teacher

Title	Wild, Wild West- a Westward Expansion Journey
Grade Level	4th grade Social Studies
Purpose	to explore the challenges of daily life the early settlers and pioneers faced in the 1800's in relation to the Oregon Trail and settling the Western Frontier
Duration	approximately 3 weeks
Resources	Computer with Internet access per student Printed version of Guide sheets (refer to site map below) Social Studies journal/ note writing Missouri Then and Now (or other comparable Social Studies textbook for referencing) Model House/Wagon Project supplies (refer to conclusion page on the site map below)
Author	Bonnie Steffens email

An iAdventure is an Internet adventure where students work in pairs to solve problems/dilemmas (that are constructed around a storyline) by using web resources to make educated choices. The storyline helps grab the students' attention with the use of characters (real or fictional) that the students can relate to while also motivating them throughout the iAdventure. For more information on iAdventures, visit:

Site Map

This is an interactive (hyperlink) map to each page of the Wild, Wild West iAdventure.

Teacher Page (You are here!)		Wild, Wild West
Opening Story
Off to Oregon			Guide sheet 1	Stay and Settle
Oxen	Guide sheet 2	Mule	Log Home	Guide sheet 3	Sod Home
Conclusion

Students (in pairs) go on a discovery adventure to the West with Homer (a fictional character, cousin to William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) as their guide. They begin at Independence, MO during the 1800's, also known as the "Jumping Off Place". This was a major dilemma for the pioneers- do they continue on to Oregon or do the stop and settle? After researching both options from the Internet links listed in the iAdventure, the students become experts on both and are now able to make an informed decision - Off to Oregon or to Stay and settle. The discovery adventure continues, leading the students down two different, but yet similar paths as they research the challenges of daily life on the Oregon Trail and on the Frontier. Here they face yet another dilemma. On the Oregon Trail- do they travel using oxen or do they travel using mules? And on the Frontier, what type of shelter do they build? After researching each option, they choose their last path, obtain more information about daily life, challenges, hardships, etc. and reach the conclusion of the iAdventure. Here the students must write a report of their findings back to the President, make a 3-D model from their chosen path and present their findings to the class. To tie both Oregon Trail and Settlers together, students reflect (from their own report and from the reports of others) in a journal by comparing and contrasting life on the trail and life on the frontier. They also compare and contrast their life today to life in the 1800's.

Students need to have a basic understanding of:

The LA Purchase, Lewis and Clark and how those events affected MO and Westward Expansion.

Check out this useful web site for additional information (webquest, videos, etc.) from emints.org

Lewis and Clark Expedition: Louisiana Purchase and Exploring the West

Vocabulary Words students need to have a basic understanding of:

Ague - a contagious disease (fever similar to malaria) many settlers moved to try and avoid catching
Cholera- a severe disease that struck many pioneer along the Oregon Trail mainly from contaminated water

and campsites

famine- an intense shortage of food
frontier- settled land on the edge of new unsettled territory
luxury- the enjoyment of the best, usually something not necessary
necessity- something one can not live or do without to survive
hardship- a thing hard to bear
scarce- something that is hard to find
shanty- small home; shack; hut

to collect, examine and discern needed information retrieved from the Internet

to compose a detailed formal report explaining daily life/challenges of early settlers and pioneers in the 1800's (project #1)

to design a model of a pioneer wagon/ house representative of facts obtained from research (project #2)

to compose a detailed informal report explaining detail items in the model wagon/house (project #2)

to compare and contrast life on the Oregon Trail and Settling the Frontier

to compare and contrast life in the 1800's and life today

Benchmark and Performance Indicator- 4th grade Social Studies

Benchmarks:
Summarize the events in the westward expansion, including people's motivation, their hardships, and Missouri as a jumping-off point to the West.

Performance Indicators:
Examine people's motivation, their hardships, Missouri as a jumping-off point to the west.

Missouri Education Knowledge Standards

Communication Arts
CA 01	Speaking and writing standard English
CA 03	Reading and evaluation non-fiction works and materials
CA 04	Writing formally (report) and informally (notes)
CA 06	Participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas
Health
HE 03	Diseases and methods for prevention, treatment and control
Social Studies
SS 02	Continuity and change in the history of MO, the US and the world
SS 05	The major elements of geographical study and analysis and their changes in society and environment
SS 06	Relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions
SS 07	The use of tools of social science inquiry

Missouri Education Performance Standards

Goal 1- Acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze and apply information and ideas
G1 01	Conduct research to answer questions and evaluate information and ideas
G1 04	Use technological tools and other resources to locate, select and organize information
G1 05	Comprehend and evaluate written, visual and oral presentations and works
G1 07	Evaluate the accuracy of information and the reliability of its sources
G1 08	Organize data, information and ideas into useful forms for analysis or presentation
Goal 2- Acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom
G2 01	Plan and make written, oral and visual presentations
G2 07	Use technological tools to exchange information and ideas
Goal 3- Acquire the knowledge and skills to recognize and solve problems
G3 03	Develop and apply strategies based on one's own experience in preventing or solving problems
G3 05	Reason inductively from a set of specific facts and deductively from general premises
Goal 4- Acquire the knowledge and skills to make decisions and act as responsible members of society
G4 01	Explain reasoning and identify information used to support decisions
G4 04	Recognize and practice honesty and integrity in academic work
G4 05	Develop, monitor and revise plans of action to meet deadlines and accomplish goals
G4 06	Identify cooperative tasks and coordinate with others to complete tasks

Written Report (each group) Scoring Guide	Must include details about the daily life, hardships, food, school, chores, important (can not do without) belongings and dangers faced as a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail or as a Settler on the Frontier (this is based on the path you chose in the adventure). Describe the choices you had to make on your adventure and defend why you chose each path along the way.
Model- House or Wagon (each group) Scoring Guide	Construct a 3-D model (this is based on your path you chose in the adventure). Must include all the necessities needed to survive with a written guide sheet that describes your model and its contents.
Compare/ Contrast (each student) Scoring Guide	After listening to each groups' presentations ( reading reports and discussing the model) write a paragraph comparing and contrasting life on the Oregon Trail and life settling the Frontier. Write a second paragraph comparing and contrasting your life to the life of the pioneers and settlers in the 1800's.

Pioneer Food	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000702.shtml
Pioneer Life on the Homestead	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001153.shtml
Westward Expansion: Hardships	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000268.shtml
Pioneer Life: Sod Houses	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000268.shtml
Transportation: Covered Wagons	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000482.shtml
Westward Expansion: Pioneers on the Frontier	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000248.shtml
Westward Expansion: Oregon Trail	http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000125.shtml

Assessments

Conclusion and Student Products

Click on the Scoring Guide link to view the printable scoring guide.