Day 1Gateway to

the West
The students
will be
exploring St.
Louis in the
1800s and all
it entails. We
will look at
trade, maps,
geography,
and even see
a video about
the famous
St. Louis Arch
and how it
was built. The
students will
work together
in groups to
answer
questions and
locate St.
Louis on the
map.
30-40
minutes
Casey
Gavalla

Day 7- The
Telegraph
Students will
learn more
about the
telegraph
while working
in pairs to
explore a
website on
tablets. Then
the students
will complete
a worksheet
in which they
will decode
Morse code
and use
Morse code to
write their
own words.
Finally,
students will
work in pairs
on their

Day 2-St. Louis

Trade
The students will
continue to learn
about St. Louis but
will focus more on
trade. The
students will be
reading an article
discussing how
trade works and
what items are
traded. Students
will then have the
opportunity to
work together
with their
classmates to
create an ad that
describes their
business of
choice, where
they are located,
what they sell,
and what goods or
money they are
interested in
trading for.
45-50 minutes
Casey Gavalla

Day 3Transportation
Timeline
This lesson
provides students
with an
opportunity to
learn about
different
transportation
used in the 1800s,
focusing on
flatboats, wagons,
steam engines,
and railroads. The
students will
predict which
mode of
transportation
was invented first
by placing them
all on a timeline.
The students will
then be put in
groups to
research one of
the modes of
transportation.
Finally, the
students will
create a class
timeline adding
their researched
findings, sharing
with the class.
35 Minutes
Rachel Powers

Day 4
-Oregon Trail
Scavenger
Hunt
The students
will complete
a scavenger
hunt learning
about different
aspects of the
Oregon Trail,
including the
trail, places on
the trail, and
people on the
trail. They will
also complete
a diary entry
as if they were
a pioneer on
the trail at this
time. The
teacher will
put together
all the entries
to form a class
diary of their
experiences
on the Oregon
Trail.
40 minutes
Rachel Powers

Day 5
-Transportation
then and now
The students will
be reviewing
different forms of
transportation
that were used
back in the
1800s and
discussing what
kinds we use
now. After
watching a few
videos and going
over the
transportation
chart, students
will get a chance
to create their
own
transportation
play. They will be
encouraged to
act as if they
were living back
in the 1800s
wondering what
transportation
will be like in the
future, or vice
versa.

Day 6- Pony
Express Math
Students will
learn about the
Pony Express,
the riders, and
its importance
in
communication
through a short
video and
discussion. The
students will
also learn about
the Pony
Express route
and practice
solving
multiplication
and division
word problems
while working in
small groups.
45 minutes
Jennifer Knerr

45 minutes
Lindsay Kiker

Day 8 Struggles of
Immigration

Day 9Immigration at
Ellis Island

Day 10Immigration
Data

Day 11Immigration in
Brazil

In this lesson
students will put
themselves in an
immigrant's shoes
to try and found
out what
immigration was
like. They will
learn about some
of the struggles
that immigrants
went through and
how life was for
them. Students
will get a chance
to decide what
they would bring
in their suitcase if
they had to move
to a new location

This lesson is on
immigration in the
late 1800s and
early 1900s, the
lesson focuses in
on immigration
through Ellis
Island. Give the
read-aloud about
15 minutes, and
the Elis Island
interactive tour
20-30 minutes,
the tour should be
exploratory and
may take longer
than 20 minutes
depending on how
technology works,
the students also
need time to
complete the KWL

Students will
be presented
with different
graphs of data
about
immigration to
the United
States from
1820-2010.
The students
will be given a
higher order
question
about the
graphs
presented to
them, they will
use the graphs
and be
required to do
further
research to

This lesson
teaches students
about
immigration in
Brazil. Using a
list provided by
the teacher, the
students will
create a timeline
in groups to learn
about who came
to Brazil, and
when they got
there. Once they
are finished, the
students will
color a numbered
map to show the
diversity in Brazil.

45 minutes

Day 12-The
Amazon River
This lesson
teaches the
students about
the Amazon
River. In
groups,
students will
compare and
contrast the
Amazon River
with the
Mississippi
River using a
Venn diagram.
They will read
an article
online, and use
facts and
pictures to
describe both
rivers.

tablets to
create a Venn
diagram
comparing
and
contrasting
the Pony
Express and
the
Telegraph.
50 minutes
Jennifer Knerr

45 minutes
Lindsay Kiker.

chart.
45 minutes
Kirsten Leighton

answer the
question.
45 minutes
Kirsten
Leighton

Bradley
Strathmeyer

45 minutes
Bradley
Strathmeyer