As your young historians study Westward Expansion, practice in-depth primary source analysis with the documents and guidelines presented in this resource. They will examine a lithograph and excerpts from two letters written by a Nebraska pioneer, and work together to determine where the lithograph was published based on evidence they find in the texts.

Concepts

westward expansion, american pioneers, manifest destiny, pioneers, the american west, the transcontinental railroad

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Classroom Considerations

• The lithograph can be found on the Library of Congress website or in this resource's additional materials
• While the resource was originally designed for teachers, all activities and instructions can be applied to traditional classroom settings

Pros

• Includes questions to guide discussion on all primary sources
• Excellent talking points provided for teacher to describe the lithograph
• Provides brief historical background describing Westward Expansion

Cons

• If you would like to have students take notes as they complete the activities, you will need to design worksheets by copying and pasting the text provided in the resource

Common Core

RI.5.1 RI.5.2 RI.5.5 RI.5.6 RI.5.7 RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.5 RH.6-8.6 RH.6-8.7