A Pioneer’s Journey on the Oregon Trail A WebQuest

“The Oregon Trail was one of the most famous trails ever. It was a series of trails that were used by the first explorers and fur traders. It was the longest overland trail in North America. In the 1840s America and England agreed that Oregon would belong to the first country to settle the most people in that area. The United States encouraged people to move to Oregon by offering land for homesteading. The story begins…

In 1843 the "Great Migration" to Oregon began. These pioneers who traveled to the area used the Oregon Trail. The trail started in Independence, Missouri and went past Chimney Rock, Nebraska. From there it crossed the southwest tip of Wyoming and into the southern part of Idaho. The trail ended up in the northwest corner of Oregon. It took them approximately six months to travel the 2000 miles from Independence, Missouri to their final destination in the Oregon territory.” Credits:

The Oregon Trail The Pioneers began their journey in Independence, Missouri. They traveled west until they reached Oregon Territory. They hoped to find land and rich soil.

May 1843 The Wagon Train is leaving for the 2000 mile trip! Imagine, you are a pioneer child, a Trail Kid… You are leaving your home and will not be turning back. You are going in search of a new home…

You and your pioneer family will travel in a covered wagon called the Conestoga wagon. Many of the pioneers choose oxen instead a mules or horses because the oxen were much stronger. Sometimes it can take up to 4 oxen to pull one wagon! Most of the time you will be walking behind the wagon, so put on those walking shoes and get ready!

The wagon is made of strong wood such as hickory, oak, or maple. The wooden piece that sticks out of the wagon is called the tongue. The tongue is connected to the yoke of the oxen, mules or horses.

The Conestoga Wagon is much bigger than the farm wagon. It can carry up to 5000 pounds! The wagon is made in three parts: 1. cover 2. wagon box 3. undercarriage and running gear Most people will use the farm wagon. A larger farm wagon can carry up to 4000 pounds, but most can carry about 2000 or 3000 pounds.

Tongue Seat Brake lever Cover Bow Felloe Tire Feed trough Foot rest Hub Spokes Brake foot

The pioneers might even take some chocolate for special occasions! If you have a cow, you might want to bring it with you. Pioneers use it for milk and meat. Pioneers made their own clothing so you will need to bring cloth to sew, needles, thread, pins, scissors, and leather to fix worn-out shoes. If you have troubles with your wagon, your family will need to make their own repairs. Think about bringing saws, hammers, axes, nails, string and knives and other tools that will help you. You will need to take many supplies with you. Some of the the food you might need will be: yeast for baking, crackers, cornmeal, bacon, eggs, dried meat, potatoes, rice, beans, and a big barrel of water.

TOOLS POUNDS ax15 shovel12 hatchet9 hammer7 hoe3 anvil150 grinding stone 75 animal trap15 rope4 PERSONAL ITEMS POUNDS doll2 jump rope 1 marbles 1 family Bible2 books2 hunting knife1 bag of clothes40 fiddle2 snowshoes8 rifle10 pistol7 first aid kit3 Make a supply list! Be sure to think about how much each thing weighs and remember that your wagon can only carry about 2000 pounds! Use Excel to create your list!

Plan ahead! Some of the things you have to consider are: On many days the caravan will only travel ten to fifteen miles. On rainy and muddy days they might only travel one mile! It may take you five to seven days just to travel the distance we can drive a car in one hour! 1. The bad weather along the trail 3. Food for the livestock 2. Having a good supply of water

The pioneers have to get up very early each morning and prepare for the daily travels. It is usually dark on these mornings. You will have to start the fire, prepare breakfast, gather the livestock, reload the wagon, and hitch the oxen or mules before getting started.

What Will You Do Each Day On the Trail? Each morning you and the other pioneers have to get up before daylight and gather the livestock and cook breakfast. Many times you will go ahead and prepare lunch as well. After breakfast around 7:00 a.m. you all hitch up the oxen and start down the trail. Since the wagon is so bumpy, the pioneers who are not driving the wagon must walk behind or next to it much of the time.

The pioneers will stop at lunchtime and rest for an hour or two. After a rest period you will travel down the trail until about four or five p.m. At night, circle the wagons for protection. The women will fix the dinner and the men will prepare the livestock for the night. After supper you can gather around the campfires and sing songs, dance, tell stories and visit. Sometimes you can sleep inside or even under the wagon, or maybe in a tent. On those beautiful nights you can curl up and sleep under the twinkling stars.

What types of chores will you do? Children have to do a lot of chores that included milking the cows, fetching water from a stream or a nearby river, helping your parents cook food, and washing dishes. You also have to collect buffalo chips or wood for the fire. You will need to shake out dusty blankets and quilts, and hang beef jerky to dry in the sun.

