Journey West on the Oregon Trail

This lesson is designed for the second semester of 2nd grade.  This allows adequate time for students to learn the background knowledge needed to complete the tasks.  Students should be familiar with basic computer skills such as, logging on/off, how to use a mouse, moving from website to website, closing tabs, and using the back arrow.  Students should also be familiar with what journal/diary writing is and basic sentence structure.

Throughout the Webquest, students are instructed to keep their map and diary entries in a research folder.

Week 1 activities could be combined into two days if need be.  One day familiarizing themselves with the Webquest and the websites, and one day to complete the map. During the first week, review how to make diary entries.

Please use this Webquest as a co-teaching lesson with your librarian.  Your librarian is an excellent resource to help observe and monitor students.  There might be other resources on your campus that your librarian is aware of to supplement this Webquest, so be sure to include your librarian.

Several books are listed here that could accompany this Webquest.

Hermes, Patricia. Westward to Home: Joshua's Diary; The Oregon Trail, 1848. New York: Scholastic, 2001. Print. (Read Aloud)

Levine, Ellen, and Elroy Freem. If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon. New York: Scholastic, 1992. Print. (Read Aloud)

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Print. (Read Aloud)

Rhodes-Figley, Marty. Clara Morgan and the Oregon Trail Journey. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Classroom, 2011. Print. (Reader's Theater)

Stanley, Diane. Roughing It on the Oregon Trail. New York: Harper Collins, 2001. Print. (Read aloud)

Steele, William. We Were There on the Oregon Trail. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1955. Print. (Read aloud)

Wilder, Laura Ingalls, and Garth Williams. Little House on the Prairie. New York: Harper & Bros., 1953. Print. (Read Aloud)

Additional ideas to enhance the Webquest

-On a large wall map have students use pushpins to show where landmarks and types of landforms are.

-Assign a landmark or land form for students to create a class relief map.

-This Webquest can lead to a land forms unit or map unit.

-Compare and contrast reasons the pioneers moved with why people today move.

-Create a Reader's Theater of a wagon train, taking turns reading parts of their diaries and performing for another class.

Listed below are many standards from AASL, ISTE NET*S, and TEKS that are incorporated in this Webquest.

AASL:

1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects and make the real world connection for using this process in own life.

1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.

1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.

1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community.

2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.

2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real world situations, and further investigations.

2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems.

2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.

2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning.

2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.

3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry-based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on the learning.

3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.

3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively.

3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others.

4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with own self, the world, and previous reading.

4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.

ISTE NETS*S

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.

3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d. process data and report results.
 
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

Second Grade TEKS:

§110.13. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(17) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:
(A) plan a first draft by generating ideas for writing (e.g., drawing, sharing ideas, listing key ideas);(B) develop drafts by sequencing ideas through writing sentences;
(B) develop drafts by sequencing ideas through writing sentences;
(E) publish and share writing with others.

(18) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to:
(A) write brief stories that include a beginning, middle, and end

 (25) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to:
(A) gather evidence from available sources (natural and personal)
(C) record basic information in simple visual formats (e.g., notes, charts, picture graphs, diagrams).

 (26) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to revise the topic as a result of answers to initial research questions.

 (27) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students (with adult assistance) are expected to create a visual display or dramatization to convey the results of the research.


§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(3) History. The student understands how various sources provide information about the past and present. The student is expected to:
(A) identify several sources of information about a given period or event such as reference materials, biographies, newspapers, and electronic sources; and
(B) describe various evidence of the same time period using primary sources such as photographs, journals, and interviews.

(6) Geography. The student understands the locations and characteristics of places and regions in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(C) examine information from various sources about places and regions.

(7) Geography. The student understands how physical characteristics of places and regions affect people's activities and settlement patterns. The student is expected to:
(A) describe how weather patterns and seasonal patterns affect activities and settlement patterns;
(B) describe how natural resources and natural hazards affect activities and settlement patterns;
(C) explain how people depend on the physical environment and natural resources to meet basic needs; and
(D) identify the characteristics of different communities, including urban, suburban, and rural, and how they affect activities and settlement patterns.

(8) Geography. The student understands how humans use and modify the physical environment. The student is expected to:
(A) identify ways in which people have modified the physical environment such as building roads, clearing land for urban development and agricultural use, and drilling for oil;
(B) identify positive and negative consequences of human modification of the physical environment such as the use of irrigation to improve crop yields; and
(C) identify ways people can conserve and replenish natural resources.

(18) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
(B) obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid visual sources such as pictures, maps, electronic sources, literature, reference sources, and artifacts;
(C) use various parts of a source, including the table of contents, glossary, and index, as well as keyword internet searches to locate information;
(D) sequence and categorize information; and(E) interpret oral, visual, and print material by identifying the main idea, predicting, and comparing and contrasting.

(19) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:
(A) express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences; and(B) create written and visual material such as stories, poems, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas.

(20) Social studies skills. The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:
(A) use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution; and
(B) use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, generate options, predict outcomes, take action to implement a decision, and reflect on the effectiveness of that decision.

§126.2. Technology Applications, Kindergarten-Grade 2.

(3) Foundations. The student complies with the laws and examines the issues regarding the use of technology in society. The student is expected to:
(A) follow acceptable use policies when using computers; and
(B) model respect of intellectual property by not illegally copying software or another individual's electronic work.

(4) Information acquisition. The student uses a variety of strategies to acquire information from electronic resources, with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to:
(A) apply keyword searches to acquire information

(5) Information acquisition. The student acquires electronic information in a variety of formats, with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to:
(A) acquire information including text, audio, video, and graphics

 (8) Solving problems. The student uses research skills and electronic communication, with appropriate supervision, to create new knowledge. The student is expected to:
(B) use electronic tools and research skills to build a knowledge base regarding a topic, task, or assignment.