The Oregon Trail

Adapted from Storypath

Fourth Grade

October 13, 2006

Gabrielle Gousie

Thematic Framework

Central Question

In this unit, students will explore historical context, multiple perspectives, and critical thinking skills while grappling with the central question what was life like on the Oregon Trail?

Rationale

The rationale behind teaching the Oregon Trail Storypath unit in my fourth grade class is focused on creating multiple perspectives and teaching students skills they will need to function in a democratic society. After participating in the Northwest Coast Indians Storypath in the fall, students will be able to take on a differing perspective about the same time period in the Oregon Trail Storypath. By taking on the role of a character in a wagon train heading west, students will be able to compare and contrast what life was like then to their own lives. This personal connection will deepen the learning that takes place. This unit requires students to develop and use their critical thinking skills when responding to the critical incidents, which is an important skill that is necessary in all aspects of life.

Along with taking on multiple perspectives and problem solving in this unit, students will have to participate in the democracy of a wagon train. These components will build students’ understanding and disposition towards living in a democratic and interdependent world. In this unit, one must be aware of the stereotypes that students have about American Indians. This issue must be addressed by asking probing questions and suggesting further research to the students. I hope that my students will have a foundation from the previous Storypath to guide them away from stereotypes about the American Indians. Nonetheless, because one student in my class is part American Indian, it will be important to address the multiple perspectives and to encourage students to understand that American Indians are not an isolated homogeneous group in history. This unit will guide students to develop skills needed to participate in civic society and to understand broader themes that will be visible in daily life.

Learners

My class is composed of twenty-two students that is an even mix of boys and girls who range from nine to ten years of age. Eighteen of the students are African American or a mix of African American and Caucasian, three are Asian American, and one is a mix of American Indian and Caucasian. The school as a whole has 65% of students who receive free and reduced lunches. A little under half of the students in my class are bused to school while the others walk or are picked up by a parent or guardian.

This is a Spectrum class though only 7 students are qualified Spectrum and the teachers in my building are committed in teaching the Spectrum philosophy of rigorous coursework for all their students. In my class, the reading levels range from 1.3 to 11.3 and the math levels range from 1.7 to Post High School. Both of these ranges are widespread and so working in groups happens a lot to help accommodate students at different levels. Students sit in pods of four and are often engaged in cooperative learning activities where they have choices on where they work around the classroom.

Some students display ADD characteristics (being distracted easily) although they have not been tested. In order to try to keep these kids on task, I will make sure that there are clear guidelines on what needs to happen in cooperative groups. I will also create heterogeneous groupings of students into families so that students who are self-directed learners will be able to assist students who daydream with staying on task.

Developmental Stages

Insight into my students (aged 9-10) can be found in Piaget’s, Erikson’s, and Vygotsky’s theories. Piaget stated that children between the ages of 7 and 11 are in the Concrete Operational stage where they can think logically about objects and events as well as classify information into many categories. Students must think critically about situations and weigh information to come to an informed decision on many occasions in this unit, which builds on Piaget’s theory. Erik Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development states that children in elementary school are reconciling with the Industry vs. Inferiority stage. In this stage, students are focused on family and school and they learn to complete tasks that are required in daily life. Children become focused on rules and thus the setting up the democracy and rules of the wagon train will be very important to these students. Students will take part in meaningful learning activities and projects that they will feel accomplished at doing during this Storypath. The last theory of development I want to mention is Vygotsky’s theory of social development. Vygotsky really believed that learning and growth takes place for students when they are in a social environment among peers, especially peers at different levels. In the Oregon Trail, students are situated in family groups and are constantly having to deal with problems as a group so that learning is taking place and the heterogeneous groupings of the families will be important support this theory.

