by Elvira Woodruff.
Day 2- The teacher will have students complete a Concept Development Map for the vocabulary words. Each group will be given a concept map and one word to give examples and attributes of the word. Afterwards, the class will share their definitions and each student will fill in their Concept Development Chart which will include; the word, example, similar word, dissimilar word, important attributes, and definition. Next, the teacher will retrieve the article, Pioneer life in Sacramento. Before reading the article the teacher will model a story impression to demonstrate what they will be expected to do. Next, the teacher will display ten words from the article and have the students write story impressions including the words in their stories. The students will share their stories with the class. Afterwards, the teacher will read aloud the real article. The teacher will continue to read aloud from, Dear Levi.
Day 3- The students will work in small groups to do decision making. Each group will be given a Supply List (See attached) and asked to pretend they are traveling west on a five month journey by covered wagon. They are to choose supplies with their groups, keeping in mind that the wagon will carry 2,000 pounds. Next, the students will defend why they chose the items they did and present them to the class. The next activity is a vocabulary word sort; the small groups of students will be given fifteen words from, Building the West, to place on a Vocabulary Sort Card using sticky notes to write the words. They will have to decide which category each word will go under as a team. Afterwards, the teams will share results; these words will then be written in their journals. The teacher will continue to read aloud from, Dear Levi.
Day 4- The students will make words during the Making Words activity for the word, stampeding. The students will work on there mystery person reports in the computer lab using the internet to research their report. The teacher will continue to read aloud from, Dear Levi.
Day 5- The students will work on completing their research. Next they will read aloud their clues and give the class an opportunity to guess who they are. If they guess early, the student will still read the rest of the clues to the class.
Evaluation - Two rubrics will be used to score the oral presentation and the written report for the assessment.
Special thanks to:
Library of Congress - Memory Collection
http://www.lewisclark.net/timeline/index.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html
http://earlyamerica.com/lives/boone/index.html
http://www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/ajackson.html
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist2/gold.html
http://www.technos.net/journal/volume9/2eakin.htm
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/zt12.html
