Social Studies Unit for EDU 383 Social Studies Methods

_Jamie Reaves________

Name

Social Studies Unit Topic

Grade Level
Westward Expansion
4th
Enduring Understanding
Students will understand how westward expansion contributed to the development of the
United States.

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS AND UNIT DESIGN

Essential Questions for the Unit (2-5)
How has westward expansion contributed to
the development of the U.S.?
How did travelers know they were going in
the right direction?
Were there specific trails to follow?
How did the travelers establish a government
system in the west?
What trials did the travelers face as they

Background Materials Used:

Pinterest
Teachers Pay Teachers
YouTube
Duckstars.com
Teachinghistory.org
Americanhistory.org
Octatrails.org
Nationalgeographic.com
Teachushistory.org

moved west, and how did they overcome

them?
How did the travelers obtain and exchange
goods?
Introductory Lesson
List Learning Targets for Lesson
1) Students will be able to explain when the
westward expansion era was.
2) Students will be able to explain why many
people moved west.
3) Students will know what parts of the
united states where traveled during the
westward expansion era.

Content Areas Addressed

Reading
History
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects that build
knowledge through investigation of
different aspects of a topic.
SS GLE- Summarize the events in westward
expansion,
including peoples motivation, their
hardships, and
Missouri as a jumping off point to the West.
SS GLE- Compare regions (e.g., explain how
life in a city region is different from life in a
rural region or how landscapes in
mountainous regions look different from
landscapes in plains regions).

SS GLE- Analyze how needs are met by

groups and organizations.
SS GLE- Use and evaluate primary and
secondary sources.
SS GLE- Identify and use library and media
resources.
SS GLE - Compare regions (e.g., explain
how life in a city region is different from life
in a rural region or how landscapes in
mountainous regions look different from
landscapes in plains regions).
Possible Lesson Activities/Integrated Learning
Read aloud mentor text, Dandelions by Eve Bunting, to introduce the topic to
students.
Discuss what students already know about westward expansion after activating their
schema with the mentor text.
Have students use resources (computers, ipads, books, etc.) to research why
Americans moved west in groups.
Groups will create a simple way to present their material to the rest of the class.
Closure will include reviewing main ideas of why people moved west, when the era
was, and what land the era entailed.

Day #2 Lesson List Learning Targets for

Lesson

Content Areas AddressedHistory

Geography
1) Students will know multiple trails that
Writing
were used to travel west.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or
2) Students will know the route of the Oregon imagined experiences or events using
Trail.
effective technique, descriptive details, and
clear event sequences.
3) Student will begin to learn of the hardships
the travelers faced.
Possible Lesson Activities/Integrated Learning
Mini lesson on the trails, focusing on the Oregon Trail.
Teacher and students create a bulletin board together of the United States, using
yarn to map out the trails.
Today we will begin the journey along the Oregon Trail. We will use the virtual trail
to learn about places and the difficulties along the way.
We will begin writing journal entries to our parents today. I will provide an example
entry to get things started.
Students will be allowed to play the Oregon Trail Game during stations time to learn
more about what it was like along the trail.
Day #3 Lesson Instructional /Objectives for
Lesson

Content Areas Addressed

Government

1) Students will know a covered wagon

served as a home and vehicle for travels.
2) Students will understand what kinds of
items where in a covered wagon.
3) Students will be able to explain a wagon
train government.

Anthropology
Writing
Economics
Civics
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4
Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or
recount an experience in an organized
manner, using appropriate facts and
relevant, descriptive details to support
main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an
understandable pace.

Possible Lesson Activities/Integrated Learning

Read aloud mentor text, If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon by Ellen Levine.
Have a class discussion about what items were typical in a covered wagon and why
they were important.
Teacher will introduce the idea of a wagon train government to students.
Students will be divided into groups and each person in a group given a job to
research from a wagon train. Students will research their topic in a similar from day
1.
The groups will present their findings to the class.
Students will close out the day by writing another journal entry to their parents.
Day #4 Lesson Instructional Objectives for
Lesson

Content Areas Addressed

Economics
Math

1) Students will understand how travelers

accumulated goods.

