Title of lesson: Motivations and Emotions: Westward Expansion

Type of lesson: Activity

Your Name: Matt Mooney
Length of lesson: 50 minutes
Overview: In this lesson students will compare and contrast their own
experiences with moving with that of the pioneers. Students will read journal
entries of real people who traveled and lived in the west and gain a better
understanding of what is was like for people on both sides of westward
expansion.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
Students will be able to compare and contrast their own
experience with moving with that of the pioneers.
Identify motivations Pioneers had for moving west and the
feelings that went along with it.
Identify the Native American perspective on westward expansion
Arizonas College and Career Ready Standards for Literacy in
History/Social Studies (ACCRS):
68.RH.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or
secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct
from prior knowledge or opinions.
Arizona Social Studies Content Standard(s):
Concept 5: Westward Expansion
Materials/Evidence/Sources:
Phone or computer
Pen or pencil
Interactive Journal
Procedure to Teach the Lesson:
Beginning (anticipatory set) (15min)
1. I will begin class by asking students who has ever had to move
before or do something new
2. After students raise hands I will ask them to think about how they
felt during their moving or new experience and also the reasons
why they did it.
3. Students will now be instructed to send their feelings and
motivations to polleverywhere.com (5min)

4. Their answers will appear on the screen and we will have a brief
discussion about their answers and hear from any volunteers who
want to talk about their experience. (3min)
5. Next I will pass out cards to 4 student volunteers that each say a
different motivation for why the pioneers moved west.
6. One by one students will reveal their card (either fertile land,
slavery, gold, or new life) and read off the bulleted facts. (5min)
7. Students now will be asked to think about how the pioneers may
have felt when they were embarking on their journeys.
8. In their interactive notebooks students will create a ven diagram
comparing and contrasting the pioneers with themselves focusing
on feelings and motivations. (3min)
9. I will end the opening by reminding students that although the
setting and time period may change people will always inherently
share the same motivations and feelings for moving or experiencing
something new.

Middle (30)
1. 16 journal entries will be arranged around the room. 8 from the
point of view of the pioneers and 8 from the point of view of Native
Americans.
2. Students will be instructed to go to each station and write down
notes in their interactive journals focusing on the feelings of the
authors toward their current situations. (25 min)
3. Music from the time period will be played during the journal walk.
4. After 25 minutes students will be instructed to choose one of the
journals they liked the most and find a classmate who picked a
different one.
5. They will now be instructed to tell their partner why they chose that
particular journal and to think of similarities and differences
between the two. (5min)
End (closure) (5)
1. Students will come back to their original seats and be asked to
think about the activity we did today and the people they learned
about.
2. I will ask volunteers to share anything interesting they learned and
what feelings they have about it
3. I will end class by asking the students to think about the question
What is your gold?

Assessment: Students will be told to create their own journal entry in their
interactive notebook pretending to be either a pioneer or native American
during westward expansion. They will be instructed to include emotions and
motivations. The entry must be one page long and will be due at the end of
the week.

Polleverywhere.com

GOLD
SLAVERY
FERTILE LAND
NEW LIFE
Journal entries from
http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/PioneersTalk.htm
http://www.teachushistory.org/files/indianremoval/Indian-Removal-Documents.pdf