During the nineteenth century Americans moved out across America in search of a better life. They might have been in search of gold, land, freedom, new markets for their goods, improved travel and communication, or some other reason. Americans were on the move, claiming lands long held by native Americans. They were exploring new frontiers. By 1890 the last continental frontier had been reached and the last battle with the Americans Indian had been fought. You will now be given a “well-traveled trail” that is high-lighted from the list below and you will also need to locate your classmate with the same selection.
| California Gold Rush Bozeman Trail Chisholm Trail El Camino Real Mississippi & Ohio Rivers Mormon Trail |
Oregon Trail Pony Express Santa Fe Trail Transcontinental Railroad Underground Railroad Natchez |
Directions: After you have located, read, and taken notes (on file cards), answer the following questions.
1. Each member of the group
will help construct a slide show using the HyperStudio program.
Using both the digital camera and the drawing tools design a slide show
that shows the type of transportation used on your trail, what the environment
might look like (rivers, mountains, & plains they crossed), and people who
traveled the trail. Please have a
cover card for your program with the trail name, years traveled, and your names.
2. Where was your trail located
(start to finish)? Use a map
program or trails book to help you find the information.
Then share your discovery with a teacher before placing it on the map
that your teacher will give you. Also
include on this map routes that we use today that still follows this same trail.
Please design a key that uses a different color to show trails of
yesteryear and today. You will need
a road almanac for the latter part of this project.
3. Describe in detail the environment(s) and names of places the trail passed through. You will write your descriptions on small note cards and place them on the map given to you in question 2.
4. History - Write on a note card answers to the following questions.
a) When was your trail begun?
b) When was it most heavily traveled?
c) Who started your trail?
d) Who were the most frequent travelers on the trail?
e) Who were the people living along the trail? (Use Mrs. Macdonald’s Native American map to help you with this question.)
f) Did these people help or hinder
the people using the trail?
5. Include a list of resources
(bibliography) that you used.
Project: Make a large diorama that accurately answers each of the above questions. The background must show the natural environment by using many different pictures from magazines to make a collage. Also include three-dimensional elements of human impact on the land these trails went through (example - wagons heading west, steamships on a river). The base of the diorama will be your map of the United States from question 2 (your teacher will supply this) and your note cards that answer most of the questions. Some information might need to be typed out and added separately to this project. Please label information that is not obvious in the diorama.
Page created by Kay Howley, Donna Macdonald
and Dayle Wright
Orchard School faculty members
This page last updated: 06/22/05 .