Finding a Home

Teaching American History Project Lesson
Jacqueline Lippman

Finding A Home

A portfolio by: Jacqueline Lippman

Alice Maxwell Elementary School

5th Grade

Portfolio Cover Sheet

Author: Jacqueline Lippman
Title: Finding a Home…
Historical Topic: A Nation Moving West (1820-1850)

Nevada Standards

Social Studies Standards:
6.5.17- Descibe experiences of Pioneers moving west, including: Donner Party, Oregon and California Trails.
6.5.18- Identify explorers and settlers in Pre-territorial Nevada, including: Kit Carson, John C. Fremont.

Language Arts Standards:
1.5.2- Use context clues such as restatement, definitions, and examples to determine the meaning of unknown words.
3.5.3- Identify historical events as portrayed in a variety of genres in literature.
4.5.2 - Clarify and connect main ideas and concepts and identify their relationship to other sources and related topics.
10.5.1- Participate in conversations and group discussions as a contributor and leader.
10.5.3- Share ideas, opinions, and information with a group, choosing language that communicates messages clearly and effectively
10.5.4- Compare and contrast ideas and viewpoints of several different speakers.
11.5.2- Select information from multiple resources to answer questions.
11.5.3- Give credit for others’ ideas, images, and information by listing sources used in research.
11.5.4- Record information using given note-taking and organizational formats.

Background:
The very word “pioneers” brings a host of images to mind: covered wagons and log cabins, cowboys and farmers. Abraham Lincoln and Laura Ingalls Wilder. John Fremont and Kit Carson. The Donner Party and the Oregon and California Trails. In a sense, the story of the United States is a story of westward movement. Europeans sailed west to settle a “new” world. And from the beginning days of the new nation, the United States looked west. Although the stereotypical pioneer didn’t travel west on the Oregon Trail until the 1840’s, Daniel Boone was leading intrepid Americans west into Kentucky in the 1770s.

In the early 1800s, the United States government encouraged families to move to Oregon by promising free land to anyone who wished to stake a claim. For people saddled with debts and large families but no land of their own, the offer of free land was irresistible. Soon more than 350,000 people were heading for the Oregon Trail. Just as in Texas, Mexico owned the land of California. The Mexican government wanted to develop California and offer large land grants to ranchers and farmers. One such rancher was John Sutter, whose Fort Sutter on the Sacramento River was used as a way station for other American settlers moving west.

Table of Contents: Activities and Learning Goals

Activity 1: Primary Source- Exploring the West with Primary Sources

Learning Goal: In teams of four, students will analyze 3-4 primary sources related to The Oregon and California Trails. Students will write three statements based on the pictures. They will write one observation about each picture, one question they have about each picture, and one prediction about each picture. At the end of the activity, students will gather as a class and record their statements on a class exploration chart.

Activity 2: Literature Connection- …If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon, by Ellen Levine

Learning Goal: Students will listen to selections from …If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon written by Ellen Levine, and illustrated by Elroy Freem. They will create a journal entry, which will include personal feelings and information about communities on the move west in a covered wagon.

Activity 3: Foldable- The role of Women vs. Men of the Donner Party

Learning Goal: Students will research and report on the differences between the role of women vs. men of The Donner Party. The students will create a Three-Tab Flip Chart that will list the different traits of women and men and also the comparisons.

Activity 4: Internet/Technology- PowerPoint Presentation of The Events Leading to Tragedy For The People Traveling With The Donner Party.

Learning Goal: Students will view the events leading to The Tragedy for the people traveling with The Donner Party and write 6 facts they learned about The Donner tragedy, remembering the sequence of events.

Activity 5: Art Piece/Writing- Mosaic Poster (Kit Carson).

Learning Goal: Students will be able to read about Kit Carson, the students will answer the questions based on the articles in this activity. Before the students get to Part III, they will construct an art piece together as a class using chalk, Q-tips and cotton balls. Once the Art Piece is finished, the students will answer the questions related to Part III. (The art piece will be a mosaic poster of Kit Carson).

Activity 6: Student Project- Student Performances of key people of the Revolutionary War. (Chautauqua)

Learning Goal: Learning Goal: The learning goal for this particular activity is that students will research a famous person from the Communities on the Move: Westward Expansion era and create a three minute performance where they will become the person they chose and tell about their life and accomplishments. There will be a one-minute question and answer period following performance.