Assessment

Learning Targets, Evidence of Learning, and Assessment Instrument Chart

Learning Targets	Type of Learning	EALRs Addressed	Assessment Instrument	Assessment Criteria
1. Students will be able to understand that life along the Oregon Trail was very different from life today due to technology, resources, and way of life.	Generalization	History 1.1 Understands and analyzes historical time and chronology	Final Letter	Students will describe at least 3 unique aspects of living in the mid 1800’s. At least one from each of the categories of technology, resources, and way of life.
2. Students will critically examine the attitudes that the settlers moving west held towards the American Indians.	Skill	History 2.1 compare and contrast ideas in different places, time periods, and cultures, and examine the interrelationships between ideas, change, and conflict	Final Letter	Students will describe at least one misconception that the settlers held towards the American Indians, give one reason the settlers might have felt this way, and how your opinion has changed since this trip.
3. Students will be able to work with others in a group to come up with decisions to a problem.	Skill	S.S. Skills 2.1 Understand and use interpersonal and group process skills required by citizens in a democratic society.	Final Letter and Self Assessment	Students will fill out a self-assessment each week to identify how their group worked together and identify 3 ways the wagon train community worked together to solve problems.
4. Students will value the perspectives of the pioneers and the American Indians.	Disposition	Geography 3.3 examine cultural characteristics, transmission, diffusion, and interaction	(see description)	Students will write 2 paragraphs on the same event from two different perspectives. Students will identify 2 details that support the ideas of the settler’s or Indian’s reaction to the event.
5. Students will be able to understand that people headed west in hopes of a better life, looking for adventure, and for the free land that was available.	Generalization	History 1.2 understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping United States, world, and Washington State history	Final Letter	Students will identify 3 reasons why their character headed west.
6. Students will be able to understand that people on the Oregon Trail experienced many hardships due to sickness, scarcity of food, difficult terrain, ability to get along, and fear of Indians.	Generalization	Geography 3.1 identify and examine people's interaction with and impact on the environment	Final Letter	Students will identify 2 hardships encountered along the trail and explain how it affected their character.

Assessment Instruments

There will be a letter pre-assessment, a self-evaluation, and a final letter as a post assessment. The pre-assessment will be a letter where the students have to step into character and write a letter home and it can be found on page 11. I chose this option because I think it is a more engaging activity than filling out a questionnaire to find out what they know. Also the letter will help the students personalize the activity and start thinking about characters along the Oregon Trail. There are guiding questions that will help the students pull more knowledge into their letters. The pre-assessment will be given the week before the unit starts so that I can see what prior knowledge students are bringing to class. This will help me decide what content cards or other sources are needed to give background information. It will also help me decide if I need to alter my learning targets because I don’t want to teach what the students already know. The pre-assessment will allow me to have a baseline so that I can compare what students knew to start with to what the post-assessment shows they know at the end.

The self-assessment will be given after every week and it will help students reflect on how they have been working as part of a group. The ability to reflect will be important and I think assessing student behavior over a small period of time will give more realistic feedback about how a child is doing. It will also give me information about if students need a mini-lesson on a certain social skill or just a reminder on what is expected from working in groups.

The post-assessment will be a letter that will be more involved where students have a rubric and specific requirements that they need to meet. The assignment can be found on page 13 and the rubric is located on page 14. Post-assessment data from the letter will help me see if I reached my learning targets. It will also help me identify what I need to clarify for this unit when I teach it again. Ideally, I would like to use this data to adapt my lessons for the following unit or year. I hope that all of my units will be able to connect in some way, so with the post-assessment data, I will be able to see what students will be able to connect to for the next unit. Finally, the post assessment will allow me to see if I have made a positive impact on student learning.

My students will be asked to do a fair amount of letter writing in this unit and there won’t be that much direct instruction on this topic because it is a skill that is being taught throughout the school year. There will be mini-lessons to revisit aspects of letter writing, but this basic skill is something that I will assume that all of my students are familiar. By the time students start this unit, they will have been writing a lot in preparation for the 4^th grade WASL and so they will be used to writing activities and they will be glad for an opportunity to get into character in their letter writing.

Family Communication

I would make a website but internet access is something that the students in my class do not have readily available at home. Though some do have internet access at home, I have opted to write a letter home because I feel that it will actually be useful when I teach this unit. I will provide email and phone numbers for parents to be able to get a hold of me along with other sources that parents can use to contribute to their learning about the Oregon Trail. The letter can be located on page 16.

Community Resources/Collaboration

To begin our unit we will talk about the facts of the trail, including the length of the journey. It seems unlikely that my students will have had relatives who traveled on the Oregon Trail, but that could be the starting question. The second question I will ask is, “Who has taken a big trip?” Students will have the opportunity to share and if this question leads to silence, then asking if relatives or parents have ever taken a long journey like that of immigrating to another country. This could be a homework investigation if students are unsure of family history and we could have parents come in to share journey stories in order to compare their journeys to those of the emigrants on the Oregon Trail.

