208 Westward Expansion: Supplemental Guide DR | Domain Review
Image Review
Show the Flip Book images from any read-aloud again, and have
students retell the read-aloud using the images.You Were There: Pony Express; Transcontinental Railroad
Have students pretend that they were at one of the important
events during the westward expansion of the United States. Ask
students to describe what they saw and heard. For example, for
the “Pony Express,” students may talk about seeing a buffalo
stampede or a landmark such as Chimney Rock, that helped guide
Pony Express riders on their journeys. They may talk about hearing
the beat of the horse’s hooves, the crack of lightning on the plains,
etc. Consider also extending this activity by adding group or
independent writing opportunities associated with the “You Were
There” concept. For example, ask students to pretend they are
newspaper reporters describing the last spike being driven into the
rails of the transcontinental railroad, and write a group news article
describing the event.Oregon Trail Campsite
Using Image 6A-8, create a labeling sheet for students to label
vocabulary words related to a campground scene on the Oregon
Trail. Insert a word box, lines for students to write on, and arrows
pointing to each of the following items: campfi re, prairie, pioneer,
river, cattle, covered wagon, and barrel.Class Book: Westward Expansion
Materials: Drawing paper, drawing tools
Tell the class or a group of students that they are going to make a
class book to help them remember what they have learned in this
domain. Have students brainstorm important information about
the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express, the Lakota Sioux, and the
transcontinental railroad. Have each student choose one idea to
draw a picture of and then write a caption for the picture. Bind the
pages to make a book to put in the class library for students to
read again and again.
Another option is to create an ABC book, where students
brainstorm domain-related words for each letter of the alphabet.