Planning Guide

Creating Learner-Focused
Schools

* Madison-Oneida BOCES- This document may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the District Superintendent or his designee.

LU Title: Westmoreland Trail

Author(s): Nancy Lehman, Ellen Zamperetti

Grade Level: 7

School Address: Westmoreland Middle School, Rt. 233, Westmoreland, NY 13490

Subject Area: Social Studies

School Phone/Fax: 315-853-5571 x135

 

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

Declarative

Procedural
  • Analyze the reasons why people moved west
  • Use 3 minute pause, KWL, and graphic organizers appropriately
  • Explain how nature and the environment affected pioneer life and the effect pioneers had on the environment
  • Write diary entries on their experiences as a pioneer
  • Explain the impact of the westward movement on Native Americans
  • Work cooperatively to make trail decisions
  • Describe the westward movement through the eyes and experiences of those who were there
  • Write a compare and contrast essay
  • Analyze primary source documents
  • Access information on pioneer life using the Internet
  • Compare life in a New York village with life on the trail or frontier during the 1840's
  • Find area of territories added during Westward Expansion

 
  • Create an artifact that represents an aspect of pioneer life
  • Present orally their understanding of the learning unit.

 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 

INITIATING ACTIVITY

 Students will be "hooked" into this unit through a whole class demonstration of the computer simulation Oregon Trail III. The teacher will demonstrate this computer game via a projection monitor in the classroom. The teacher will explain that students will have an opportunity to play the game during this unit and they will simulate the pioneer experience with their classmates through the use of Pioneers, and Interact simulation. A brief explanation of the entire unit will follow so that students have a sense of the big picture. In addition, the culminating activity will be discussed so that students will understand from the beginning that they will be responsible for creating and presenting a final product that demonstrates their understanding of the unit. To end the launch, students will take a pre-test on material to be covered during the in-class simulation.

 

Connection to State Learning Standards

Content Area: Social Studies

Level: Intermediate (7th grade)

Benchmarks: Understand how different experiences, beliefs, values, traditions, and motives caused individuals and groups to interpret historic events and issues from different perspectives; compare and contrast different interpretations of key events and issues and explain reasons for these different accounts; describe historic events through the eyes and experiences of those who were there.

 

Benchmarks: Investigate why people and places are located where they are and what patterns can be perceived in these locations; describe the relationships between people and environments and the connections between people and places.

 

Standard: 1-The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.

 

Standard: 3.1-Geograph can be divided into six essential elements which can be used to analyze important historic, geographic, economic, and environmental questions and issues.

 

Unit Theme:

Westward

Movement/Pioneer Life

Standard: 3.2-Geography requires the development and application of the skills of asking and answering geographic questions; analyzing theories of geography; and acquiring, organizing, and analyzing geographic information.

 

Standard:

 

Benchmarks: Use a number of research skills to locate and gather geographical information about issues and problems.

 

Benchmarks:

Learning Experiences

Declarative Knowledge

What declarative knowledge should e in the process of acquiring & integrating? As a result of the unit, the student will know or understand…

What experiences or activities will be used to help students acquire & integrate this knowledge?

What strategies will be used to help students construct meaning, organize and/or store the knowledge?

Describe what will be done.

 Reasons why people moved west.

How nature and the environment affected pioneer life and the effect pioneers had on the environment.

Describe the westward movement through the eyes and experiences of those who were there. Analyze primary source documents.

Describe the impact of the westward movement on Native American cultures.

Describe the Homestead Act of 1862 and its impact on westward expansion and Native American cultures.

Individual thinking; Collaborative pairs; Whole class discussion

Individual Map Analysis

Pioneers Simulation-Experience of life as a pioneer on a wagon train heading west in the 1840's.

Reading of authentic diaries from the time period and the novel Prairie Songs in English class. Collaborative pairs will take notes on the positive, negative and interesting points of authentic diaries from this time period.

KWL strategy; Text reading

Primary source document analysis

 Think-Pair-Share

Advance Organizer Questions

3-Minute Pause Strategy

Complete Descriptive Graphic Organizer

Participation in the Pioneer Simulation and Oregon Trail computer game.

Graphic Organizer will be used to organize the information discovered while reading diaries.

KWL strategy; Continued participation in Pioneers; Picture or poem representing this knowledge

Advance Organizer Questions

Students will be given the prompt-Why do people move today? The teacher will direct them through the think-pair-share strategy to activate their prior knowledge of reasons why people move. Responses will be recorded on the board. Students will be asked to repeat the procedure with the prompt-Why did people move west during the 1800s? Through class discussion we will identify similarities in the responses to the two prompts.

To begin the learning process students will analyze maps in our text (The New Nation, pp. 152-157) to trace the growth of the United States in the 1800s. The teacher will tell students that the nation's population grew 35% from 1790-1800 and another 10% by 1810. Students will answer the following questions as they examine the maps and then discuss them as a whole class once all pairs are finished:**

 **What pressures might this create in a still largely agricultural nation? Where might people look for new land? What peoples already live on this land?

