• Authentic Learning
• Problem-solving
• Collaboration & Social Negotiation
• Articulation
• Reflection
• Self-directed Learning

• Using hypertext links for art, historical documentation, maps, political cartoons, literature, statistical information, and texts to scaffold learning, students will construct an understanding of the interrelationship and impact of governmental, geographic, and economic factors, as well as cultural factors and traditions on society, drawing parallels between the past and present to help guide thinking toward the future.
• Student teams will select a challenge from the list of scenarios (see Appendix A) and design a solution demonstrating synthesis and evaluation of complex, multidisciplinary material.
• Oral presentations of the team “manifest destiny” plan will support a jigsaw scaffold for peers since each challenge deals with a different set of factors around which the group must plan.
• Following the presentations, peers will pose questions to the group which will provide students with an opportunity to defend their decisions in the plan.
  

Project Evaluation Rubric

• Students will keep a journal to formulate their thoughts about the influence of these factors on societal development.

• Students will draw conclusions about westward expansion events and relate those events to the present.

• These budding frontiersmen will present an oral presentation of their team challenge solution, demonstrating a grasp of the interrelationship of govern- mental, economic, geographic and cultural factors, and answer questions posed by peers to defend their decision-making.

• Groups will conclude by describing a technological innovation they think would be important for societal development today, relating the impact of this imagined invention on society.

• Problem-solving
• Hypothesis Generation
• Exploration
• Role-playing Activities
• Articulation
• Reflection
• Collaboration & Social Negotiation
• Self-directed Learning

The Oregon Trail Simulation

A weekly journal entry is required to demonstrate reflection on the

• Team collaboration and decision-making process, • Impact of the decisions made during the course of the trail experience.

Journal entries should demonstrate how negative consequences of one decision have impacted new decisions (learning from mistakes).

• Scaffolding

Students will use the hyperlinks accessed through the Resource navigation button to examine pertinent documents and media.

Guided questioning by the facilitator will be used to lead students to higher order thinking skills in order to synthesize and evaluate the material.

Students will document relevant data on the graphic organizer from the various resources visited. This on-going notes organizer is to be uploaded to their workspace.

• Coaching

As a social scientist, the instructor will provide coaching on internet research and vetted sites, as well as to facilitate student inquiry through guided questioning toward the following

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge Objectives:

1. Identify and explain the significance of important events that led to westward expansion. How did policies of the U.S. government influence westward migration?

2. Describe the contributions of important participants in the westward movement. How did these contributions affect the economic base of the country?

3. Identify factors influencing westward movement and survival.
a. What were the motivations of the people who traveled west?
b. What conditions did they encounter as they journeyed west?
c. How did the conditions encountered influence their decisions?

4. Articulate how various ethnic groups, including Native Americans, were affected by the opening of the West.

5. Analyze art, music and literature of the period as a reflection of the ideas and values of the people. What conflicts arose among the different cultures of people?

6. What role did the technological innovations of the era play in contributing to westward expansion?

7. Generalize how the beliefs and values of one era influence the culture of later time periods.

Skill Objectives:

1. Communication:
a. Discuss different sides of a question
b. Read, listen, view, and discuss content in groups

2. Acquiring and Organizing Information:
a. Locate information from more than source – classify, organize and summarize
b. Distinguish between fact and fiction
c. Interpret and summarize pictures, graphs, charts

3. Using Information
a. Develop and support generalizations about the period of history
b. Explain the influence of geography on development
c. Develop a time line, summarize cause and effect
d. Identify problem situations and alternative courses of action

4. Interpersonal Relations and Social Participation
a. Participate and collaborate in large and small group activities and presentations
b. Reflect on team skills

5. Map and Globe Skills
a. Use maps to study patterns of movement of people, products and information
b. Locate places of significant historical value during westward expansion