Introduction
It's 1848 and your family has decided to move from Illinois to Oregon. You'll be taking the Oregon Trail to get there. Your family is leaving from Independence, Missouri, the most popular "jumping off" point for settlers heading west. It'll take about 5 months. There are many things to think about both before you leave and during your trip.
Task
Click on the "process link" and you will find various situations you'll encounter on your journey along the Oregon Trail. Read each situation and click on the link(s) to find information to help you decide what to do.
After reading the information, return to this page by either hitting the back button or clicking on the "Return to Homepage" link. You will then be asked a question to answer in your "Oregon Trail Journal." Answer each question in your journal in complete sentences. Turn it into Ms. McKinnon when you are finished.
Process
Situation #1
The journey to Oregon is going to take between 5 and 6 months. Most families take covered wagons to get to Oregon. This means whatever your family takes with them needs to fit into your wagon. There are many things you need to consider when deciding what to take with.
Click on the following links to find information on what you need to think about before you and your family pack the wagon:
Situation #2
The journey west is not an easy one. There will be many hardships along the way. Click on the following link to read about some of the problems settlers moving west encountered.
List 5 Hardships.
Think about the hard times you just read about. Think about what a bad day might be like on the trail. Imagine one or two of incidents you read about happened to you and your family while traveling on the trail. Write in your "Oregon Trail Journal" what happened that day and how it has affected your family. Is it going to take you longer to get to Oregon now? Why or why not? Is this something that your family can recover from easily?
Situation #3
You are now a month into your journey on the trail and daily life on the trail is very different than what you are used to. Click on the following links below to read about what life was like on the Oregon Trail.
You are riding in the wagon in the afternoon, write a letter to a friend back home about what a typical day is like for you. What is your favorite part of the day? Why? What is your least favorite part of the day? Why?
Situation #4
Your family has now reached it's destination. Read about some of the different endings families had to their journey along The Oregon Trail.
Define Homestead Act:
Where is your family going to live? Will you make it to Oregon or will you end up finding somewhere along the trail to live? If you live along the trail, why did you stop early? If you made it to Oregon, what kind of land are you is your house going to be built on? Why one kind instead instead of another? What kind of house did you build? What problems might you encounter once you are there? Answer these questions in your "Oregon Trail Journal."
What Have You Learned?
Click on the following link to find Frequently Asked Questions about the Oregon Trail. Read through it and see how many you can answer from completing the Oregon Trail WebQuest.
Answer the 7 questions at the end of your packet
Frequently Asked Question About the Oregon Trail