Your Name: Jennifer Ferris
Course title: 8th Grade United States History
Unit title: Westward Expansion
Unit questions:
 How has the geography of the United States changed over time?
 What political and economic factors drove westward expansion?
 Why did westward expansion lead to domestic and international conflicts?
Lesson Title and Number: Lesson 6: Life in the American West – Myth vs. Reality
Materials to be used: SmartBoard; Lesson 6 PowerPoint; SmartBoard review activity; “Myth
vs. Reality” handout; red and green note cards; copies of movie posters in sheet protectors;
primary source documents for Oregon Trail, Gold Rush, cowboys, and women in the western
frontier; copies of “Sweet Betsy from Pike” lyrics; “Sweet Betsy from Pike” MP3; highlighters;
copies of “Riders and Reality” documents; notebook paper; “Westward Expansion Quest
Review” handout
Lesson Assessment Charts
LIST EACH LESSON QUESTION FOR
THIS LESSON.
1. What are pervading myths about the
American West?
2. How did the reality of life on the
western frontier compare with
depictions in popular culture?
3. Why has life in the American West
been romanticized in popular
culture?
WHERE WAS THIS QUESTION
ADDRESSED IN THIS LESSON?
True/False Anticipatory Set: In this activity,
students will utilize their prior knowledge to
determine whether statements about life on the
western frontier are true or false. Students also
must provide a rationale for their thinking. The
teacher will debrief the students at the
completion of the activity.
Comparing Hollywood vs. Reality Activity: This
activity requires students to compare competing
depictions of life in the American West. One
depiction comes from popular western films, and
the other comes from a primary source written
by a person who experienced life on the western
frontier. By completing this activity, students
will gain an understanding of how the “Wild
West” portrayed in popular culture does not
actually reflect the reality of life in the American
West.
Culminating Activity: Students will read an
excerpt of Don Walker’s “Riders and Reality.”
By reading this excerpt, students will be able to
explain in writing why historical myths are
created and perpetuated.
Extension Activity: (This activity will only be
completed if time allows.) In this activity,
students will examine the lyrics to “Sweet Betsy
from Pike” and identify parts of the song that
allude to myths of the western frontier. Students
will also discuss the purpose of the song, and
how and why the song inadvertently perpetuated
these myths.
LIST EACH LESSON OBJECTIVE
FOR THIS LESSON.
1. Students will discern between fact
and fiction, and support their
arguments with historical evidence.
2. Students will extrapolate and
synthesize information from visual
and written primary sources.
3. Students will cite textual evidence
from secondary sources to explain
the phenomenon of the historical
myth.
HOW WAS THIS OBJECTIVE MET IN
THIS LESSON?
True/False Anticipatory Set: Based on their prior
knowledge and what they have learned so far in
this unit, students will discern between fact and
fiction about the American West. Not only do
students have to determine whether statements
are true or false, they must also provide a
rationale for their choice based on historical
evidence.
Extension Activity: (This activity will only be
completed if time allows.) In this activity,
students examine the lyrics to “Sweet Betsy from
Pike” to identify myths contained in the song.
After doing this, students will discuss the
purpose of the song, and must support their
ideas with evidence from their prior knowledge
or lesson content.
Comparing Hollywood vs. Reality Activity: In
this activity, students examine a visual source
and a primary document relating to one of the
following groups or events: the Oregon Trail,
cowboys, women in the western frontier, and the
California Gold Rush. They must gather
information from both these sources in order to
compare how depictions of the American West
in popular culture differ from how it is described
in written primary sources.
Culminating Activity: After reading the excerpt
from “Riders and Reality,” students will explain
how and why historical myths come into being
in a written response. Students must cite at least
one direct quote from the excerpt in their
response to support their argument.
