Lesson Plan #: CC-0036

Second Grade Lesson 1:
There Were Many Reasons Why Pioneers Made the Difficult Trip to the West



Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. understand that pioneers used different modes of transportation.

2. understand that pioneers' destination depended upon the purpose of their move.

3. understand that pioneers endured many hardships along the way to achieve their goals.

4. understand that life on the prairie was difficult for all family members.

Description of lesson/activity:

1. Read Cassie's Journey , by Brett Harvey. On a map of the United States find Illinois. Mark it with a red peel-off dot. Save this map for future use.

2. Make a picture of the inside of the wagon which held all of the family's supplies.

3. Discuss the book Cassie's Journey . Children should be able to answer the following questions:

a. What are buffalo chips and what are they used for?
b. Why do the wagons get into a circle at night?
c. How did they churn their butter?
d. How did the wagons get across the river?
e. How did they celebrate the Fourth of July?
f. What did the Indians want?
g. When did Cassie "see the elephant"?
h. Do you think they will find happiness in California?

4. Put another red peel-off dot on the map on Sacramento, California, where Cassie's family ended their journey.

5. Tell the children that they are planning a trip in a covered wagon. They should plan their destination, their supplies, the reason for the trip, and who is going. Put these plans on a chart.

6. Read My Prairie Year , by Brett Harvey. On the map of the United States, put a green peel-off dot on Lincoln, Maine, for the starting point of Elenor's journey.

7. Have the children draw a picture of Elenor's house. Tell how this house was different than a city house.

8. The children should make a day-by-day book with a cover and seven pages. On each page tell what jobs were done each day of the week.

9. The class could brainstorm reasons why Elenor's father needed help ploughing. List ideas on the board. Discuss how ploughing was done back then and why.

10. Have the children pretend they are Elenor and they are writing to a friend back in Maine. Tell all about your new home.

Resources:

Harvey, Brett. Cassie's Journey: Going West in the 1860s . (New York: Holiday House, 1988) (ISBN 0823406849).

Harvey, Brett. My Prairie Year, Based on the Diary of Elenor Plaisted . (New York: Holiday House, 1986) (ISBN 0823406043).

Courtault, Marline. Going West: Cowboys and Pioneers . (Ossining, NY: Young Discovery Library, 1986) (ISBN 0944589219).

Hooks, William H. Pioneer Cat . (New York: Stepping Stone Books, Random House, 1988) (ISBN 039482038X).

Wadsworth, Ginger. Along the Santa Fe Trail, Marion Russell's Own Story . (Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman and Company, 1993) (ISBN 0807502952).