1. Unit 3: Chapter 5 - Passing Through the Great Basin
The Donner-Reed Party
Unit 3: Chapter 5 - Passing Through the Great Basin

2. Bell Activity
This is a no gum class. Please dispose of it properly!
Take out your study guide and a blank piece of paper. Title the paper “The Donner Party”
Open your book to page to pages 92-93, read them, then answer questions
If you finish those questions, work on your maps.
Where should your backpack be?

3. Bell Activity
Take out your study guide and Donner Party notes. At the bottom of the Patrick Breen section, write do the following:
Read Virginia Reed's letter on page 95. [Virginia was 12 years old when she traveled west, Patty was her younger sister. The textbook mistakenly says the letter is from Patty (age 8), but it was from Virginia. Also, spelling mistakes are typically not corrected in old documents.]
Answer questions 1-4 in the textbook on a blank piece of paper. (#1 – Salt Flats – Sept 1846)
Then add the answer to these questions: 5. Virginia Reed's letter is an example of what type of document? Primary or Secondary. Why do you think so? 6. It is Remembered, Recovered or Invented History? Why do you think so?

4. What are we learning today?
History Objective – We will gather evidence to use in an argumentative essay about pioneers going West.
Behavior Objective – Courtesy & Respect: We will be attentive and respectful during the video and activities.
Language Objective - We will listen to the video and write our ideas in our notes.

5. The Donner Party
During the 1840s, thousands of Americans moved West to Oregon and California.
Many of those pioneers made their journey safely. One very famous group did not.
We are going to collect information about the participants in this disaster and decide whether someone should have been held accountable for the fate of the Donner Party.

6. The Donner Party
To do this, we will need to keep track of some important information.
First, the video will tell us (almost immediately) 4-5 reasons why people were moving West at this time. Write them on your paper.
Then write these names on your paper. Keep track of what happens to them during the video.
Focus on evidence. What information did the Donner Party have? What choices did they make? What advice did they get?

7. The Donner Party
You are going to pretend to be a lawyer or detective who is investigating what happened to the Donner Party.
Your job is to gather evidence about what happened to the Donners and the people who traveled with them to California in 1846.
You will be using this evidence to write an argument about the Donner Party:
Should Lansford Hastings have been held responsible in a court of law for what happened to the Donner Party, or was the Donner Party responsible for making the choices that led to their tragedy?

8. The Donner Party Witnesses
Then write these names on your paper. Keep track of what happens to them during the video. They are your witnesses:
Lansford Hasting and James Clyman, The Reed Family: James Reed (dad), Margaret Reed (mom), Virginia Reed (13), Patty Reed (8), Thomas Reed (5).
The Donner Family: George Donner (dad), Tamsen (mom), Eliza (3) and several other kids, George’s brother and his family.
Patrick Breen and his family
Louis Keseberg

10. The Donner Party

11. Donner Evidence
Hastings’ Fault Donner’s Fault/Not Hastings’

12. Rules of Evidence
Theories must be based on facts and logical arguments.
Too many people will accept a theory because they ‘like’ it or it “would be cool”. We need to do better.
Theories must be supported by evidence. What that evidence means will be agree upon by most historians/scientists that examine it.
And the simplest explanation is usually the best, unless there is a lot of evidence to back up a more complicated theory.
If lots of evidence contradicts (goes against) the theory, the theory must be revised or rejected.

13. Making Logical Arguments based on Evidence

14. Organize your evidence
Should Lansford Hastings have been held responsible in a court of law for what happened to the Donner Party, or was the Donner Party responsible for making the choices that led to their tragedy?
Create a tree map to organize your evidence into two categories:
Hastings Evidence
Donner Party Evidence

15. Elements of Argument
Claim: Your opinion about the topic; the side of the debate your support
Facts/Data: Evidence that is relevant and verifiable; facts
Explanation/Warrant: explanation of how the evidence (facts) supports the claim; often common sense rules, laws, scientific principles or research, and well- considered definitions.
Counter-arguments: acknowledgement of differing claims
Rebuttal: An explanation of why your claim is still more convincing than the counterclaim.
Conclusion: Finish your argument with a summary and why this was important.
Toulmin—these are parts of argument (discuss)

16. Bell Activity Take out Donner notes, a blank paper, and study guide.
This is a no gum class. Please dispose of it properly!
Take out Donner notes, a blank paper, and study guide.
Your words are “extermination” & “exodus”.
Find the word on your study guide and complete the following information for the word.
Find the definition using a glossary.
Use your own knowledge and experience to complete the rest of the definition.
Work on questions in the study guide or the map on the last page.
Where should your backpack be?

17. Does your work look something like this?
Word: extermination
My Understanding:
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/ Example:
Antonym/Non-Example:

18. Does your work look something like this?
Word: extermination
My Understanding:
Definition: the complete destruction of
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence: There were so many bugs
that they had to call in an exterminator.
Synonym/ Example: kill, annihilation
Antonym/Non-Example: save, preservation

19. Does your work look something like this?
Word: exodus
My Understanding:
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/ Example:
Antonym/Non-Example:

20. Does your work look something like this?
Word: exodus
My Understanding:
Definition: the departure or emigration
Draw a picture of it:
of a large group of people at the same
time (religious overtones)
Sentence: Mormons were forced to
make an exodus from Illinois in 1846.
Synonym/ Example: leave
Antonym/Non-Example: stay

21. Bell Activity Take out your study guide and your Donner Party notes.
This is a no gum class. Please dispose of it properly!
Take out your study guide and your Donner Party notes.
Read pages
Answer questions in the Study Guide.
If you finish early, work on questions 1-18 or the map.