LIST EACH NCSS STANDARD IN
THIS LESSON
II. Time, Continuity, and Change
• guide learners as they systematically
employ processes of critical historical
inquiry to reconstruct and interpret the past,
such as using a variety of sources and
checking their credibility, validating and
weighing evidence for claims, and
searching for causality;
V. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
• help learners analyze group and
institutional influences on people, events,
and elements of culture in both historical
and contemporary settings;
HOW DID YOUR STUDENTS MEET THIS
STANDARD?
Comparing Hollywood vs. Reality Activity: This
activity requires students to extrapolate and
synthesize information from both visual and
written sources in order to arrive at conclusions
about historical truth. By doing this activity,
students will gain an understanding as to how
depictions of the American West in popular
culture are largely inaccurate, but serve other
extra-historical purposes.
Culminating Activity: In this activity, students
read an excerpt from “Riders and Reality” in
order to gain an understanding as to why
historical myths form, and which groups are
responsible for creating and sustaining them.
This activity also requires students to consider
historical movies they have seen, and how the
movie industry has affected their understanding
of history through entertainment.
LIST EACH DELAWARE STANDARD
IN THIS LESSON
History Standard Two 6-8b: Students
will examine historical documents,
artifacts, and other materials, and analyze
them in terms of credibility, as well as the
purpose, perspective, or point of view for
which they were constructed.
HOW DID YOUR STUDENTS MEET THIS
STANDARD?
Comparing Hollywood vs. Reality Activity: This
activity requires students to examine different
types of historical materials with conflicting
interpretations of events. By extrapolating
information from these visual and written
sources, students will construct arguments about
the reality of life in the American West,
supporting them with evidence from the sources.
IF APPLICABLE, LIST THE
COMMON CORE IN THIS LESSON
Writing Standard: Text Types and
Purposes
Write arguments to support claims in an
analysis of substantive topics or texts using
valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
HOW DID YOUR STUDENTS MEET THIS
STANDARD?
Culminating Activity: This activity requires
students to construct an argument as to why it is
difficult for historians to determine the absolute
truth of past events. Students must support their
argument with evidence from the text, including
one direct quote. Responses should be at least
one paragraph long.
Lesson 6: Life in the American West – Myth vs. Reality
Assessment Project Lesson C
Lesson Focus (4 minutes)
 Students should hand in their rough drafts of the Common Core project at the beginning
of the period.
 Project the following prompt on the SmartBoard, which students will have three minutes
to respond to:
o For 3 points of extra credit: What were the three most important things you
learned about the Mexican-American War?
 Collect student responses when they are finished. Responses will be used to measure
how well lesson questions, objectives, and standards were met for Lesson 5: The
Mexican-American War (Lesson B of assessment project).
 Project the map of U.S. Expansion 1783-1856. Remind students that last class we
learned how the United States expanded from the original territory east of the Mississippi
River to present-day California. The United States acquired the Mexican Cession as a
result of the Mexican-American War, and got the Oregon Territory from a treaty with
Great Britain, expanding the U.S. to the Pacific Ocean.
 Tell students that today we will discuss what life in these areas was like.
Intro-Activity (4 minutes)
 Project the following quote on the SmartBoard for students to preview:
o “History is a myth that men agree to believe.” – Napoleon
 Ask students to define “myth.” Tell students that a myth is a traditional story that is
usually based on true events, but has been embellished or exaggerated.
 Students will respond to the following prompt based on the quote:
o What does this quote mean? Do you agree?
 Ask for a few students to volunteer their responses.
 Tell students that life in the American West has been romanticized through movies and
literature, portraying it as the “Wild West.” When many people think of the West, they
think of stereotypes of cowboys and Indians engaged in violent brawls. However, the
reality of the American West was much different.
Developmental Section
 Westward Migration Review (7 minutes)
o Tell students that to understand what is fact from fiction, we must first review
why people went west in the mid-1800s, and where they went.
o Remind students that we have already discussed challenges of moving west.
These included: conflict with Native Americans, not being familiar with territory,
risk of disease or exposure, etc.
o Ask students why they think people would move west despite these risks.
