Westward Ho! on the Oregon Trail By: Edwina Norris and Page Sorey

Unit Summary Students will travel the Oregon Trail and relate experiences and decisions to present life. They will be given situations 'fate cards' along the trail in which they will have to work cooperatively in order to make decisions that will best suit their wagon family. The students will learn how to budget using a ledger, research, and use a journal to record daily life events. Campfire meetings and the final reunion will be held with other schools who are participation in Westward Ho through online meetings using Chatzy.

Essential Question: How can I make a difference in my trail family and wagon train society? Unit Questions: What are your daily responsibilities within your trail family? What contributions to the wagon train society can you make? How will you meet your basic needs on the trail? Content Questions: Identify the characteristics needed for a successful wagon train journey. Compare/Contrast How is your life different from the children who traveled with the wagon train? How is it the same? What is a pioneer? What motivated these pioneers to leave their homes? CFQs

Guaging Student Needs Assessment Use CFQs to learn students' prior knowledge of the westward movement using a Five W's graphic organizers

Gauging Student's Needs

Monitoring Progress Journal Writing Research Drawings Venn Diagram

This project will help my students develop 21st century skills by: collaborating with peers in class as well as others from other areas that are traveling as well. participate in decision making

Procedures for Learning and Recording Progress The students will be divided into groups of 4 to 5 per wagon family students will create a list of supplies needed students will prepare a budget ledger and discuss it's purpose students will keep a diary of daily events from the travel and fate cards students will be able to experience "life on the trail" through playing old time games, singing songs, drawings, and watching video resources.

21st Century learning Students will develop higher-order and 21st century skills in this unit by using the Essential and Unit Questions to learn that each of us have responsibilities within a family and to society. working collaboratively to make wise choices

Vision for Unit By creating this unit, we want students to collaborate in their decision making students to make wise decisions students to research for example, their character, important geographical locations along the trail, reasons for going out west. students to use technology by meeting with other schools who are participating in Westward Ho through online chats.

Project Approaches As my students work on this project, they will be working across the curriculum-geography, math skills, economics, writing, reading, weather/seasons will be connecting their Wagon Life to the real world will be working collaboratively