Writing

2) Students will know how difficult it was to

prepare foods compared to how we live now.
3) Students will know be able to follow a
recipe and measure ingredients correctly.
Possible Lesson Activities/Integrated Learning
Students will be given a certain amount of fake money to spend on goods.
The ingredients for crackers will be the items up for sale along with some more fun
items. Students must make decisions within their groups if they want to be able to
make crackers with all the correct ingredients or buy something more fun.
With whatever ingredients they have students will follow a recipe to create the
crackers. I will also be making the crackers at the same time as an example.
Once we have made the crackers we will try them and discuss needs and wants.
Students will once again write a journal entry to their parents.
Day #5 Lesson Instructional Objectives for
Lesson
1) Students will be able to explain new land
features the travelers may have faced.
2) Students will research a famous person
from the westward expansion era.

Content Areas Addressed

History
Reading
Writing
Geography
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects that build
knowledge through investigation of

different aspects of a topic.

3) Students will be able to create a
multimedia presentation about their famous
person.
Possible Lesson Activities/Integrated Learning
Mini lesson using the bulletin board map of the United States looking at land features
along the trail.
Have students discuss what it would have been like to see roaring rivers, mountains,
or deserts for the first time.
Students will then go to duckstars.com and research one of the famous people listed
in the westward expansion era.
They will be required to choose a way to present their material: multimedia
presentation, research paper, brochure, or they may ask me about another idea.
Students will be required to create a journal entry to their parents at some point
during the day.
Day #6 Lesson Instructional Objectives for
Lesson
1) Students will understand the westward
expansion era as a whole.
2) Students will be able to compare the era
to how we live and travel now.

Content Areas Addressed

History
Reading
Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.a
Come to discussions prepared, having read
or studied required material; explicitly draw
on that preparation and other information
known about the topic to explore ideas

3) Students will be able to reflect on what

under discussion.
they have learned.
Possible Lesson Activities/Integrated Learning
Students will use their knowledge from the unit to engage in a class discussion
comparing the westward expansion era to now. Focusing on how we would move
across the United States today.
Students will complete a compare/contrast graphic comparing the two time periods.
Including all of the topics discussed during the unit (government, travel, food, etc.)
We will make a compare/contrast anchor chart together using sticky notes.
Students will create a final journal entry.
Day 7 - Possible Assessments to assess
STUDENT performance
Assess journal entries (formative)
Oregon trail game (how far does
student make it)
Wagon group train presentation rubric
Observation
Bulletin board matching (from dessert)
Map quiz with famous places

The most challenging part for me was trying

to keep the amount of material realistic for
each day. I know I did not do a very good
job of this. This unit would probably take at
least 2 weeks instead of 1.
The most rewarding part was that I believe I
have created a unit that would both interest
and challenge my students. If I am lucky
enough I will be able to tweak it a bit and
try it out of on my 4th graders next
semester.

List some of the ways you addressed the

Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor needs

List some differentiated instruction

techniques you have used based on:

of students within this unit plan

Content = Process = Product =
C= Students will have a depth of knowledge
of westward expansion. There are multiple
mini lessons and activities that reinforce
learning throughout the unit.
A= The wants and needs activity would best
address the affective needs of my students.
Affective needs will also be addressed with
the journal entries to the parents.
P= The students will have opportunities to
be up and moving during this unit. They will
be able to use the bulletin board and smart
board during stations. They will also have a
chance to be very hands on when we make
the crackers. I will also provide brain breaks
as needed throughout the unit.

Product/Process- Students will have a choice

in how they present.
Content- Students will have a choice in
what they research for the famous people
from the westward expansion era.
Product- Students will be required to
complete a certain number of journal
entries to their parents.
Or based on Student CharacteristicsReadiness = Interest Level = Learning
Styles
Learning Styles- How students choose to
present will reflect their learning style.
Interest- Students will choose their famous
person based on interest.
Readiness- The number of journal entries

will be based on readiness.