WebQuest By: Kelly Fucillo The Oregon Trail WebQuest By: Kelly Fucillo

Introduction Imagine a world with no planes, trains or automobiles. And now you plan to cross the country with no highway in sight! This is what pioneers experienced on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s as they strived to reach the Western half of the country. It was a long, hard journey. And not everyone survived.

The Task What is the Task? How will you complete this?? Your task will be to research and analyze whether the popular game, The Oregon Trail, accurately reflects the experiences that pioneers had on the frontier. Then, you will compare and contrast the experiences. This will take you three days to complete Step 1: Research the Oregon Trail game Step 2: Use the links listed on the resources page to research how life was on the Oregon Trail Step 3: Fill out a Venn Diagram that is comparing and contrasting the experiences of the game, versus the experiences of actual Pioneers on the Oregon Trail Step 4: Write a 2-3 page compare and contrast paper Good luck and I hope to see you all out West!

The Process (Day 1) You are to play the Oregon Trail game. You will be given forty minutes to play the game in class. Any additional time spent playing should have the minutes recorded on the list provided by teacher. In that time you will record: How many people were in your party? How many animals you were able to hunt? How many animals you missed shooting? How many people in your party became sick? What illnesses did they acquire? What illness was most common? What obstacles did your party face? Any other relevant details?

The Process (Day 2) Now that you have researched the game, you will be researching what life was like on the actual Oregon Trail. Please record your observations on the list provided. Details to include are: Number of people on a typical trip? Illnesses typically experienced? How did pioneers acquire food? What struggles did they face on the trail? Any other relevant details?

The Process (Day 3) You will be given 1.5 hours to do this next section. If you do not finish, it will be due the next day as homework Now that you have your research, take time to fill in the Venn Diagram. It would be wise to manage your time so that this takes no more than 20 minutes. It will be turned in, so make sure it is NEAT! Once you have finished with your Venn Diagram, begin your compare and contrast essay. This should be between 2-3 pages Components of a Compare and Contrast Essay (P=Paragraph): P1: Introduction P2: How the game and the lives of actual Pioneers were similar P3: How they were different P4: Conclusion

Resources Oregon Trail Game Websites to use in your research: http://www.globalgamenetwork.com/westward_trail.html Websites to use in your research: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/supply-list-traveling-oregon-trail-101684.html http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/history-faqs.php https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Oregon_Trail http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/Dangers.htm http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/oregon_national_historic.ht ml http://www.octa-trails.org/articles/life-and-death-on-the-oregon-trail Remember to play around with these websites-You never know what you may find! 

Evaluation Step 1- 20 pts. Step 2- 30 pts. Step 3- 10 pts. Step 4- 20 pts. Effort- 20pts. Students who give neat, detailed responses will receive full credit for that step. 2 points will be deducted for each vague answer and 5 points for blank responses Effort is a grade here, so make sure you are focused during each step! Students who give detailed, neat responses to each step and give their best effort should have no problem receiving full credit!

Conclusion I hope you enjoyed your trip on the Oregon Trail. Hopefully we all made it back to our classroom safely! Isn’t it interesting to see how sometimes one media source (like the game) is or is not accurate to history! Be ready to discuss with the class!