The Homestead Act and Western Expansion
Name: Nicole Beahan
Grade Level: Grade 8
Subject: American History
Time Required: Four 40-Minute Periods / DBQ Essay to be done for homework
The Homestead Act and Western Expansion
Objectives and Goals:
1. Students will read and view a number of primary source documents dealing with Westward
Expansion during the mid- to late 1800s.
2. Students will analyze primary source documents using graphic organizers to collect their
thoughts and views of the documents.
3. Students will write an essay using all the information they have received from the different
primary sources explaining the reasons Americans wanted to move West, the hardships they
faced, the successes they had and the long term effects of their settlement.
Common Core Standards:
1. Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-12
 Key Idea 1
 Craft and Structure 4,5, and 6
 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7,8, and 9
2. Reading Standards for Informational Text 6-12
 Craft and Structure 4
3. Writing Standards 6-12
 Text Type and Purpose 2
 Research to Build and Present Knowledge 8
Direct Instruction: (Approximate time 6-7 forty minute class periods)
1. Prior to reading and analyzing primary sources on Westward Expansion and the Homestead
Act, students will have taken notes that I have prepared through PowerPoint. Students will
have learned about the following topics through notes, outlining sections of their textbook,
classroom activities and homework assignments:
 Mining boom of the mid to late 1800s in the West
 Growth of the Railroads after the American Civil War and the arrival of the
Transcontinental Railroad
 Native American Conflict in the West in the mid to late 1800s
 The depletion of the American Buffalo on the Great Plains
 The Homestead Act
 The Cowboy Trails
 A review of the concept of Manifest Destiny (from 7th grade U.S. History)
Instructional Preparation
1. Students will analyze a short letter entitled “A Letter Home.” Students will be given a graphic
organizer and with a partner, students will read the letter and fill out the graphic organizer using
Shift 2 Knowledge in the Disciplines’ DECRIBE strategy. The teacher will model this and strategy
with another primary source document so students understand how to source their document.
Anticipatory Set (approximate time 10 minutes)
1. When students enter the classroom they will be given a scrap piece of paper. Students will
answer the question that appears on the Smart Board.
 Have you ever moved or know someone who has moved? What were their
reasons for moving? Was it an easy transition? What were some difficulties
after you or the person you know moved?
 In general, what are some other reasons people move to another area?
2. Teacher will ask a few students to share their responses to the class.
3. Teacher will connect the students’ responses about moving to another area today with
people moving out West in the mid to late 1800s.
Guided Practice (approximate time 2 forty minute class periods)
1. Students will be given the following primary sources to analyze in class. Students will be
working by themselves when reading texts and may work with a partner when analyzing
print.
2. Students will analyze each primary and secondary source and answer questions that are in
their response packet (see attachments).
3. Students will watch clips from Ken Burns “The West” that will help pull together everything
we have learned with direct instructions and guided practice.
Closure
1. Students will write down 3 things they have learned about Westward Expansion in the mid
to late 1800s. Teacher will ask a few students to share their responses with the class.
2. Teacher will ask the class to connect reasons for moving out west with reasons for moving to
a different area today.
Independent Practice
1. Students will be given a copy of Emma Mitchell New “Years Came Along One After the
Other….” a first hand account of life of a woman and her family living on a homestead in the
1800s.
2. For homework students are to read the story and answer questions pertaining to the
reading.
Required Materials and Equipment
Materials
 American Progress Painting
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/westward/

“I Will Go West” Song
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/westward/

Soldiers Surrounded and Butchered Them:” The Massacre at Wounded Knee
“Ordinary Americans: U.S. History through the Eyes of Everyday People” 2nd Edition
Edited by Linda R. Monk and forward by Ken Burns

Emma Mitchell New “Years Came Along One After the Other….” American Heritage 28 no. 1
(1976), p.5.

Song “The Chinamen Must Go”
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/westward/

Range of Buffalo in North America Map
G. Tyler Miller. Living Environment. Brooks/Cole Publishing. Pacific Grove, California, 1999,
p. 611
 North American Grasslands Before European Settlement Map
Status and Trends of the Nation’s Biological Resources (volume 2), U.S. Department of the
Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., 1998, p.439.

Letter from Uriah W. Oblinger to Mattie V. Oblinger and Ella Oblinger (Film Ken
Burns/Stephen Ives “The West”)
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/westward/

Elizabeth Corey Letter
Philip L. Gerber, ed. Bachelor Bess: The Homesteading Letters of Elizabeth Corey, 1909 –
1919. Iowa City: University of Iowa press, 1990.


