1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Alice Keeler is a mother of 5 and a teacher in Fresno, California. She has her B.A in Mathematics, M.S. in Educational Media Design and Technology and is currently working on a doctorate in Educational Technology with an emphasis in games and simulations. EdTech speaker, blogger, and presenter. Founder of coffeecue, a 1 hour conference event for educators. New Media Consortium Horizon report advisory panel member. High school math teacher for 14 years. Currently teaching pre-service teachers curriculum, instruction and technology at California State University Fresno. Teaches online for Fresno Pacific University in the Masters in Educational Technology. Passionate that kids are not failures, researches gamification in education to increase student motivation.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: English Language Arts
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W E Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

2. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why?
© Marc Muench/Tandem Still + Motion
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why?
The origins of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail began many centuries ago. Long before Europeans arrived in North America, the trail was used by several Native American tribes as a highway. It once stretched roughly 500 miles, mostly through what is now Mississippi, and also through parts of modern-day Tennessee and Alabama. Today, the trail is maintained by the National Park Service and is open to hikers and horses.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile paved highway that parallels the Scenic Trail, allowing modern-day travelers to journey by car or bike between Nashville and Natchez.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 1
Image Search
List the physical, terrain characteristics of the Natchez Trail. 2
Web Search
Make a list of several prominent trails in the western regions of The United States. 3
Select a single western trail. List the physical, terrain characteristics of this trail. 4
Thinking
What factors probably played a role in determining the style of a trail?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 1
Image Search
List the physical, terrain characteristics of the Natchez Trail. 2
Web Search
Make a list of several prominent trails in the western regions of The United States. 3
Select a single western trail. List the physical, terrain characteristics of this trail. 4
Thinking
What factors probably played a role in determining the style of a trail?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 1
Image Search
List the physical, terrain characteristics of the Natchez Trail.
(Possible Search Queries: “Natchez Trail,” “Natchez National Park Trail,” “Old Natchez Trace”)
Sources:
Bing:
Wikipedia:
Possible Answers: Lush greenery with tall dense forest, meandering sunken dirt trail with a canopy of trees overhead, slight rolling hills in some places but minimal elevation changes.

8. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 2
Web Search
Make a list of several prominent trails in the western regions of The United States
(Possible Search Queries: “Western Trails,” “Trails in the Western United States,” “Western American Trails”)
Sources:
Trails West:
Wikipedia:
Possible Answers: California Trail, Oregon Trail, El Camino Real, Gila Trail, Bozeman Trail, Santa Fe Trail etc.

9. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 3
Image Search
Select a single western trail. List the physical, terrain characteristics of this trail.
(Possible Search Queries: “Oregon Trail,” “California Trail,” “Gila Trail,” “Santa Fe Trail,”)
Sources:
Bing:
Wikipedia:
Possible Answers: Answers will vary but western trails are characterized by higher elevations over the Rocky Mountains (but through the great plains there are few elevation changes but minimal trees in many areas). Some areas have minimal water resources and therefore minimal vegetation.

10. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why? 4
Thinking
What factors probably played a role in determining the style of a trail?
(Possible Search Queries: “Historic Trails in the US,” “Historic American Trails”)
Sources:
Wikipedia:
Possible Answers: Purpose and method of use (trails in the west were largely created out of the need to migrate by wagon whereas trails in the east were created by foot), topography, elevation, resources (water and wood) along the way, natural barriers such as rivers and mountains.

11. Looking at pathways and trails on the East Coast and the West Coast of the U.S. compare and contrast how the designs differ and why?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.