Anticipated student responses include: possible economic gain, increased
freedom, sense of adventure, etc.
o Tell students that the reasons people moved west generally fell into two
categories: economic or ideological.
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o Students will then participate in a SmartBoard activity to review the reasons why
people moved west. The SmartBoard activity requires students to discern
between economic and ideological reasons for westward migration.
True/False Anticipatory Set (15 minutes)
o Tell students that while the reasons people moved west in the 1800s are clear,
what their lives were like after arriving have been romanticized.
o Distribute “Myth vs. Reality” handout.
o Students will work in pairs to determine whether each statement listed on the
handout is a myth or fact. They must also explain why they think so.
o As students are working, distribute red and green note cards. These will be used
for reviewing the activity.
o Review the handout as a class. Students should hold up their red note cards if
they think the statement is false, and the green note card if they think it is true.
The correct answers will be projected as part of the PowerPoint presentation on
the SmartBoard, and students should write the correct answers in the “reality”
column of the worksheet.
Comparing Hollywood vs. Reality Activity (40 minutes)
o Have students count off by eight. This should result in groups of 2-3 students.
Students should move to sit with their group members.
o Each group will receive one copy of a movie poster and one primary source
document per student pertaining to one of the following events or groups:
1. The Oregon Trail
2. Cowboys
3. California Gold Rush
4. Women in the American West
o Students should refer to the reverse side of the “Myth vs. Reality” handout to
complete this activity. They will work together to determine how the Hollywood
depiction of their event/group differs from the information they find in their
primary source. Students will have seventeen minutes to do this.
o The class will then come back together to review the activity. As each
movie/show poster on the SmartBoard, ask groups the following questions:
 Which source did you think was more accurate?
 What myth(s) about the American West did you find in the visual source?
o After all groups have shared their findings, ask the class the following question:
“Why would comparing movie posters with one primary source not be enough?”
Anticipated student responses include: source might be biased, one source does
not include every perspective, the author may have left out details or embellished
others, etc. Tell students that to strengthen their argument about myths depicted
in these visual sources, they would have to consult several other sources about
their group/event, as well.
o Students will keep this handout in their notebooks as part of their Marking Period
4 notebook check.
Extension Activity: Music of the Western Frontier (15 minutes – if time allows)
o Distribute “Sweet Betsy from Pike” lyrics and highlighters. Play the song as
students follow along with the lyrics.
o With a partner, students will identify and highlight phrases in the lyrics that
exemplify the myth of the “Wild West.”
o Call on student volunteers to name one phrase they identified, and why they
believe it is a myth.
o Using a think-pair-share strategy, students will discuss the following question
with a partner: “What is the purpose of this song?” The question will then be
discussed as a class.
o Explain to the students that “Sweet Betsy from Pike” was about the California
Gold Rush, and was meant to convey how long the journey to California was. It
was meant to provide entertainment to gold miners, with comic lyrics and
exaggerated story line. It ended up becoming one of the most popular American
folksongs of all time, and perpetuated myths of the American West.
Wrap up/Closure/Culminating Experience (10 minutes)
 Distribute a copy of “Riders and Reality” to each student. Students will read the excerpt
individually. Students should not write on these because they will be needed for each
class.
 On a separate sheet of paper, students will respond to the following prompt. Students
should write a paragraph for each, and include at least one direct quote from the excerpt
in their response:
o Why is it difficult for historians to agree on the truth about the past?
o Name a historical movie that you have seen. Do you think you gained an accurate
understanding of history from it?
 If time allows, ask for a few student volunteers to briefly share their responses.
 Student responses will be handed in for a classwork grade, which will be included as part
of the assessment project.
 As students are working, distribute “Westward Expansion Quest Review” handout.
Remind students that they will be taking their “quest” next class, and their homework is
to study for it. Also tell students that the remainder of the period will be a “writer’s
workshop,” in which they will be working on their final drafts for the Common Core
project.