San Francisco and the Chinese
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/westward/
Packet of Graphic Organizers (see attachments)
Equipment
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
Smart Board
Class set of laptops or computer lab
Teacher Computer with DVD and Smart Board set up to view film
Assessment and Follow -Up
1. Students will write a Document Based Essay using all the information they have received from
the different primary sources, the direct instruction, the independent and guided instruction
explaining the reasons Americans wanted to move West, the hardships they faced, the
successes they had and the long term effects of their settlement.
2. The students will receive a rubric to know what is more specifically expected of their writing
assignment. (see attachment)
Name_________________________________
8th Social Studies
“AMERICAN PROGRESS” PAINTING
OBSERVE
1. Describe what you see?
Period______________
REFLECT
1. Why do you think this image was made?
2. When do you think this image was made?
2. What do you notice first?
3. Who do you think was the audience for this
image?
3. What people and objects are shown? How are 4. What can you learn for examining this image?
they arranged?
5. What is missing form this image?
4. What is the physical setting?
6. If someone made this image today, what
would be different? What would be the same?
QUESTIONS?
WHAT DO YOU WONDER ABOUT WHO? – WHAT? – WHEN? – WHERE? – WHY? – HOW?
WRITE: Write a caption for this image.
Predict: Predict what would happen a few years after the scene shown in the image. Explain the
reasoning behind your predictions.
Name________________________________
8th Social Studies
Period______________
♬
“I Will Go West!”
OBSERVE
1. What names or places appear in the
lyrics?
2. Do you see anything on the page besides
notes and lyrics?
3. Can you sing or hum the melody? What
do you notice about how it sounds?
QUESTIONS?
♪
REFLECT
1. What was the purpose of this music?
2. Who do you think was intended to sing or
play it?
3. If someone created this today, what
would be different?
WHAT DO YOU WONDER ABOUT WHO? – WHAT? – WHEN? – WHERE? – WHY? – HOW?
WRITE: Write a brief description of the song in your own words
SPECULATE: Speculate about the composer’s purpose in creating it and what he or she expected
it to accomplish. Do you think it achieved its writer’s goals? Explain why you think so.
THINK: Think about what you already know about this period in history. How do the lyrics
support or contradict your current understanding of this period?
How does the song highlight the values and opinions held during this period?
How do you think the public reacted to this song?
Name________________________________
8th Social Studies
Period______________
♬
“The Chinamen Must Go
OBSERVE
1. What names or places appear in the
lyrics?
2. Do you see anything on the page besides
notes and lyrics?
3. Can you sing or hum the melody? What
do you notice about how it sounds?
QUESTIONS?
♪
REFLECT
1. What was the purpose of this music?
2. Who do you think was intended to sing or
play it?
3. If someone created this today, what
would be different?
WHAT DO YOU WONDER ABOUT WHO? – WHAT? – WHEN? – WHERE? – WHY? – HOW?
WRITE: Write a brief description of the song in your own words
SPECULATE: Speculate about the composer’s purpose in creating it and what he or she expected
it to accomplish. Do you think it achieved its writer’s goals? Explain why you think so.
THINK: Think about what you already know about this period in history. How do the lyrics
support or contradict your current understanding of this period?
How does the song highlight the values and opinions held during this period?
How do you think the public reacted to this song?
Name_______________________________
8th Social Studies
The Chinese in San Francisco
OBSERVE
1. Describe what you see?
Period______________
REFLECT
1. What was the purpose of this text?
2. Who do you think was its audience?
2. What do you notice first?
3. Can you tell me anything about what was
important at the time it was made?
3. Are there any words you don’t know? If so
write them down and define them.
4. What can you learn for examining this?
5. If someone created this today, what would be
different?
QUESTIONS?
WHAT DO YOU WONDER ABOUT WHO? – WHAT? – WHEN? – WHERE? – WHY? – HOW?
LOOK: Look for clues to the point of view of the person who created this text. Discuss what
someone with an opposing or differing point of view might say about the issues or events
described in it. How would the information be presented differently?
Examine: Examine a section of the text. Think about what you already know about this
period in history. How does the text support or contradict your current understanding of
this period? Can you see any clues to the point of view of the person who created this text?
Taken from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/quarterly/accessibility/pdf/graphic_organizer.pdf
Name______________________________
Chapter 18 Essay Assignment
Period___________
8th Social Studies
Directions: After learning about and researching historical documents on reasons Americans
moved West during the mid to late 1800s, write an essay explaining the reasons Americans
wanted to move West, the hardships they faced, the success they had and the long term effects
of their settlement. Support your essay with evidence from the documents. 120 Test Points
1. The essay has a well-constructed introduction that does more than restate the directions.
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2. The essay has several body paragraphs that support main ideas mentioned in the directions.
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3. The student refers to a minimum of 5 documents.
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4. The essay has a well-constructed conclusion paragraph.
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5. The students properly cite the documents throughout the essay.
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6. The essay includes a works cited.
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7. The essay is typed and double-spaced.
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8. The essay has one-inch margins and the student used Times New Roman size 12 font.
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9. The essay was handed in during the class period it was due.
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10. The rubric was stapled to the back of the essay.
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