Wild Wild West!

Grades 4-6 and Home School

Sarah Peterson

Hands on History

WILD, WILD WEST CAREERS: VOLUME 1

Looking for a fun way to teach your class about Western Expansion? 

“Wild, Wild West Careers, Volume I” looks at Westward Expansion in America during the 1800s by examining the careers of those men and women who paved the way and settled the land in the west.  Each of the lessons covers the careers and information about the era as it relates to the career.  

Each lesson plan includes: INFORMATIONAL TEXT that can be used with any non-fiction graphic organizer (not included).  Activities, review games, worksheets and teacher’s key are also included with each career.

WILD WEST CAREERS VOLUME 1 INCLUDES:

Wild, Wild West Careers: Explorers

Louisiana Purchase; Lewis and Clark

This lesson begins in the year 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase and examines its impact as well as that of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The lesson includes:

Wild, Wild West Careers: Native American Chief

Trail of Tears and The Long Walk

This lesson covers the Indian Removal Act, the Trail of Tears and the Long Walk: tragic events concerning the forced removal of Native Americans from their sacred land to reservations.  The Job of Native American Chief is covered, as is Tribal War Paint.

Wild, Wild West Careers: Frontiersmen

Davy Crockett; Remember the Alamo

In the early part of the 1800s, land west of the Mississippi River was complete wilderness. This land consisted of rivers, mountains, forests and prairies and was occupied by Native Americans and wild animals. The frontier was the name given to the wild and unfamiliar land that lay west of civilized America.  A frontiersman hunted, trapped, and traded on the frontier. 

Wild, Wild West Careers: Gold Miners

California Gold Rush

When gold was discovered in California in 1848, it didn’t take long for hopeful men (and some women) to begin heading west, expecting to strike it rich.  “Wild, Wild West Careers: Gold Miners” covers how the Gold Rush changed California and contributed to westward expansion.                                                            

Wild, Wild West Careers: Pony Express Rider

Buffalo Bill Cody; Showmen

Imagine living thousands of miles away from your family with no easy way of communicating.  Suppose there are no phones, no internet and no regular mail delivery. News of important events might take weeks or months to reach your loved ones.  This is what life was like for people living apart from their families in the 1800s. 

Wild, Wild West Careers: Homesteaders

Emigrant Trails; Covered Wagons

At the beginning of the 1800s, America doubled its size when the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France.  But, buying land alone doesn’t make a country grow: the land needs people. How does a government build a population?   In this lesson, students will learn about the Homestead Act and the pioneers who headed west to help grow America!

  

This product is a bundle of five lesson plans that can be purchased separately.  The lesson plans in this bundle can be used independently.

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