Westward Expansion Unit and Fun Activities - Pioneers, Gold Rush, Cattle Trails

These Westward Expansion lessons and fun activities will help students dive into the exciting world of American history! Students will learn about Westward Expansion and events like the California Gold Rush, Cattle Drives, the Transcontinental Railroad, Native Americans, and Pioneers who all played a part in this era.

This Westward Expansion Bundle Includes the Following Vocabulary:

• The Gold Rush
• Boom Towns and Ghost Towns
• Entrepreneurs
• Cowboy Life
• Black Cowboys of Texas
• Cattle Drives
• Famous Cattle Trails

• The Lakota Tribe
• Reservations
• Battle of Little Bighorn
• The Nez Perce Tribe
• Chief Joseph
• Wounded Knee Massacre

• The Pony Express
• The Telegraph and Samuel Morse
• Transcontinental Railroad
• Union Pacific and Central Pacific

• The Great Plains
• The Homestead Act
• Pioneers
• Life on the Great Plains
• Sod Houses
• Grasshopper Invasions

This Bundle Includes the Following Lessons and Activities:

Please note - not all items have a digital version. Some are available individually, so you can click on the item to analyze it further:

1. Pioneers PowerPoint Lesson

2. Transcontinental Railroad PowerPoint Lesson

3. Cowboys and Miners PowerPoint Lesson

4. Native Americans PowerPoint Lesson

5. Westward Expansion Study Guide (printable and digital)

6. Westward Expansion Interactive Notebook

7. Westward Expansion Lapbook

8. Westward Expansion Crossword Puzzle (printable and digital)

9. Westward Expansion Task Cards

10. Westward Expansion Review Game

11. Westward Expansion Test and Quizzes (printable and digital)

12. Unit Plan Suggestions

The lessons are visually engaging and include many pictures, website links, and video clips.

REVIEWS FROM OTHER TEACHERS:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kristi S. said, “I began using these units last school year with my students and it made teaching American history so much more engaging and interactive! The conversations that arose in our classroom during the PowerPoint lessons were absolutely priceless! Thank you so much for making them easy for us to use and teach and learn with our students!"

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amanda R. said, "What an awesome way to teach the westward expansion. Even my students who do not enjoy Social Studies were engaged in this unit."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wendy G. said, "This was awesome to help teach my 5th graders about Westward Expansion! I can tell you put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in this product. Thank you!"

Do you want your students to Love ❤️ Learning Social Studies?

• Here is a blog post with 10 Strategies for Teaching Social Studies

⭐ Check out these other history lessons ⭐

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• American Expansionism
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• World War 2 Unit
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• Economics Unit
• US Government Unit

Save with Bundles:

• History Bundle 1
• History Bundle 2
• History Bundle 3
• History Bundle 4

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