Westward Migration Unit- Links to many FREE resources

Oh my goodness!  

The end of the school year was filled with quick paced activities to fit in all that I needed to accomplish for the year.  Was it like this for anyone else? I forgot to take pictures of our last social studies unit for the school year, but wanted to share some fabulous links and resources.

I LOVE teaching the social studies units that our district requires us to cover.  One of my favorite units to teach is about Lewis and Clark and Westward Migration.  In my district, our 3rd graders get an overview of this unit.

Here are a few resources I found to enhance our unit on Westward Migration.

1. Several great video clips from the History Channel

There are video clips on the transcontinental railroad, the gold rush, Louisiana Purchase, Donner party, and buffalo and Native Americans.  

2. My students LOVED this rap about Westward Migration

3. AND I couldn't leave out incorporating this unit with my students' favorite piece of technology... our Ipad      There is a FREE app about Westward Expansion for the Ipad.  Several of my students enjoyed the trivia and challenge of this app.   It's called U.S. Westward Expansion. Click on the pic below to be taken to the link.

4.  Don't forget about a lap book.  My teammate created a fabulous one for all of us to use.  I'm hoping she will post it soon to TPT, and I can share the link with all of you. Until then, I did find this great lapbook on Pinterest. It is from Dynamic 2 Moms.  The link includes all of the resources needed to create your own Westward Migration lap book.  Just click on the picture below to be taken to the link.

5.  My students also created a wagon train for the classroom. Each team created their own "themed" prairie schooner for our virtual trip to Oregon.  Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of their wagons.  The students simply drew their prairie schooners onto large pieces of bulletin board sized paper.  I then hung them across the back of our room to make a "train".  

I also found this cute idea on Pinterest, but did not have time to complete this with my students this year. It is from the Crafty Crow. Click on the picture below to be taken to this link.

6.  AND since Westward Migration isn't covered in our social studies textbooks, I use this unit below to tie everything together.

To find out more about this unit, simply click on the picture above.

7.  My students also completed a diary of their "virtual trip to Oregon".  We used this diary below to record our adventures on the trail.  Simply click on the picture to find out more information.

I created this post in hopes of recording for myself all of the resources I like to use with my students when studying Westward Migration.  I hope you are able to take a few of these ideas to help enhance your study of Westward Migration as well.

I would love to hear about some of your favorite resources for teaching Westward Migration.