Westward Ho!Oregon Trail Web Quest

Presented by: Erin Honer and Bethany LeeFall 2008

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel as a pioneer on the Oregon Trail?

Now is your chance to relate to pioneers and their life on the Oregon Trail.

Task #1

• Individually you will have to prepare yourself for a trip on the Oregon Trail. You will have to choose which items to bring with you on your covered wagon and which ones to leave behind.

• When choosing items to take you have to keep in mind that you cannot go over 2,000 pounds, so choose carefully and keep track of the weight you are packing!

Process/Resources1. Using this website http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/tools.htm take a look at the tools and other items that the pioneers took with

them in their covered wagons.

2. Now using this website http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/supply%20list.htm

choose as many items as you wish (at least eight items have to be chosen) to take on your covered wagon, but be careful you can only carry 2,000 pounds worth of goods.

3. Use the worksheet provided to list the items you chose to take with you along with the weight of each item.

Task #2• Individually you will find the right conditions that a pioneer

would need to start out their journey on the Oregon Trail. You will place your answer on the worksheet provided under the section labeled task #2.

• Next you will find six things that the pioneers (including men, women, and children) had to do on a daily basis while on the trail.

• Again you will list these six things on the worksheet provided for you under the section labeled task #2.

Process/Resources• Pretend you are a pioneer preparing yourself for the trip on the

Oregon Trail. Before the trip you have to decide on the right conditions for your journey along the Oregon Trail. Using this website http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/lives.htm

decide on the three conditions that determine when you will leave.

• On the trail there were many things that the pioneers had to do each day. Using the same website from above, list at least six things the pioneers had as chores each day on the trail. Remember to include men, women, and children.

Task #3

• On the trail everyone had jobs to do, even the children. In your next task you will discover what roles children had along the journey.

• On your worksheet you will see a section labeled task #3 where you will find a spot to list seven chores children had to do to help their parents.

Process/Resources

• Now pretend that you are a pioneer child (boy or girl). You have a very busy day ahead of you. What kinds of chores do you have to do?

• Use this website http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/lives.htm

to find out what you have to do along the trail to help your family.

Task #4• There are many stories about pioneer families and their

adventures along the Oregon Trail.• Your task is to read about two different pioneers (families)

that made the journey along the Oregon Trail. • On your worksheet you will see a section labeled task #4. This

is where you will write about one interesting fact you learned about one of the pioneers (families) and why you think it is interesting. Use details!

Process/Resources• Now that you have learned more about how pioneers

lived you will go on to read more about real life accounts on the Oregon Trail.

• Using this website, http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webquests/oregon/

located where it says “Pioneer Families of the Month.” Here you will see a list of different pioneer families. You will choose two different families to read about, and then write one interesting fact you learned about one of the families, on your worksheet under Task #4.

Evaluation• Each task on the worksheet will be graded out of a certain amount of

points: – Task #1: 10 points *students receive full credit if they have at least eight

items listed and they are not over 2,000 pounds. They will lose two points if they go over 2,000 pounds and they will lose one point for every item they are missing (ex. If they only have seven items they will lose a point, six items they will lose two points, etc.)

– Task #2: 9 points *every correct item listed is worth one point.– Task #3: 7 points *every correct item listed is worth one point.– Task #4: 4 points *students will receive full credit if they have an

interesting fact and an explanation of why they think it is interesting. Less detailed responses will lose a point for each part.

*There is a total of 30 points for this assignment.

Conclusion

Hope you have learned enough information to safely reach your destination along the

Oregon Trail.