Students will read the introduction to the Pioneers Simulation and chapters 5-6 in their text, Liberty for All. As they read they will be asked to summarize what they've learned, write down interesting facts, and identify any confusions. After completing the readings we will complete a descriptive graphic organizer of the reasons why people moved west during the 1800s.

Students will be engaged in the simulation Pioneers (Interact). They will become a member of an imaginary wagon train heading west during the 1840s. Through the use of fate cards, trail decisions and diary entries they will experience how the environment effected their lives and the impact they, as pioneers, had on the environment.

Prior to writing their own imaginary diary of life on the prairie or in a wagon train heading west, in social studies students will examine primary source materials such as journals and diaries of adolescents during the 1800s. This will give them a unique perspective of what life was like at the time. They will fill out the graphic organizer with a partner, then partners will share with the class. Students will draw on this experience as they create their own imaginary diary in English class.

Individually students will write down what they already know about the impact of the westward movement on Native Americans. Students will reflect on what they learned from earlier units this year. Students will list questions they want to find out. Students will read from a variety of sources to find answers to the questions they posed. (Readings-The New Nation, chapters 13, 14, 23-25; Liberty for All, chapters 1, 8, 18; "Sooners and Goners" article; Fate cards) Students will complete the learned column of the KWL upon completion of the simulation, readings, and class discussion. they will be asked to create a visual or poetic representation of the learned information.

Students will analyze a homestead application, certificate, and proof document to better understand the homesteading situation of the family described in the novel Prairie Songs being read in English class. Students will answer guided questions as they examine the documents. A whole-class discussion will follow to check their understanding, make connections to the novel and draw conclusions of the impact of this act on Native Americans.

 

Learning Experiences

Procedural Knowledge

What procedural knowledge will students be in the process of acquiring & integrating? As a result of this unit, students will be able to:

What will be done to help students construct models, shape & internalize the knowledge?

Describe what will be done.

 Work cooperatively to make decision.

Create a diary based on their experiences as a pioneer and from reading authentic diaries and the novel Prairie Songs.

Access Internet sites on the Oregon Trail and pioneer life to engage in a virtual field trip of this time period specifically focusing on life on the trail or frontier, impact of nature on life and interactions with Native American.

Find the areas of the territories added and explored during the Westward Expansion time period.

Demonstration of the decision-making process using the think-aloud strategy.

Students will be reading authentic diary entries from the westward movement time period in American history. This will provide the real-life models students will need in order to create their own diary.

Demonstration lesson on the procedures for locating appropriate Internet sites, identify pitfalls and facilitate the students' learning of the process. Ticket out the door summary of procedures. Completion of a notetaking pocket portfolio.

Math lessons on how to find the area of a variety of shapes.

There are a series of group decision that must be completed in the Pioneers simulation. The first trail decision situation will be read aloud. The teacher will then think-aloud the process the groups should go through in order to reach their decisions. Students are to write down the pertinent information needed in order to make the decision from listening to and reading the situation. They must identify the possible actions to take, set criteria for the decisions and analyze each action based on the criteria. They will then choose the best action.

Real-life diary entries from a variety of sources will be read together in class. Some will be read aloud. Students will identify the components and content which are reflected in these diaries so that they understand the time period through the eyes and experiences of those who were there. (see declarative experience) Students will then write their own diary based on their experiences as a pioneer on a wagon train and on their reaction to the novel Prairie Songs. **

 ** The librarian will demonstrate to students appropriate search techniques and point out helpful hints and possible problems. Students will be asked to summarize this procedure as a ticket out the door activity. Students summaries that reflect a lack of understanding will be targeted for one-on-one help when they return for further research. On their next visits to the library students will access virtual field trip sites on the Oregon Trail and pioneer life in the library. They will record information about life at this time in the location outside New York State on a pocket portfolio organizer. This will be used to draw comparisons between life in a village in New York in the 1840s with life on the prairie or life on the trail as depicted in the virtual field trip. Students will go on a field trip to the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown. While there they will make note of areas of comparison on their pocket portfolio.

In math class students will learn the formulas and application of the areas of parallelograms, rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids. They will then apply this knowledge in finding the approximate area of the Louisiana Purchase and many states that made up that area. See complete experience details in the Westward Expansion Learning Experiences by Nancy Seymour and Joann Granza.

 

Learning Experiences

Extending and Refining

What knowledge will students be extending and refining? Specifically, they will be extending and refining their understanding of…

What reasoning process will they be using?

Describe what will be done.

 What life was like in a village in New York State compared with life on the prairie or Oregon Trail in the 1840s.

 Comparing

  • Classifying
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Deductive Reasoning
  • Error Analysis
  • Analyzing Perspectives
  • Constructing Support
  • Abstracting
  • Other:

 Students will write an essay that will compare the life of people in a rural New York village with those on the prairie or on the Oregon Trail during the 1840s. They will be required to mention the impact on the environment and Native Americans of each area. Prior to beginning this assignment together as a class students will complete a compare/contrast graphic organizer and write part of an essay which compares the reasons why people moved west in the 1800s to why they move today. The class will then use the rubric to get a sense of what's required and the understanding they have on how to write this essay. They will then begin the work on this extending and refining task by completing a compare and contrast graphic organizer. They will then write the essay.

