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Westward Expansion Research Project

The purpose of this activity is to develop questions and research answers using both printed text and computer resources. Goals include: reading for main idea, synthesizing information, drawing conclusions, organizing data into a logical research paper.

The students will select a topic of interest to them. They will have books and Internet websites available tot use for research. Facts will be collected on colored index cards or using the template in the computer lab.

The final report will consist of at least three paragraphs. Each paragraph will begin with a topic sentence and conclude with a transitional sentence to lead into the next topic. The end of the report will include a conclusion.

Research Topics	Related Websites
Oregon Trail: propaganda, reasons for emigrating, expectations	Oregon Trail FAQ (q. #4) http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/faq.html
Oregon Trail: trace the route, major sites along the way	Historic Sites on the Trail http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Sites.html Encyclopedia Britanica
Santa Fe Trail: who went, why, when?	The Santa Fe Trail Center http://www.larned.net/trailctr/ (Scroll to the bottom of this site for great Q&A)
California Trail: who, why (gold rush) when, expectations vs. reality	The Gold Rush http://www.pbs.org/goldrush/allabout.html California National Historic Trail http://www.californiawagontrail.com/history.html
Mormon Trail: who, why, when?	Mormon Pioneer http://www.nps.gov/mopi/mopi.htm
Lewis and Clark: how did they open the West?	Adventures of Lewis and Clark http://lewisandclarktrail.com/ Lewis and Clark
Indigenous people of the West: how was their lifestyle affected by Westward migration of settlers?	Hardships on the Trail http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Native.html Oregon Trail FAQ (q. 5) http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/faq.html Overland Trail Links: Plains Indians http://www.over-land.com/indians.html
African Americans in the West: why did they go West, what were some of the problems they encountered?	Black Pioneers of the Northwest http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/blakbios.html
Transportation West: wagons, walking, how did railroad affect the Oregon Trail?	Prairie Schooners http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/wagons.html
The Whitman Family: who were they, why were they remembered?	Whitman Mission http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Whitman.html Whitman Mission Nat'l. Historic Site http://www.nps.gov/whmi/student.htm
The Donner story: where did they come from and what was their mistake?	The Donner Party: Emigrants unable to resist the lure of the American West
Problems along the Oregon Trail: natural hazards, poor decisions, results.	Oregon Trail FAQ (q. 13) http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/faq.html

There may be two boys researching on topic, but each boy will write his own report.

Color-coded note cards and computer template are coordinated so that information about the same aspect of a topic is printed on the same color. This facilitates organizing data into paragraphs.

Assessment	Points
Collecting information on cards	20
Organizing cards into paragraphs	10
Rough draft: Introductory paragraph, body of report, conclusion (at least 3 paragraphs)	50
Final copy (edited and corrected)	10
Oral presentation	10
Total	100

Here's another Internet directory of related websites that may prove useful:

Westward Expansion
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/westward.html