Primary Source

Exploring the West with Primary Sources

Materials:

3-4 primary sources (photographs) for each team (approx. 15 total – relating to Abraham Lincoln and his presidency
2-3 pieces of blank paper per team for students to write observations
Large poster paper for whole class discuss broken into three areas: What we observe, What we are wondering, and What we think
Markers and pencils

Oregon Trail:

http://www.traveloregon.com/upload/images/photos/attractions/or-trail-intp-center.jpg

http://sttheresaschool.org/history/images/117_OregonTrail.gif

http://oregontrail.org/oregon-trail-pics/famous-oregon-trail-photo-dad-mom-kids.jpg

http://www.artistnina.com/portfolio/images/figurative_oregon_trail_camp_o.jpg

California Trails:

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/images/content_spotlight/lewis_and_clark/oregontrail.gif

http://www.lib.montana.edu/digital/objects/coll2451/bw/BW_1820.jpg

http://idahoptv.org/OUTDOORS/shows/pathwaysofpioneers/images/homepagewide.jpg

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/images/oversite/store/catalog-09/4Overland-Trails.jpg

Procedures:

Have students get into teams of four. Give each team three or four photographs to analyze. Do not tell the students anything about the photographs to begin with. Allow them to explore the photographs and make their own assumptions based on their observations.
Tell students to write three statements based on each picture. They are going to try to answer the three following questions for each picture;

What do we see – students can write down any observation they have about the picture.
What are we wondering – students can write down questions about each picture (ex: who is this man, which act is this?)
What we think – chances are good that the kids may not be familiar with all of the primary sources given to them. Allow them to make a prediction about what the documents are and why they are important to American History.

After students have finished working, come together as a whole class and discuss their findings. Begin recording each groups observations on the large poster paper and putting their primary source up next to their observations. This may provoke other students to have observations, questions or predictions. Record any additional observations, questions or predictions that other students may have.
Leave this poster up for the duration of the Exploring the West Unit. Go back to it frequently and see if students’ questions can be answered or if their predictions are right.

Assessment:
Have students turn to a partner and share one thing they learned from the activity. After one minute, have students come together and choose two or three students to share.

Rubric:

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&module=Rubistar&rubric_id=1768286&

See Portfolio for hard copy

Literature Connection

…If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon

Procedure:
Each student will create a Moving West: Communities On the Move journal. Each journal will include the following:

The American Revolution Cover
At least 10 well thought-out entries
An interesting facts section
A section to write down their personal thoughts and questions that they might have about moving west.

Each day, the teacher will read a chapter OR selection from …If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon. The students will then have time to create a journal entry based on what they have just heard/learned. The teacher should encourage the students to be creative.

Rubric:
Cover: up to 10 points
Interesting Facts: up to 10 points
Personal Thoughts/Questions: up to 10 points
Each journal entry: up to 7 points

~Extra credit can be given in any area where more effort was shown.
***I highly recommend collecting the journals periodically to grade their entries rather than trying to grade them all at once.

A Moving West Journal can be easily created using brown paper bags, string and white paper.

The students should be given a ½ side of a brown grocery bag.
The students should crinkle up the paper and then smooth it out. They should do this many times to make the grocery bag look like leather and feel smooth.
The ½ side of bag should be folded in two-hamburger style to form the outside of the journal.
7-10 white sheets of paper should be folded in ½ hamburger style and placed inside the brown paper bag.
These can either be stapled together OR hole-punched with two holes so it can be tied together with string. It looks more “authentic”.
And Voila. You have a Moving West Journal.

Assessment: The students will be assessed using the rubric above. The students must meet the criteria to receive full points. Extra credit may be given in any area where more effort was shown.

Foldable

The role of Women vs. Men of The Donner Party

Procedures:
--Students will research Women and Men of the Donner party using Social Studies book, Encyclopedia, and Internet as tools to gain information.
http://discovermagazine.com/1992/mar/livingthroughthe4
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-DonnerParty.html
http://raiboy.tripod.com/Donner/id14.html

--Students will then create a Venn diagram listing 10 differences and 5 similarities.
--Students will then create a flipbook by:

1. Fold a sheet of paper like a hot dog.

2.With the paper horizontal and the fold of the hot dog up, fold the right side toward the cent, trying to cover one half of the paper.

3. Fold the left side over the right side to make a book with three folds.

4. Open the folded book. Place one hand between the two thicknesses of paper and cut up the tow “valleys” on one side only. This will create three tabs.

5. Decorate each tab respectively with items that refer to Women on one end, Men on the other end, and both in the middle.

6. Under each respective tab, write the 10 facts you found for Women and Men. Then under the “both” tab, write down the five facts the each has in common.

