Lesson Plan: Buffalo Emigrant John Wyeth: "We saw them in frightful droves as far as the eye could reach; appearing at a distance as if the ground itself was moving like a sea.” Waiting hours for the herd to pass Killing the buffalo and wasting them

Lesson Plan: Native Americans Acts of kindness from them Pioneers took advantage of what was the Native Americans Massacres

Activity 1 Write an eyewitness article about something you have learned or seen on the Oregon Trail. You can set it up as a feature article, advertisement, or cartoon. Remember to answer who, what, where, when, and how questions. These articles will be published in a collective newspaper for others to read.

Activity 2: How did your family get out West? Make a diary excerpt about how your family got out West. Include both fiction and nonfiction parts. What was similar or different about your family and other families in the classroom?

Activity 3: The Covered Wagon Work in groups set by the teacher. From the pile of materials (scraps of wood, toothpicks, cloth scraps, Popsicle sticks) construct a covered wagon. Then make a list of what you would pack and why. Group presentations will be done in class.

Activity 4: Decision Making Opportunities A lot of decisions had to be made on the Oregon Trail. To begin with, students will be broken down into groups. Students will role-play the pros and cons of the following decisions. One student will be the recorder for the group on the responses. There must be at least one pro and one con for each. Then they will present to class. Continued on next slide……………….

Activity 4 cont…. List the groups reasons for the following decisions!

Activity 5: Pioneer Day This activity will be a whole day field trip within and outside of the classroom. The class will go to the local historical museum that shows pioneer history. They will fill out a survey sheet that the teacher gave out. Then the afternoon will consist of a reenactment of the trail. The room will be set up like the trail with different stops.

Activity 5 cont…... In a complete sentence describe each thing on the list found in the museum using any 3 adjectives of your choice.

Activity 5 cont….. Each student must visit each stop created in the classroom. Make sure to follow all directions and check that you have done it. Stop 1- The Covered Wagon: Climb into the model of the covered wagon and sort out the items that are not needed on the trip. Stop 2- Food: Take your turn churning the butter, then try a sample on bread. Stop 3- Clothing: Try on the clothing items and walk around. Stop 4- Buffalo: Watch the mini video clip on buffalo and feel the sample of skin and fur.

Each student’s assessment would be completion of all 5 activities. Each activity would be evaluated on how well the student portrayed the characteristics of pioneers on the Trail and his/her critical thinking of it all. The completed activities would be collected into a portfolio for each child and sent home.