UNIT PLAN Grade Level: 4 Unit #: 6 Unit Name: Westward Migration Big Idea/Theme: People traveled west for a new beginning and economic opportunities. Culminating Assessment: Choose from the attached Westward Expansion Assignment Menu. Unit Understanding(s) The students will understand that Major expeditions played a role in westward expansion, including those of Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Zebulon Pike. Motivations and methods of migrants and immigrants who moved West, included economic opportunities, the availability of rich land, and the country s belief in Manifest Destiny. Purpose, location, and impact of key United States acquisitions in the first half of the nineteenth century included the Louisiana Purchase, the Florida Purchase, the Oregon Treaty, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican Cession. Territorial expansion, related land policies, and specific legislation affected Native Americans, including the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Missouri Compromise, the fugitive slave laws, the annexation of Texas, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas- Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision affected the institution of slavery in the United States and its territories. Unit Essential Question(s): Who are the explorers that lead major expeditions west? What were the motivations of the pioneers moving into new territories in the United States? How did economic opportunities, trade, and the idea of manifest destiny encourage westward expansion? How did territorial expansion affect Native Americans? How did the westward movement impact the institution of slavery? What is the purpose and impact of the United States land acquisitions?
It is essential for students to know The explorations of Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Zebulon Pike opened these lands to further settlement into the western territories. Daniel Boone crossed the Appalachian Mountains, through the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky creating the Wilderness Trail, which later became the first National Road. Boone established the first United States settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains and eventually purchased much of the land in Kentucky that was taken from the Cherokee. With the help of Native American guides such as Sacajawea, Lewis and Clark documented the land that was soon included in the Louisiana Purchase and established the American claims to the Pacific Northwest (then known as Oregon Country.) The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and map the area across the continent to the Pacific. Their expedition also provided scientific information and specimens of the plants and animals they found. Zebulon Pike located and explored the upper regions of the Mississippi River. Pike made treaties with the Native Americans. He mapped and claimed lands for the United States that stretched to the Pacific Ocean and up to the Oregon Country. Because of his further explorations of the southwest into Spanish territory, Pike s Peak, in present-day Colorado, is named in his honor. Pioneers moved into new territories both before and after they were acquired by the United States government. Americans began to justify their westward expansion with the idea of Manifest Destiny, a God given right to expand and claim lands from coast to coast. The movement to the West included personal and economic opportunity. There was a bounty of furs for trappers to be hunted in the vast wilderness of the West and then sold to those who traded in Europe for a profit. The availability of inexpensive rich farmland in places such as Oregon made it possible for farmer to own their own land and become selfsufficient. Southerners moved to Texas for more land on which to plant cotton. The California Gold Rush brought many new migrants to the West who were looking to get rich quick and return home to their families. In order to escape religious persecution in the United States, the Mormons eventually settled in present-day Utah for freedom of religion. The success or failure of the trip greatly depended on the degree of cooperation and lack of conflict among the travelers and Native Americans as well as the timing in accord with the weather. France surprised Jefferson s foreign ministers by offering to sell the entire area of Louisiana [Louisiana Purchase-1803] which encompassed the territory west of the Mississippi River to present-day Idaho and north to Canada for $15 million dollars (less than 3 cents per acre!) nearly doubling the size of the US at the time. Students should be able to identify the Louisiana Territory on a map. They should be able to name and identify the location of the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains. The Florida Purchase [Adams-Onis Treaty] was the result of friction between Spain and the United States over boundary lines of the Louisiana Territory.
