CKHG Unit 8: Americans Move West
Focus:
As towns and cities along the East Coast grew, Americans began to look west. In this unit, students will see the new developments in transportation that helped make this happen. Canals, steamboats, wagon trains and, ultimately, the Transcontinental Railroad all took settlers west where they found new ways of living. The Gold Rush lured them to California to mine for gold, and promises of wide open spaces, new land to farm, and jobs along the railroad all helped keep the settlers moving west.
Students will experience the great adventures on the new frontier and see the courage of people like Daniel Boone and the riders of the Pony Express. They will discover the innovations of Robert Fulton and DeWitt Clinton. But they will also come to know the negative impact of the westward movement, as the Native Americans who had lived on the land for centuries were forced to adjust, and often forced to leave that land. Core Knowledge works to introduce students to difficult realities such as the Trail of Tears and the loss of great numbers of American bison in an age-appropriate manner while not shying away from the truth.
Finally, students will learn about Sequoyah and his creation of a system to make a written form of the Cherokee language.
Number of Lessons: 9
Instruction Time:
We have intentionally left the pacing and timing needed to teach the content presented in the Teacher Guide and Student Book very flexible. Teachers can choose how much they read aloud and discuss in a single instructional period, as well as how often each week they use the CKHG materials.
Additional Search Terms:
informational text • nonfiction • Wilderness Road • Daniel Boone • Appalachian Mountains • flatboats • keelboat • steamboat • Robert Fulton • Clermont • Erie Canal • DeWitt Clinton • Oregon Trail • Great Plains • Rocky Mountains • Jedediah Smith • South Pass • wagon train • Gold Rush • forty-niners • Levi Strauss • Pony Express • telegraph • Transcontinental Railroad • Promontory Point • cowboys • Native Americans • Andrew Jackson • Trail of Tears • Cherokee • American bison • Sioux • Sequoyah
