Farmers, Miners, Cowboys, Railroad Workers - Groups That Moved America

This lesson is focused on the farmers, miners, cowboys and railroad workers who moved west, their motivations and influence on the nation. Students will determine which of these groups influenced westward expansion in the United States the most. The lesson begins with a Warm Up activity in which students ponder the idea of what causes people to relocate and what things a country can do to motivate population movement. Next, students work in groups to analyze songs from the time period of westward expansion that represent railroads, cowboys, miners and farmers. After the song analysis, students will complete readings about the different groups and complete reading questions. Debrief questions will assist students in understanding the contributions of each group. Students will then participate in a four corners activity in which they debate which of the four groups influenced westward expansion the most. Finally, students will create a One-Pager about one of the westward expansion groups.

When you purchase this activity, you will receive:

-Teacher Directions

-Power point to guide instruction

-Four Song Lyrics

-Four sets of questions to analyze song lyrics

-Background Reading-Movement Across the West

-Four Readings-Miners, Cowboys, Farmers, and Railroad Workers

-Four sets of questions-Miners, Cowboys, Farmers and Railroad Workers

-One Pagers Directions

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Do you like this style of teaching? Check out other activities at Lessons From the Past.

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©2019 Lessons From the Past. By purchasing this product, the buyer has obtained the lesson for single classroom use only. No part of this lesson may be reproduced and transmitted without written permission from the author. This lesson may not be copied for other teachers or organizations including but not limited to a grade level, a department, a building or a district without purchasing further licenses. This product may not be displayed digitally for public view. Please do not upload to an individual web page or school web site. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All images have been obtained from public domain or purchased at Fotolia. Fonts are provided by KG Fonts.

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