 

Learning Experiences

Meaningful Use Tasks

What knowledge will students be using meaningfully? Specifically, they will be demonstrating their understanding of and ability to…

What reasoning process will they be using?

Describe what will be done.

Explain how the environment affected pioneer life; Explain the affect the westward movement had on Native American; Describe how different experiences, beliefs, values and traditions, and motives caused individuals and groups to interpret historic events and issues from different perspectives. (Essential Questions)

(X) Invention: Creation of an artifact

Students will create an artifact that represents their understanding of the essential questions of the unit. They will present their artifact to the class and explain in what ways it demonstrates their learning for the unit. Students will complete a self-evaluation of their artifact and presentation.

 

 

Planning Guide

 

Unit:

 

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

What knowledge will students be using meaningfully? Specifically, they will be demonstrating their understanding of and ability to...........

What reasoning process will they be using?

Describe student's products and performances and the criteria for evaluation.

 

[ ] Decision Making
(selecting from seemingly equal alternatives or examining the decisions of others)
[ ] Problem Solving
(seeking to achieve a goal by overcoming constraints or limiting conditions)
[ ] Invention
(creating something to meet a need or improve on a situation)
[ ] Experimental Inquiry
(generating an explanation for a phenomenon and testing the explanation)
[ ] Investigation
(resolving confusions or contradictions related to a historical event, a hypothetical past or future event, or to the defining characteristics of something)
[ ] Systems Analysis
(analyzing the parts of a system and how they interact)
[ ] Other:

 

 

Products/Performances

Criteria for evaluation

Rubric:

Key Questions:

What are the key elements, traits, or dimensions that will be evaluated?

Are the identified elements of equal importance or will they be weighed differently?

Element #1

Element #2

Element #3

Element #4

Elements

Scale

 Content Knowledge

Artifact

Oral Presentation

Self Evaluation

Weights

X4

X3

X2

 

4

Sophisticated understanding of unit demonstrated; personal ideas enhanced project; depth of knowledge and information; factually relevant, accurate and consistent.

Clearly represents knowledge gained from unit; visually appealing; used during presentation; original, elaborate, and unique.

Fully prepared, well organized; captures audience interest; clear articulation; original, elaborate; enthusiastic; model for others.

Completed thoroughly, with well though out responses; few, if any, mechanical errors, well written.

 

3

Demonstrated clear understanding of unit, but lacks depth of information; factually accurate; may include personal ideas.

Represents knowledge gained; more standard than creative; used during presentation; visually appealing.

Prepared, organized; format more standard than creative; interesting; clear articulation.

Completed, with short responses that show some thought.

 

2

Knowledge of unit demonstrated, may include inaccuracies and inconsistencies; irrelevant information may be included.

Limited effort at representing knowledge gained from unit; maybe unappealing; lack creativity.

Some preparation evident; standard format; laced organization; did not hold audience interest.

Responses show little thought and/or incomplete.

 

1

Demonstrated little, if any, knowledge gained from unit.

Artifact incomplete or not evident.

Clear lack of preparation; unorganized; audience lost interest; difficult to understand; little, if any, creativity.

No self-evaluation completed.

 NOTE: Rubric or other performance assessment instruments may be used.

 

Constructing a Holistic
Scoring Tool
(Rubric or Activity Specific Key)

Key Questions:

* How many score points are needed to discriminate among the full range of different degrees of understanding, proficiency, or quality?

This response, product, or performance provides evidence of understanding of concept/principle/generalization or proficiency in skill/process/strategy.

Score Point 4

Score Point 3

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[ ]

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[ ]

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Score Point 2

Score Point 1

[ ]

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[ ]

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Have You Considered These Yet?

 

Learn to Learn Skills:

 Computer Skills: accessing Internet sites, research word-processing.

Collaboration, cooperation and decision making. Verbal and written communication skills.

 

Assessment Modifications:

 Students with difficulty in written language will be able to use the computer for the writing assessments. There is resource room support for identified learning disabled students. Extended time for tasks will be issued for students whose IEP indicates so.

 

Unit Schedule/Time Plan:

 This is a 4-5 week English/Social Studies interdisciplinary unit.

 

Written Overview:

 The Westmoreland Trail learning unit engages students in the study of and experience as a pioneer in the mid 1800s. Students will be participation in a wagon train simulation, reading a novel of life on the prairie, and analyzing historical documents to gain an understanding of this time period. We will focus on why people moved west, the hardships they faced and the impact westward expansion on Native Americans.

 Internet Sites For The Oregon Trail Virtual Field Trip:

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html

http://www.interpoint.net?~humeston/otrail.html

http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org

http://208.206.78.232/daver/1sthand/atp/atp.html

http://www.americanwest.com/trails/pages/oretrail.html

http://www.ukans.edu/kansas/seneca/oregon/mainpage.html

http://www.pbs.org/opb/oregontrail/index.html