Oregon Trail

The way out west was littered with discarded hopes, dreams and treasures all because they believed there were better hopes, dreams and treasures that awaited them in a land out west.  The trail was hard, dirty, dusty, lonesome and full of trouble, but many took a chance.  Many won, many lost but all had hope.

This unit is of particular interest to our family since we live in the Pacific Northwest.  Personally as a young girl growing up on the Columbia River we studied this topic often, and yet I still learned many great and wonderful things.

Please see the General History page for more books and links.

The other units that go along with this unit are:

Resources

Books

Non-Fiction--Information books:

• A Frontier Fort on the Oregon Trail by Scott Steedman (Peter Bedrick Books)

• It Happened on the Oregon Trail by Tricia Martinaeu Wagner (Globe Pequot, 2005; ISBN 0762725796)
• Meet the Wards on the Oregon Trail by John J. Loeper (Benchmark, 1999; ISBN 0761408444)
• Oregon Trail Cooking by Mary Gunderson (Capstone, 2000; ISBN 0736803556) 
• Roughing It on the Oregon Trail by Diane Stanley, illustrated by Holly Berry (Scholastic)*
• The Oregon Trail by Jean F. Blashfield (Compass Point, 2001; ISBN 0756500451)
• The Oregon Trail by James P. Burger (Rosen, 2002; ISBN 0823958507)
• The Oregon Trail by Sabrina Crewe and Michael V. Uschan (Gareth Stevens, 2005; ISBN 0836834054)
• The Oregon Trail by Elizabeth D. Jaffe (Bridgeston, 2002; ISBN 073681101X)
• The Oregon Trail by Elaine Landau (Scholastic, 2006; ISBN 0516248710)
• The Oregon Trail by Dana Meachen Rau (KidHaven, 2002; ISBN 0737705396)
• The Oregon Trail by Steven P. Olson (Rosen, 2004; ISBN 082394512X)
• The Oregon Trail by Linda Thompson (Rouke, 2005; ISBN 1595152253)
• The Oregon Trail in American History (Enslow)
• The Oregon Trail; a Photographic Journey by Bill and Jan Moeller (Mountain Press, 2001; ISBN 0878424423)
   

Activity Books:

•  The Oregon Trail by Ann Lockledge and Ted Henson (Instructional Fair, 1998; ISBN 1568226543)

Fiction:

•  Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie by Kristiana Gregory (Scholastic)

Audio/visual:

•  The Oregon Trail 4 episodes (Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1993)

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Websites

•  The Oregon Trail from teachers Mike Trinklein and Steve Boettcher EXCELLENT has a teacher guide
• The Oregon Trail from American West
• Oregon Trail Center in Montpelier, Idaho
•  The Oregon Trail from PBS
•  End of the Oregon Trail History Library
• Link to the Oregon Trail from Over-Land.com
• National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, MO
• Oregon-California Trails Association
• Oregon Trail From National Park Service
   

Lesson Plans:

• Oregon Trail from Easy From School
• Oregon Trail virtual field trip from field-trips

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Projects

• Flapbook on the Oregon Trail:
  *Biography of 4 pioneers
  *Map of all the trails
  *Reasons for moving west
  *What was in the covered wagon
  *Timeline
  *Describe a fort
  *Write a diary from the trail
  Parts of a wagon
  Question and answers
  List of hardships and hazards
  Animals and the trail
  What you did at night
  List the Native American tribes you might find
• eat like a family on the trail
• sing campfire songs around the campfire
•  

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Writing assignments

• Flapbook writing
• Report on a pioneer

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Completed:

Last update: January, 2007

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