HGA | ASGI00

America Grows - Trailblazers Pave the Way
Kathleen Ebesutani
Grade 1 and up
June, 2000

Purpose:

After the American Revolution, the American people wanted to live away from the coastal area. They wanted to farm and build their homws on their own land. To accomplish this, they had to move westward. Brave men called "trailblazers" looked for a pathway for these people so they could settle down and build their dreams. Some trailblazers made roads and some made maps of the places they explored. In this unit the students will investigate the significance of Daniel Boone, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea in the exploration of the American West.

Westward expansion is the final area of study in the social studies section of What Your First Grader Need to Know, edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.This is part of the CORE curriculum that is taught at Solomon Elementary School. At the end of this unit, it is hoped that the first grade students will have a better understanding of the migration of the human population on earth's surface.

Focus Question:

In what ways does physical geography affect the routes and destination of explorers?

Secondary Question:

How do maps help me to locate places? What are the physical characteristics of the different places the explorers traveled?

Geographic Standards: The geographically informed person know and understands:

Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.

Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.

Standard 9: The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on earth's surface.

Hawaii Geography Content Standards and Grade Cluster Benchmarks:

Standard 1: WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS: Students use geographic representation to organize, analyze, and present information on people, places and environments.

Read and make geographic representations (i.e., maps, globes, graphs, charts, models) to locate and describe locations, distances, and directions, and scale.

Standard 2: PLACES AND REGIONS: Students understand how distinct physical and human characteristics shape places and regions.

Use physical and human charactristics to compare and contrast places and regions, near and far.

Standard 4: HUMAN SYSTEMS: Students analyze how people organize their activites on earth through their analysis of human populations, mosaic, economic interdependence, settlement, and conflict and cooperation.

Examine and explain the factors that influence where people migrate and settle.

Student Objectives: The students will be able to:

Geographic Skills/Thinking Skills: The student knows and understands:

Lessons Can Be Used With a Unit On: Westward Expansion

Materials Needed:

Vocabulary: wilderness, Wilderness Road, gap, trailblazer, blazing a trail, Daniel Boone, Kentucky, Ohio River, Mississippi River, bargain, purchase, Louisiana, doubled, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Missouri River, Sacajawea

Procedure:

Opening the Lesson

1. Using transparency map of the United States, identify area where the thirteen orginal colonies were located. Student color overlay of thirteen colonies and tape it onto their maps.

2. Students color Appalachian Mountains on their maps.

3. Lead students to determine what will happen next. Will the colonists (new Americans) expand their territory westward or will they stay in the east? On chart paper record what students think they know about how the first colonies were started and how they expanded to thirteen colonies. Record reasons why students think the original thirteen colonies were near the eastern coastline. Look for patterns in colonists behaviors. Ask students to use this information to support their predictions. Have students work in groups of two or three to complete the predicting graphic organizer.

4. Read and discuss "Daniel Boone, Man of the Forests." List, define and discuss new vocabulary. Highlight and sequence important events in the life of Daniel Boone. List events on chart paper.

5. Using the United States map at the overhead projector, guide students to identify Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. Students should color Kentucky and trace the Wilderness Road on their maps. Identify and trace the Ohio River with green crayon.

6. Students choose important event in the life of Daniel Boone and draw a picture. They record information about Daniel Boone in their journals.

7. Introduce map that names the native people of North America. Have students construct the map and glue it on the inside cover of their journal.

Assessment:

Observe if student were able to use their maps to get information to answer questions. Were students able to describe the physical characteristics fo the places and locate the routes that Daniel Boone traveled?

Developing the Lesson

8. Explain to the students that Great Britain gave all the land up to the Mississippi River to America at the end of the Revolutionary War, and that thousands of settlers wanted land so they followed the Wilderness Road that Daniel Boone had cleared. They settled beyond the Appalachian Mountains all the way to the Mississppi River. Locate the Northern and Southern tip of the Mississippi River on the overhead transparency outline map of the United States. Locate and label the port city of New Orleans on the overhead transparency. Students do the same on their maps. Direct students to trace the Mississippi River on their mpas starting at the southern tip and following the state boarders north. Ask students to think a ways that the fur traders and farmers could use the Mississippi River.

9. Show the children a picture of Thomas Jefferson, our thrid president on page 8 of "The Louisiana Purchase". Explain that he was concerned that the French, who owned the port of New Orleans would close the port to United States traders and farmers or impose taxes on their goods. He wanted to buy New Orleans.

10. Read pages 172-173, What a Bargain! the Louisiana Purchase from "What Your First Grader Needs to Know." Add overlay of Louisiana Purchase to the map. Stress concept that the United States had doubled in size overnight.

11. Introduce students to Lewis and Clark using the book "How We Crossed the West, The Adventures of Lewis and Clark." Show the pictures on the first three pages and explain that President Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to explore the new territory.

12. Ask students why they think Jefferson wanted the new land explored. Ask students to predict what "types" of things Lewis and Clark will see. Make a chart to record answers.

13. Ask students to draw a picture of Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and to write in their journals about Thomas Jefferson, the Louisiana Purchase and the exploration that Lewis and Clark are about to begin.

14. Showing pictures in the book "How We Crossed the West" read or explain the story. Use map to follow route. Ask students to describe and compare the physical and human characteristics of the places Lewis and Clark travel. Using chart paper, stop to record the names of people, animals, landforms and plants that were encountered.

15. Using cause/effect graphic organizer, record problems encountered.

Assessment:

Observe if students were able to find locations on their maps and make generalizations on the physical and human characteristic of places. Ask student to meet in small groups to discuss the following question and to report information back to the class:

Extensions:

1. Using art paper, students may create a bag of supplies that the explorers would need.

2. Students could compare the journey of hte Corps of Discovery with a modern trip.

3. Students can create pop-up-books depicting events in the explorations of Daniel Boone and Lewis and Clark.

4. Students can create a quadrama showing the physical characteristics of the different places the explorers traveled.

5. Students can take part in a reenactment of the events of the explorations.

6. Students can do further research about Native Americans, plants, animals, mountains and rivers of North America.

7. Using a stand up buffalo (TCM#619,p.48) students can create a herd of buffalo.

8. Students could investigate the travels of pioneers on the Oregon Trail.

9. Students could investigate the accomplishments of other explorers.

10. Students may make a timeline showing dates and accomplishments of explorers.

11. Teacher and students may create large wall maps on butcher paper. Students can draw routes, landforms and symbols on map to indicate events of the explorations of Daniel Boone and Lewis and Clark. Other events that were studied during the year can be added to the map.

12. Students may collect and analyze information about the Waianae Mountain Range and Kolekole Pass.

Appendix:

United State Outline map

Map of thriteen original colonies

Map of Louisiana Purchase

Map of the United States showing names of the people of North America

Journal pages

graphic organizer

References: