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Lesson Plans

Title: Life in the Southwest
Concept/Topic: Lewis and Clar, Sacagawea, Oregon Trail
Essential Questions:
What was the Oregon Trail?
Who was Lewis and Clark and what were some significant things they did?
Connection:
What do you know about Sacagawea? Lewis and CLark? The oregon Trail? (5 minutes)
Direct Teaching:
Lewis and Clark were sent to explore the South West. Publicly, the purpose of the expedition was to make friends with the indians so they could trade. However, secretly, Lewis and Clark went to find the northwest passage. On their journey, they met a shoshone indian girl named sacagawea. They took her with them hoping that she would be their translator.
In 1769, a Spanish missionary named Junipero Serra led many preists and soldiers north from mexico to california. His intention was to convert the american indians to christianity.
The Lewis and Clark expedition found beaver in the rockies and this brought many people there to hunt for fur. Trappers were also called Mountain Men. During Spring and fall, trappers put traps in icy streams. In July, they went to trade these furs for supplies. Trapping continued for the next 30 years.
Step-by-Step Explanation: Each group will create a drawing of what they think the oregon trail looks like.
Student Centered Activity: Draw! The person with the best drawing wins a prize!
Assesment: While students are drawing, we will go around and answer any questions.
Closure: Ask everybody some questions:
Who were lewis and clark?
what did they do?
what were the trappers also called?
what was the oregon trail?
why were trappers interested in the rockies?

The End!

Diary of a Pioneer Women

John never asked if I wanted to go to California. He never asked if it would affect me in any way. When he first told me that we would be leaving to California because of gold, I was pretty darn excited like any other normal person. But when he told me we would have to get rid of a lot our belongings, my hart fell. I knew that if we would be going anywhere, it would be in a wagon. And I also knew that that wagon would not be big enough for my grandmother’s trunk and my mothers wedding dress. My prized possessions sold to a stranger. If I could have given them to a sister or brother to hold on to while I was gone, I would have in a second, but I don’t got any. Being an only child has its advantages. But it also has its disadvantages.
Johnny and Jenny would be pretty darn upset too. They would have to sell a lot of their toys and leave all of there friends. How could I do this to my children? Jenny just made some new friends. She always had a hard time socializing.
I know though, that if I were to say no to this change that john has in mind, he would not be happy for either one of us.


Today we made a list of everything that stays…and of everything that goes. The first thing I had to say goodbye to was my grandmother’s trunk and my mothers wedding dress. The day my grandmother and I were very close. She taught me hot to embroider when I was eight and taught me how to sew when I was nine. When she died, I was fifteen years of age. I was an unexpected death. The doctors said she had cancer in her brain. My mother died when I was four. I never got to know her that well, for I was only a child. The trunk and the wedding dress were the most important things I owned.
I was only able to take another change of clothes, some bedding, a bar of soap, and a hairbrush. John said the journey would be long and we would have to bring as little as possible. The kids, Johnny and Jenny were allowed to bring two changes of clothes and a toy.


Today, we started to pack the wagon. We put our food, bedding and water in the back. The kids made a little area in the corner where they could play and sleep. John strapped the donkeys to the front of the wagon and we started on our way.
It is dark now and we have traveled about ten miles today. Tomorrow John is hoping to travel about fifteen to twenty miles depending on the terrain. The kids are asleep but have had a rough day. They said goodbye to their friends knowing that they may never see them for a very long time or never.
Today was easy, but I am starting to realize the hardships to come and I am not looking forward to it. I have realized that daily chores that will have to be done. Teach the kids math and literature, wash the clothes every other day or so, make breakfast lunch and dinner, help steer the wagon and clear brush from our path.
When we get to California, John says I am going to have to help build the house. My father taught me some about construction when I was a child, but I remember very little. Leaving Kentucky was very exhausting. I shall go to bed now.


So far we have traveled four miles and are about enter a very open piece of land with many hills. John has told me to keep a look out for Indians. They have been known to ambush wagons and…kill the owners of the goods that lay in side the canvas outing. We have a large barrel of flour. John brought it along to give to Indians in case we were ambushed. He said that by offering them flour, it is sign of respect and in most cases they won’t hurt you. But that also depends on the generosity that the Indians have.
It has been hard living in the back of the wagon. It gets hot and sticky. You would think to open up the canvas outing, but then all of the dirt comes in and it is hard to clean out. We have already had about 1/3 of the water that we brought along. This was not apart of the plans. John is hoping to camp near a water source tonight. He says we can gather water and boil it tonight and then we wouldn’t have to worry about a lack of water for a while longer. Hopefully…



Earlier this afternoon, the front right wheel broke and it took a long time to repair. We had to take everything out of the wagon to make it lighter and then, while a barrel held the wagon up, John replaced the wheel. To empty the wagon took an hour, the replacement also took and hour. This was a very big delay. Thankfully we did have a replacement. John wants to stop in a near by town to get another replacement wheel in case this was to happen again.
Once the wheel was replaced, I took charge of the wagon while John rested. He cut his hand badly during the replacement and it caused him to loose a vast amount of blood.
When we got into a town somewhere on the outskirts of Kentucky, we purchased an extra wheel, and bought some food. It was to late to start traveling so we stayed in a motel.


The motel was a comfortable stay and they had wonderful fresh made food in the morning. There was bacon, eggs, sausage and muffins. The children took a few extra muffins to eat through out the day.
That day was long, and hot and we traveled about twenty-three miles with very little delay. Throughout the day, we took three bathroom stops and one rest stop near a stream. We ate a lot of food and we were running low. I hoped John would shoot a deer that next day and make some jerky. It is hard and tough, but it lasts long.



The last few days were the hardest yet. The children are tired of hot sticky weather. The wagon ride has been extremely bumpy and the donkeys are hurting. John did shoot a deer and the jerky is still drying. Water is running really low but hopefully, we will spot a river soon. The day before last, we had to cross a river. That was the hardest thing yet. WE had to pull the donkeys across the river and never have I seen an animal so terrified. Their eyes were wide and they were screaming the whole way. The river was rough and deep. It was complicated taking the kids across the river. They couldn’t walk themselves for it was too deep and too rough. The water would wash them away in a second. Thankfully, the wagon was taller than the deep river so our belongings did not get completely soaked. Some water splashed in and we had to dry them before we started our way otherwise they would mold. John says there may be another river we will have to cross but it shouldn’t be as bad.



I haven’t written for the last couple of weeks for I have not had enough time. We have finally reached our destination and as I write this, john is purchasing a piece of property near a small river and is walking distance to town. The previous owners were old and died in a house fire. The only thing that remains is the skeleton of the house. We will have to build the entire thing from scratch. The fireplace however is still somewhat in tact.


John has taught me how to use an axe and has also left me to do a lot of the building. I am not mad at him though for the journey her was long and very hard. Now it is my turn to work. I do a lot of the cutting, and together, we hall the logs on top of each other. If everything goes as planned, the house should be completed in a week and we can start moving in.


Again, I could not write for the past few days because I have been so busy. The house is almost done now. John has been putting on the roof, and it should be done by tomorrow. I have already started to decorate the interior of the house. It is starting to feel like home. Yesterday, I went into town and enrolled the children in school. Jenny has already made friends with the neighbors. They seem to be getting along very well. The neighbor’s own small store in town. I haven’t been in yet, but they sell sweets and I can’t wait to o and try some. Apparently, it is made fresh everyday.
The journey from Kentucky to California was hard and rough. Women don’t usually have to do so much labor, but I have learned otherwise. John has told me I did a very good job. The trip was a miracle. I have heard stories of ambushes and death and I have thanked the lord may times that we did not have to encounter such things.




Christina VanGinkel
2002 -Pagewise
Pioneer Women
http://www.essortment.com/all/pioneerwomenor_rzou.htm


The Chronicle, San Fransisco
September 9, 1900
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/foremoms.html#TOP


Read some stories from the amazing lifes of pioneer women:

http://www.over-land.com/westpers2.html

Timeline

Summary

Back in the good old days, when America was taking its first steps to being united as one, Lewis and Clark set out on a journey to find the northwest path to the pacific. On the way they made many friends with the natives, and others, including a sixteen year old girl. Her name was Sacagawea. Surprisingly she was married and had a child; she became Lewis and Clark's translator and guide.
On their journey they also made a discovery that they didn't intend on finding. Many wild creatures like beavers and bears roamed the trails. During the time the fur trade was popular, so this sparked men to hunt them; these men are known as Mountain Men. Mountain men would trap animals for their fur in the fall and sell in the spring. They lived hard lives and usually died young. They choose to live this life for the adventure. After living these lives they would normally become traders, trading goods like furs and meat or guides.
Missionaries like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman came to California to convert the natives to Christianity. After a disease struck the Whitman's were accused of murder, by the natives. The natives had accused them of murder because mostly whites survived. Although the Whitman's treated everyone with the medicine.
Also coming out west were the Mormons. They were normally rejected by their neighbors because of their practices. So they found a place where they could settle and that was Utah. If they could not afford oxen or wagons they would buy hand carts to take.
Women coming out west, after traveling up to twenty miles a day...... Were still expected to cook, clean, wash clothes, and take care of the children.
In 1849 people started to rush to California for the gold, this became known as the gold rush. Before the gold rush started, in 1848 a carpenter named James Marshall, was building a sawmill. He discovered the first of the gold. When word got out thousands of gold miners or forty-niners came to California. During the rush many Chinese immigrants came to get rich. At first they were welcomed but as the gold became scares. They faced prejudice, beatings, whippings, and even the burning of their homes. Through all that most stayed and ended up opening restaurants, laundries, and many other successful stores. Barely any women came during the rush, one woman that did though is, Luzena Wilson. One man even offered her five dollars just for bread made by women. She stayed in Sacramento, and during her stay there she only saw two other women, she was there for six months. By 1852 the gold rush had ended. 250,000 people had come to California seeking gold, only few had gotten rich and now the natives were unhappy. The natives even thought that the east must be pretty empty because so many people had come.
Also Mexicans had come for the gold rush. Americans actually didn’t know much about mining it was Mexicans that showed them the gold pan or “Batea” and the rifle box. In 1859 Henry Comstock looking in his gold pan and saw blue specs then a Mexican looked in and started yelling “mucha plata!” which means “Much silver,” within twenty years Comstock made $300 million in silver and gold. In the 1800’s Americans started to look around for copper, in Arizona; with of course Mexicans to help, In the 1940s the produced $3 billion worth of copper. Without copper today we would not be able to carry electricity which means no electronics! Oh NO!
Other things that Americans adopted from Mexicans were cattle ranching, cowboys (and girls), their language, homes, sheep raising, and fruit.
Cattle raising was a tradition brought from Mexico. The animals adapted very well to the dry climate. Soon millions of cattle roamed the lands of Texas and California. Cattle were and are very dangerous and aggressive; people often dove behind trees or into ditches to escape. Although cattle raising was a good business, Americans learned from Mexican ranchers or rancheros. People would usually ranch for meat, hides, and tallow. Cowboys were usually hired to work (Take care)
the cattle. They were also in charge of branding the cattle, putting a specific mark on them to tell which ranch they belong to.
Americans also adapted a lot of Spanish words, like rancheros….. And many other words. Americans also adopted the adobe homes, because they were perfect for the climate and weather.
Americans seem like they like to take stuff because we also adopted sheep raising. Raising sheep was very important; it clothed, fed, and supported Mexican settlers. There were two types of sheep, pretty merinos they had fine wool, then there was ugly churros they had coarse wool. Mexicans introduced sheep to Americans, well raising them at least; people would have thousands of sheep. They would hire many workers to care for them too. Eventually they cross bred the merino and the churro breeds for better wool.
Finally the Americans adopted the fruits that Mexican immigrants brought. These fruits included grapes, dates, olives, apples, walnuts, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, quinces, and citrus.
In 1521 the Spanish came to Mexico in search of gold but discovered new types of food like corn, tomatoes, and chocolate! Yummy….. And many more yummy foods.
Once again Americans adapted Spanish ways, the Music! Their music influenced country western music. Americans liked the spirit of Spanish music. Throught out the years much of our cultures combine to where we are today. Who knows where our heritages and culture will end up?