Crossing the River Many rivers are difficult to cross. Some of the rivers are fast, deep, and muddy.

There are many dangers on the trail like fierce animals, Indians, storms, rivers, diseases, and robbers. Many of the Indians are not friendly. They may try to steal cattle and horses. That's why some of you must guard and stay up all night to watch the livestock. Grass fires are a problem. So are run-away oxen! Some pioneers can’t carry enough water from one watering hole to the next and were in danger of running out. A Day of Trouble: Dangers on the Trail

One of the worst things that could happen is that a wagon wheel or axle could break and you might not be able to get another. If a storm comes, lightning could hit the wagon and it could catch on fire!

A Day of Fun! You can still have fun on the trail even when you work! Games like skipping rope, chasing hoops, and tag are a lot of fun to play. Some of the games like string games are still played today. You do not have many toys and most all of them are homemade. Your mother may teach you to make apple dolls and corn husk dolls. You father may teach how to carve things from wood, such as a whimmydiddle, buzz saw, or mountain bolo.

After a long day on the trail you may gather around the campfire and listen to the fiddlers, sing songs, and dance. Some of the songs included "Cindy", "Buffalo Gals", and "My Darling Clementine" Pioneers take many animals with them on the trail, including cows, dogs, horses, oxen and sometimes donkeys. Even though the animals have as much hard work to do as all the pioneers, sometimes you can play with them like you would any pet!

You made it to Oregon Territory! Congratulations! How do you feel? End of the Trail

Teacher Lesson Plan Westward Bound WebQuest A Pioneer’s Journey on the Oregon Trail Curriculum Standards Goals 1.To provide students an opportunity to learn about the Oregon Trail and the factors that affected this journey 2.To introduce students to research using electronic resources through a Social Studies Curriculum area 3. To facilitate in the development of basic technology skills and competency in software programs (Kidworks, Microsoft Word & Excel)

Objectives & Learning Opportunities To learn about the pioneer experience on the Oregon Trail To utilize technology to develop skills in researching a topic and to organize data through a creative project/webquest To develop basic technology skills in word processing, a paint program, the Internet, and in creating a spreadsheet

Process & Procedure 1.Prepare the students for the journey and build upon prior knowledge of the Westward Migration 2.Present the topic with a PowerPoint presentation on the Oregon Trail to intrigue the students and prepare them with background information 3.Explain the WebQuest and scenario, as well as what the students are expected to complete for evaluation 4.Allow students the opportunity to navigate the teacher designed webpage entitled Westward Bound Week #1

Week #2 1.Show Slide #9 of the presentation and review the parts of the Conestoga wagon; play Name that Part! 3.Using the webquest links to pictures and information on the wagon, students will illustrate their wagon in KidWorks Story Illustrator (this activity may be modified for individual abilities) 4.Students may save their illustration by copying and pasting it into their saved document 2.Student will Save a file in Microsoft Word named Wagon last name, minimize the program and open KidWorks

Week #3 2.Handout the Supply list template (harcopy) to use as a guide to navigate the sites and gather information for the Supply List they will create in Microsoft Excel.Supply 1. Have the students Save an Excel file named Supplylistlastname 3.Students will list the various items they will need for the journey including the approximate weight (lbs.) of each item. 4.When students have filled out their sheet they may use the saved file in Excel to create their Supply List

Week #4 1.Students will Open their Excel file and continue entering their data for their supply List 2.When finished, students will continue their webquest by gathering information about life on the Oregon Trail. They will begin their TrailKid Journal 3.Students will Open the Read-Only Word File named My Trail Kid Journal and Save it as Trailkidlastname. They will use the hyperlinks found on the title to gather information for their journal.Journal

Week #5 & #6 Continue with the Trail Kid Journal activity and provide student assistance when needed. Students should be reminded to continually save their work. The students should be encouraged to explore the various sites even further for new discovery and learning, as well as for reviewing what was learned.

Completion of the Westward Bound WebQuest will be 30 points 1. Drawing of the Canestoga Wagon = 10 points 2. Supply List using Excel = 10 points 3. 5 day journal = 10 points (2 points for each entry) The Westward Bound WebQuest Rubric will be used to assess the entire Research Project for an additional 20 pointsRubric Total WebQuest = 50 points Evaluation This Webquest was designed by Angela Natale, Primary Grades (K-3) Technology Education, Serra Catholic School (last modified 03/27/02) This page was adapted from Bernie Dodge 's WebQuest_Template1.htmlBernie DodgeWebQuest_Template1.html