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The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.
Here are the teacher pack items for Territorial Expansion:
Overview In this experience, students first review the growth of U.S. territory and generate questions. Then, they explore why Americans settled in Texas and how the Republic of Texas became a state. Next, they create a brief timeline showing how California became a state and learn about travel on the Oregon Trail. Finally, they analyze the painting American Progress and explain how it represents the idea of Manifest Destiny. If you have access to leveled readers that include stories about the California Gold Rush or the Oregon Trail, assign them to students in parallel with this experience. Estimated duration: 40-50 minutes Vocabulary words: Objectives
From the time the United States became independent, immigrants have continued to come to the new nation. The country also continued to grow. New travel methods made it easier for families to move west. Many families hoped to find land where they could build homes and farms. However, much of this land was already home to Indigenous nations. In the South, farms and plantations grew as people continued to buy more cotton. In the North, factories grew and needed more workers. Immigrants and people from rural areas came to these factories looking for jobs. In this experience, you will learn about three important parts of the nation’s growth westward: the United States adding Texas, the California Gold Rush, and travel along the Oregon Trail.
Objectives
Family heading westward in a covered wagon, ca. 1921
Look at the timeline: A territorial history of the United States. Focus on the years 1800–1850.
List a question that you have about the information in the timeline.
Use student questions as an indicator of what students want to know about territorial expansion. Choose a few guiding questions to help summarize the unit for students.
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