Spain sold Florida to the United States (1819) in exchange for $5 million dollars and a clear southern boundary between the Louisiana Territory and New Spain. The United States claimed the Oregon Territory based on the explorations of Lewis and Clark (45.1). Britain also claimed the area after much negotiation, the Oregon Treaty was a compromise with Great Britain so as not to go to war ( 54-40 or fight ) with two different countries simultaneously ( annexation of Texas which led to the Mexican War). The compromise northern boundary of the United States was set at the 49th parallel in 1846. At first, the United States Congress would not annex Texas because it would upset the balance of slave and free states. As a result, Texas was an independent country for nine years. The annexation of Texas came nine years after the Texan War for Independence from Mexico. The Mexican Cession was the territory that the United States acquired as a result of winning the Mexican War. President Polk tried to buy this land, but the Mexicans would not sell. The treaty that ended the Mexican War ceded Mexican territory in what is now New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, and Nevada to the United States in return for $15 million dollars. As settlers moved farther west, they took more Native American land and created conflict with the Native American tribes. The US government exercised its power to make treaties and to force tribes to move from the lands. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 allowed new lands to organize as territories and later as states when their population of white settlers reached a certain number. The ordinance also provided for public schools and outlawed slavery in the region. This region later became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. In result, Native Americans were forced to give up their lands and move farther west. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Andrew Jackson. It provided land and money the president could use to enter treaties with the Native American nations in which the tribes agreed to leave their lands east of the Mississippi and move west. Having no choice, some Native American tribes moved farther west voluntarily. Other tribes, such as the Cherokee nation, attempted to live in harmony with the American settlers by adopting many American customs, including a written language and governmental system and even the plantation system with slavery. The Cherokee tried to resist removal by taking their case to the Supreme Court. Even though the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee had the right to keep their land, President Andrew Jackson ignored the court s ruling and used the army to force the Cherokee to move from their homes in the Appalachian Mountains across the Mississippi River to present-day Oklahoma, then designated Indian Territory, on what is called The Trail of Tears. Even though the Native Americans were promised reservations in the west, settlers and military often broke treaties. By the time of the Missouri Compromise in 1820 there was much controversy over slavery.some northerners wanted slaves in Missouri to be gradually emancipated as well. Southern states worried that they would lose power in Congress if there were more free states than there were slave states. The Compromise tried to avoid future controversy by prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Territory. The admission of Missouri, a slave state, was balanced by
the simultaneous admission of Maine as a free state. The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to be a free state but also outlawed the slave trade, but not slavery itself, in the nation s capital, Washington, D.C. It also allowed the remainder of the Mexican Cession to decide whether or not the residents wanted to be a slave or free state though a vote, a concept known as popular sovereignty. Fugitive Slave Law that gave them more opportunity to have their escaped slaves caught and returned to their masters in the South. The Kansas Nebraska Act repealed the slavery line (in the Louisiana Purchase) of the Missouri Compromise. It allowed people in these territories to instead decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders through the concept of popular sovereignty. Soon their fighting led people to call the area Bleeding Kansas. The Dred Scott decision (1858) was a test case taken by the Supreme Court to settle the controversy over slaves taken (or escaped to) areas where slavery was not legal. Dred Scott was a slave whose master had taken him into free territory. The Surpreme court ruled that slaves were instead property and, as such, they had no rights at all and could thus be taken anywhere in the United States. South Carolina Academic Standards: 4-5.1 Summarize the major expeditions that played a role in westward expansion including those of Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Zebulon Pike. 4-5.2 Explain the motivations and methods of migrants and immigrants, who moved West, including economic opportunities, the availability of rich land, and the country s belief in Manifest Destiny. 4-5.3 Explain the purpose, location, and impact of key United States acquisitions in the first half of the nineteenth century, including the Louisiana Purchase, the Florida Purchase, the Oregon Treaty, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican Cession. 4-5.4 Summarize how territorial expansion, related land policies, and specific legislation affected Native Americans, including the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Indian Removal Act of 1830. 4-5.5 Explain how the Missouri Compromise, the fugitive slave laws, the annexation of Texas, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision affected the institution of slavery in the United States and its territories.
Vocabulary/Word Wall Acquisitions Annexation of Texas Conflict Cooperation Expeditions Exploration Florida Purchase Indian Removal Act of 1830 Louisiana Purchase Manifest Destiny Mexican Cession Missouri Compromise Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Treaty Western Expansion Compromise of 1850 Kansas-Nebraska Act Missouri Compromise Dred Scott Bleeding Kansas Daniel Boone Lewis and Clark Zebulon Pike Interim Assessment (formative) Checklist Class discussions/ participation Formative Assessments Teacher observations Key Criteria (to meet the standard/rubric) Rubric Suggested Reading: Westward to Home: Joshua s Diary by Patricia Hermes Lewis and Clark Expedition by John Perritano Who Was Daniel Boone by Sydelle Cramer Little house on the Prairie by Laura Ingles Wilder Suggested Debate Topic (discussion and assessment): Would you have stayed in the 13 states or would you have moved out west? ** must include three reasons why you would have stayed or moved Is it fair for the US to believe they have a right to expand and take over the Native American lands? Support your reasons. Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century Identify cause and effect relationships. Understand that people make choices based on the scarcity of resources. Explain the importance of jobs in the fulfillment of personal and social goals.