In the 5 weeks that we will take to do this unit, we will have collaboration from the community. There are opportunities for community members to come in and role-play some of the episodes so I will find parents or other members of the community who are willing to take on those roles. In addition, each week our students go to see the librarian on Thursday and Friday. The librarian will lead the children on web explorations to look at photos and evaluate sources about this time period. Also, he will support me by reading stories about this period and providing other resources to the students and me. We have an artist in resident who will come in during this unit and lead the students through an art activity that is related to the Oregon Trail. Students learn better when their community takes part in their learning. By having students connect to the topic and talk with family about it, the likelihood of remembering what they learned increases.

Classroom Community

In my classroom, I will support student learning in a variety of ways. First, I will continue to support the sense of community that Ms. Doe and I have set up during the course of the year. The three rules in our classroom are be respectful, make good decisions, and solve problems. I will model these rules, especially being respectful to my students, throughout the school year. Also, I want to emphasize that we all are learners in our classroom and that we all bring different skills and knowledge to the table. Students work in cooperative groups in my class at least 50% of the time they spend in class so they will understand how they can contribute to a group and still be responsible for knowing the material. Students also understand that their job is to be a student and so they are responsible for finishing their work before school so when they come to class they are ready to learn. Many students in my classroom have the designation of “Self Manager” which is a school wide policy that rewards students for being responsible and respectful in their everyday school interactions.

The children in my classroom come from different backgrounds than I come from and there are many differences among my students as well. By exploring multiple perspectives in this unit, I will reinforce the message that diversity is important and thus everyone plays an important part in the classroom. I will encourage students to come up with multiple solutions to problems and to develop creative ideas. The Oregon Trail unit provides many opportunities for students to solve problems and to engage in active learning. My students love having the opportunity to voice their opinions and I suspect that this unit will thoroughly engage them in the learning process. With the amount of excitement that sharing an opinion brings with it, I will have to make sure that students are still raising hands and being respectful of the person who is talking. We are reinforcing the idea that students should not raise their hands while another person is speaking, but should instead be listening and then they can raise their hands again when the speaker has finished. Every student has a voice in my classroom and I will ensure that each student feels safe and respected in my classroom community.

Unit Overview

I think the Oregon Trail will be an excellent unit that the students will get excited about and be an active participant. My unit outline is located on page 15. The unit starts with students creating characters and making families to travel in across the Oregon Trail. They talk about the reasons their character and family had for going west and what supplies they would bring with them. The four settings along the trail are created and the wagon train democracy is created. Students then start having to respond to critical incidents, which include thunder/flash flooding which destroys food, Cholera among a family, a wrecked wagon, and encountering Indians. Students must resolve these problems as a group and reflect on their experiences. The last episode is arriving at The Dalles where the families will head separate ways.

I see much strength in this unit and I am excited to teach it. Some strengths of the Storypath unit are that it allows students to construct their own knowledge by solving problems and working as a group. The skills that they use and develop are important in daily life. Also spending time making meaningful art pieces makes kids more invested in the subject of study. I think the student portfolios ask the kids to do meaningful work that would enhance the episodes in the Storypath. One weakness I have noticed is the difficult reading level of the primary sources and background information provided. I think many of my students would not be able to get through much of the section because there are many unknown words. Also the fact that Storypath units take a great deal of time and energy may make some teachers wary of using them. Teachers have to be on top of guiding conversations in this unit and making sure that students are connecting what they are doing to bigger generalizations about social studies instead of just allowing students to do the activities. Debriefing is an important aspect of this unit that I could see teachers omitting when they run out of time. Overall, this unit intrigues me and I will make sure that the students see and understand my enthusiasm about teaching it.

Pre-Assessment of Oregon Trail Unit

Imagine you are traveling in a wagon train across the Oregon Trail. Write a letter back to your best friend back home describing what life is like on the Oregon Trail.

Think about:

· Why did you leave your home?

· What did you bring with you?

· What problems did you run into along the trail?

***Try to give as many details as you can think of to make the reader really believe that you are traveling along the Oregon Trail.

Self-Assessment: Working as a Group

(Adapted from the Oregon Trail Storypath)

Use the rubric below to rate how you worked as a group.

