The opportunity to work in the cattle industry to be a “cowboy”.Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada).When students have placed all documents in the correct sequence, they should compile a list of possible reasons that Americans moved westward at this time: Ask them to work as a full class, in small groups, or individually for more advanced students, to put the documents in the correct chronological sequence according to their creation dates. Ask students to synthesize the information they have gathered and answer: “What can this document tell us about that time in history?” Remind students to replicate this close analysis of each document they open before they begin to move any of the documents. (To bolster students’ confidence and willingness to make informed guesses, remind them that at this point it is entirely appropriate to make a guess with scant evidence because they have not yet done any careful examination.)Ĭhoose one of the documents used in this activity to model document analysis. Ask for suggestions as to which documents are “earlier” and which are “later.” Students should be able to explain their presumptions. Ask students if anyone can identify and explain any of the documents they see without further examination. Look at a couple of the documents more closely. Ideas may be recorded for later reference. Discuss general reasons that humans leave one place to move to another, as well as the particular cultural and political climate of the United States during this era. Alternatively, this activity can be completed gradually by a full class over the course of a unit, or used as a review at the end of a unit.īegin by asking the class to hypothesize why Americans may have wanted to move west in the middle of the 19th century. This activity can be used to introduce a unit on westward expansion. Students will analyze primary sources to uncover reasons for expansion, and learn how motivations changed over time. Suggested Teaching InstructionsObjectives
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