Westward Expansion Assignment Menu From the activities listed, you must choose enough to total 6 points. Circle the assignments you choose to complete. 3- Create/Plan a lesson for younger students about Westward Expansion. Include A goal for the lesson (what you want them to learn) 3-5 steps explaining the activity you will teach the kids List materials for the lesson 2- Write/Perform a song depicting an event, issue or feeling about the time period. Check with your teacher about the details and length. 3- Create a timeline of major events in the period. You must include 5 major events 2-3 sentences summary Illustrations Dates 2- Write a poem about an event or person from the time period. Your poem must have 12-15 lines (you may divide them into stanzas however you like). 3- Make an ABC book using each letter from WESTWARD MOVEMENT. Each page should include the word, a sentence description, and an illustration. 2-Dramatize (act out) an important event during the time period. Expeditions of Explorers Indian Removal Act Fugitive Slave Law Bleeding Kansas Dred Scott Decision 2-Write a story about Westward Expansion. Your story must include one key person from this unit, and at least 5 facts you learned. 1-Make a connection between events in the US during this time period and events happening currently. Explain this using a graphic organizer. 1-Create a word puzzle using vocabulary from the unit of study. Use at least 10 vocabulary words and their definitions. For example, a crossword puzzle. 1-Create a collage depicting the one of the major explorers and their accomplishments in their expeditions.
Spartanburg School District Two Social Studies CCSS Addendum Topic: Unit 6 Westward Expansion Course: 4 th grade social studies Learning Objectives Aligned to ELA CCSS: RI.4.1, RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in the text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. RI.4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to the topic. RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of the text. RI.4.6 Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and in the information provided. RI.4.7 Interpret information resented visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which I appears. RI.4.8 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text. RI.4.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. W.4.2a-e Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. W.4.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources. Vocabulary To Be Included in Unit: A. Content/Domain/Text-Specific Vocabulary B. Academic Vocabulary (Tier III Words specific to the text or field of study.) (Tier II Words applicable to multiple content areas.) Annexation of Texas Florida Purchase Louisiana Purchase Mexican Cession Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Compromise of 1850 Dred Scott Daniel Boone Zebulon Pike Cumberland Gap Pike s Peak Mormon Andrew Jackson popular sovereignty Indian Removal Act Manifest Destiny Missouri Compromise Westward Expansion Kansas-Nebraska Act Bleeding Kansas Lewis & Clark Sacagawea Wilderness Trail California Gold Rush Mississippi River Trail of Tears acquisitions conflict cooperation treaty exploration pioneer expeditions
Suggested Texts and / or Other Resources: Everything You Need to Know About American History by Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly pgs. 37-53 David Crockett: Creating a Legend by Mary Dodson Wade You Wouldn t Want to Be an American Pioneer! by Jacqueline Morley You Wouldn t Want to Live in a Wild West Town by Peter Hicks Interactive map: http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie-vers-e.html Interactive map: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/books/applications/imaps/maps/g5s_u5/ Painting of Manifest Destiny: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:american_progress.jpg Teaching Dear America books: http://www.scholastic.com/teachdearamerica/colonial.htm Guiding Questions: How did the explorations of Daniel Boone, Zebulon Pike, and Lewis & Clark influence the growth of the nation? What motivated pioneers to move into new territories? How did economic opportunities, trade, and the idea of manifest destiny encourage westward expansion? How did territorial expansion affect Native Americans? How did the westward movement impact the institution of slavery? What is the purpose and impact of the United States land acquisitions? Writing/Research Activity: After reading If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon and/or You Wouldn t Want to Be an American Pioneer! TSW write journal entries as a pioneer on various aspects of the journey west. Cumulative Unit Assessment Ideas: See Curriculum Guide Technology Incorporation/Connections: Websites