Assessment: The students will be assessed based on their facts used. They will be graded based on whether or not they have all 10 facts about Women and Men and 5 facts about both in the appropriate places on the foldable.

Rubric:

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&module=Rubistar&rubric_id=1768414&

Hard Copy is in portfolio.

Technology Component

PowerPoint Presentation: The Events Leading to Tragedy
For The People Traveling With The Donner Party

Learning Goal: Students will view the events leading to The Tragedy for the people traveling with The Donner Party and write 6 facts they learned about The Donner Party, remembering the sequence of events.

Materials:

Download the PowerPoint developed by the teacher showing the events leading up to the tragedy of the Donner Party.
Paper and pencils

Procedures:

Students will view the PowerPoint shown by the teacher.
Discussions will take place between the students and teacher during the presentation to answer any questions students may have
At the end of the slideshow, students will write 6 facts they learned about the events leading up to the tragedy of the people traveling with The Donner Party.

Assessment:
Students will be able to write 6 facts about The Donner party. The facts need to be in sequential order. If the facts are incorrect or students cannot produce 6 facts, teacher will sit down with the student and go over any questions they may have regarding the PowerPoint.

Art Piece/Writing

Mosaic Poster: The Life of Kit Carson

Art Piece: Mosaic Poster- Kit Carson (Winter of 1777-1778)

Find an image that works well with your unit.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-oldwest/KitCarson.jpg

Enlarge that image to poster size. Make 2 copies. One in black and white, the other in color.
Laminate if possible.
Cut up the poster into even pieces so that each student can get one.
Cut up black paper either the same size as the poster pieces or larger.
Make baggies including: chalk, Q-tips, and cotton balls.
Give the students a poster piece, a black piece of paper and baggie.
Students will recreate the image they have received with the chalk.
The teacher will then call the students up in order to glue their recreated image on the butcher paper.
The teacher will ask the students what the image is. Have students discuss how the image relates to the unit of study.
Place the colored poster next to the recreated one to compare.
Students will the write about the image…see Part III below.
The image can be placed on a bulletin board surrounded by the students writing.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/HC-KitCarsonBio.html
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ca-Ch/Carson-Kit.html
http://www.sangres.com/history/kitcarson.htm

Part III

Final question: Goes with ART PIECE (Writing)
Imagine that you're Kit Carson. Write an account of your experiences, including the following:

Describe your daily life, including a description of your duties and the physical hardships that you face.
Explain why you’re willing to endure these conditions, what is your goal in moving west?
Base your response on all the pages you have visited in this exercise.

Assessment: The students will be evaluated on their correct answers for each part of this lesson and on their thought process/creativity when answering the questions. The finished art piece will also be incorporated into their final grade for this lesson.

Student Project

Key people of the West: Communities on the Move - Chautauqua

Learning Goal: The learning goal for this particular activity is that students will research a famous person from the In search of the West: Communities on the Move era and create a three minute performance where they will become the person they chose and tell about their life and accomplishments. There will be a one-minute question and answer period following performance.

Resources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/donner/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party
http://www.donnerpartydiary.com/
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-DonnerParty.html

Students will be given the following list of people to research and they must choose one:

Meriwether Lewis, Lewis and Clark, William Clark, Sacajawea, Kit Carson, John Fremont, Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone, Patrick Breen, John Denton, Elizabeth Donner, Eliza Donner, George Donner, Tampson Donner, William Eddy, Franklin Graves, Landsford Hastings, James Reed, John Sutter.

The students will then use character-building worksheet to guide them in their research.
After students have compiled information, students will write their 3-minute presentation on 4x 6 index cards.

Rubric for scoring performance:
3= no note cards, personality and style (believing in character), 3 or more minutes, factual and smooth presentation (no umms)!
2=refers to cards 1 or 2 times, some relevant facts missing, some stammering, under 120 seconds.
1= presentation was “read” rather than presented with personality, used cards extensively, criteria left out under 1 minute
0= no effort, no idea about subject, no research

Character Worksheet for Chautauqua performance:

Character’s full name (nicknames if any)_______________________

Parent’s names___________________________________________

Spouse’s name____________________________________________

Children (if any)___________________________________________

Birthdate:_____________________place of birth_________________

Deathdate:___________________where buried __________________

Where has your character lived:________________________________

Why is your character famous?_________________________________

What did he/she fight for?____________________________________

List 5 of your character’s major accomplishments and dates_____________________________________________________

What did your character think or believe about the Westward Movement? __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Name 3 interesting facts that happened in your characters life. _________________________________________________________