Grades 3-5 Lesson Plan - On the Road

Map 5 Main Page

Core Map: Charles Preuss, "Section VI" of Topographical map of the road from Missouri to Oregon...From the field notes and journal of Capt. J.C. Frémont and from sketches and notes made on the ground by his assistant Charles Preuss (Baltimore 1846). Newberry Library call number: Graff 3360, sheet 6. (Printable PDF version of the Core Map)

Resources related to Map 5.
Curator's Notes for Map 5

Overview
Students will explore the life of mid-nineteenth-century travelers on the Oregon Trail. Using the core map and supplemental images and texts, they will create a diorama that illustrates the challenges of and requirements for long distance travel in the West before the coming of the railroads.

Objectives
By the end of this lesson students are expected to:

1. identify the major geographical features mentioned on the core map.
2. explain the several map symbols used on the core map.
3. create a picture of the condition of the trail.
4. design a reconstruction of life on the trail in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Key Terms
trail, butte, meteorology, canyon, bluff, additional key terms are underlined on the HTML version of the transcriptions of Frémont's notes

Materials
Computer image or overhead of core map, Horn map, modern road maps of the United States and Idaho, Descriptions of Traveling the Oregon Trail (see Resources), paper, pencils, coloring pencils or crayons, craft materials for constructing the diorama, HTML version of Frémont's notes or overhead of date-by-date notes if a computer image of the core map is not used

Time
Three hours, plus homework time

Getting Started

1. Display the core map and discuss with students its origin and maker (see Curator's Notes).

2. Have students locate Idaho on a modern map of the United States.

3. Have students identify the symbols Preuss used for the following geographic features: the trail, bluffs, rivers, canyons, butte, and camping places.

4. Eliciting as much information as possible from the students, identify the four points of the compass.

5. Point to a selection or all of the following place names: Three Buttes, Fort Hall, American Falls, Fishing Falls (now Twin Falls), and Fort Boise. To reveal images of these places, select "Show Sites" from the menu and click on the buttons that appear.

6. Read aloud two or more of Frémont's notes (given on the core map) and have students identify the locations at which these notes were made by referring to the dates marked on the map.

7. Introduce and briefly discuss the Horn map (see curator's notes).

8. Have students compare the area covered by the core map briefly (for purposes of orientation) with the same areas on the Horn map and on a modern United States or Idaho road map (see Resources).

Developing the Lesson

1. Have students draw on the modern road map of Idaho the approximate route of that part of the Oregon Trail seen in the core map.

2. Individually, or in small groups, have students construct a diorama depicting life on the Oregon Trail in southern Idaho. Topics to be addressed in the diorama should include geographic features, means of transportation, types of food and clothing, and requirements for campsites (including water and a source of food for animals). Students should make use of the information on the map as well as the supplemental images and text, and/or library research.

3. Have students present their dioramas to the class.

Evaluation
Use a scale from one to four (4=Excellent, 3=Well Done, 2=Satisfactory, 1=Unsatisfactory) for evaluating the diorama.

For 4 points, the student has gone beyond the assignment, i.e., he or she has synthesized more information than expected, or has shown particularly incisive analysis. The work is neat and the presentation well organized.

For 3 points, the student has done all that was asked for in a thorough manner. His or her analysis, as demonstrated in the diorama and the presentation, is sound and uses specific examples. The work is neat and the presentation is organized.

For 2 points, the student has done most of what was asked for in an acceptable manner. The analysis has many flaws but includes at least one specific example. The work is mostly neat but it and the presentation are not well organized.

For 1 point, the diorama and the presentation do not do what was asked for in the assignment and they exhibit flaws in the analysis, and do not use specific examples.

Extension
Have students make a map of the Oregon Trail on a large sheet of butcher paper. Arrange the dioramas in front of the map, then have students write explanatory labels for the dioramas and the map. When completed other students or classes could be invited to visit the "Oregon Trail Museum."