Ø 1=missed the mark; need improvement

Ø 2 = on target; contributed thoughtfully; listened carefully

Ø 3 = outstanding work; offered solutions

In the last column, explain why you assigned the rating for that particular criterion.

Criteria for Assessment	Rating	Explanation for rating
I offered ideas for how to solve the problem
I listened when other people presented ideas
I encouraged other people to give ideas
I worked with others to solve the problem
I had a positive attitude

Final Letter: Writing Home from Oregon

(Adapted from synthesis activity from the Oregon Trail Storypath)

You have arrived in Oregon Country and a letter awaits you from the local newspaper back home. They want you to write a letter about your travels on the Oregon Trail that will be published in the local newspaper. Write a letter to the newspaper describing your trip.

Be sure to answer the following questions and refer to the rubric to guide your writing:

Ø What circumstances prompted your family to travel to the Oregon Country? (name at least 3 reasons that your character had for heading west)

Ø What hardships did your family encounter and how did you respond? (give 2 hardships and how your character responded)

Ø How did the wagon train community work together to solve problems? (describe 2 ways your community worked together to solve problems)

Ø How did technology, resources, and way of life affect your travels? (describe 3 unique aspects of living in the mid 1800’s that affected your travels)

Ø What misconceptions did you have about the Indians? Why has your opinion changed? (describe 1 misconception, why emigrants felt that way, and how your opinion changed)

Rubric for Final Letter:

Writing Home from Oregon

CATEGORY	Outstanding Work	Good Work	Needs Improvement
Reasons your character headed west	3 reasons	2 reasons	1-0 reasons
Explains hardships encountered along the trail and how it affected character	2 hardships listed and relationship to character	1 hardship listed and relationship to character	0 hardships listed
Explains how wagon train community worked together to solve problems	2 examples are given	1 example is given	0 examples are given
Gives examples of how travels were affected by technology, resources, and way of life.	3 examples	2 examples	1 example
Describes misconceptions that emigrants had about the Indians, why emigrants felt that way, and how their opinion towards the Indians has changed	2 or more examples with supporting details	1 example with supporting details	0 examples
Letter is well organized; has a clear beginning, middle, and end; has paragraphs	Is well thought out and has 3 sections	Has paragraphs but not clear beg, mid, end	Messy paragraphs or lacking paragraphs
Letter has a strong voice that tells the reader that the writer traveled along the Oregon Trail	Uses interesting words and details and language from time period	Uses details to relate to time period	Uses details from modern life in letter

Friday	3/2 1.3 cont. 2.2 cont. -self assessment	3/9 4.1 Intro to settings LT:1, 6 -self assessment	3/16 5.2 cont. 5.3 journal/debrief LT: 1, 3, 6 -self assessment	3/23 8.1 Intro to Indians LT: 2, 4, 6 -self assessment	3/30 Final Letter cont. -self assessment
Thursday	3/1 1.3 cont. 2.2 Creating wagon LT:1, 2, 6	3/8 3.3 Farwell Party LT: 1, 5	3/15 5.1 Intro to Thunder LT: 6 5.2 Thunder disaster LT: 1, 3, 6	3/22 7.3 new life project & reflection LT: 1, 5, 6	3/29 9.3 Reflect & Journal LT: 1 Draft Final Letter LT: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Wednesday	2/28 1.3 Character Intros LT: 5 2.1 Prep for journey LT:1, 6	3/7 (early dismissal) 3.2 cont.- Farwell letter LT: 1, 5, 6	3/14 4.3 word bank/resource analysis LT: 1, 6	3/21 7.1 Intro to wreck ed wagon LT: 1, 3, 6 7.2 Resolving problem LT: 3, 6	3/28 9.2 Keepsake and Celebration LT: 1, 3
Tuesday	2/27 1.2-Families LT:3, 5	3/6 3.1 Intro to Wagon Train LT: 1, 3 3.2 Wagon Train LT: 1, 3, 6	3/13 4.2 cont.	3/20 6.3 Resolve problem LT: 1,3, 6	3/27 8.3 cont. 9.1 Prepare for end LT: 1, 5, 6
Monday	2/26 Read Aloud 1.1-Intro LT:1, 5,6	3/5 1.3 cont. 2.3 Reading primary sources LT: 1, 5, 6	3/12 4.2 Creating Friezes LT: 6	3/19 6.1 Intro to Cholera LT:3, 6 6.2 Research LT: 3, 6	3/26 8.2 Meet Indians LT: 1, 2, 3, 6 8.3 Reflect and journal LT: 1, 2, 4,

February 16, 2007

Dear Room 20 Families,

When we return from midwinter break, we will embark upon our next unit social studies unit, the Oregon Trail. We will be using the Storypath curriculum that requires the students to create character who will travel in a wagon train along the Oregon Trail. Along the trail, students will face hardships and problems that will have to be resolved as a group. These incidents will be thought provoking and so it will be great to ask your students about what problems their character encountered each day.

We will be focusing on the broader ideas of the Oregon Trail like the difference between the lives of the pioneers and the students’ lives, why people wanted to head west, and the hardships faced in route. Also we will spend time looking at the different perspectives of the pioneers and the American Indians and talking about misconceptions that the settlers held about the American Indians. In talking about this long journey and preparing for our character to go on the Oregon Trail, it would be great if any parents who have immigrated or taken long journeys to share with the class what that was like. The students love anything that relates to them, so seeing how this journey can relate to other journeys would be very worthwhile. Please contact me if you would be interested in coming in a day in the next month to share with our class.

We also will be starting to read books that relate to the Oregon Trail and that time period to help students gain background knowledge for this unit. There are a number of great resources available online and from the library. A website about the documentary the Oregon Trail is located at: http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/Oregontrail.html and it is a great site to gather background information. Also the Oregon Trail History Library: http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/histhome.html provides many answers to common questions about the Oregon Trail and has a section related to black pioneers of the Pacific Northwest (which is a topic that does not get a lot of press). A site that students can explore is located at http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/greenway/leahy/ot/guidebook.htm and it has photographs, supply lists, and hardships encountered by the pioneers. If you would like copies of these materials instead of checking them out online please feel free to email me, call me, or send a note with your student to school.

Also if you have any questions regarding this unit, would like more resources, or if you would like to help out (that would be wonderful) give me a call or send me an email at school (3:30-4:30pm), or at home (6-9pm).

I look forward to starting this exciting unit!

Have a great week off,

Gabrielle Gousie

Annotated Bibliography

Bergeson, T., Heuschel, M.A., Lahmann, M.V., & Hardy, D. “Social Studies.” Olympia, WA: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2002. 10 Oct 2006. <http://www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/SocStudies/>

This website provides links to each section of the social studies EALRs for Washington State.

McGuire, M.E. Storypath: The Oregon Trail. Fort Atkinson, WI: Highsmith, Inc., 2005.

Storypath teacher’s handbook that provides some lesson plans for this unit.

Levine, Ellen. If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon. New York: Scholastic, 1992.

A great book at student reading level about traveling west on the Oregon Trail.

Leahy, David. “The Oregon Trail Guidebook.” Greenway Elementary School, 2001. 11

Oct 2006. <http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/greenway/leahy/ot/guidebook.htm>.

This website provides great photos, descriptions of supplies and more at an age appropriate reading level.

“Oregon Trail History Library.” End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, 2005. 11

Oct 2006. <http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/histhome.html>.

This website provides great background information.

Snowman, J. & Biehler, R. Psychology Applied to Teaching. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003.

This textbook provided the basis for my theories of child development.

Social Studies Framework – Grades K-5.” Dec 2003. Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. 7 Oct 2006.

<http://www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/SocStudies/pubdocs/K-5SocialStudiesFrameworks121203.doc>

This provides the Washington State social studies frameworks

Trinklein, M. “The Oregon Trail.” 2003: Boettcher/Trinklein Inc. 10 Oct 2006

<http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/Oregontrail.html>

This website has a plethora of information about the Oregon Trail including teacher guides, background information, historic sites, fantastic facts, diaries on the trail, and more.

Washington Studies Weekly. Lindon, Utah, 2002.

This newspaper provides information about the state of Washington, who lived in Washington originally, and how Washington was settled.

Woodruff, E. Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trails. New York: Dell-Yearling,

1994.

This book takes place in 1851 and follows two brothers as the eldest follows the Oregon Trail and the youngest awaits his letters and the time when he will be able to join his brother in Oregon Territory.