Web Quest: Introduction to the Oregon Trail

Grade 5 WebQuest Created By

Dana Dawson

Introduction (Top)

During the mid 1800’s, the Oregon Trail was traveled by thousands of people in their effort to settle the area of the United States that is now west of the Mississippi.  The trail was critical to the settlement of the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Utah.  The Oregon Trail extended 2000 miles from the starting point of Independence, Missouri to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  The journey was very difficult by today’s standards.

You are invited to experience The Oregon Trail in this introductory Web Quest.  You will view a video of the journey, visit Internet sites and refer to encyclopedia articles in hopes that you will begin to get a feel for the incredible journey these brave pioneers ventured on while fulfilling the Manifest Destiny of the United States.

Tasks (Top)

  Your task is to determine how much you already know about the Oregon Trail.  Then you will watch a video that will introduce the Oregon Trail.  You will see where the Oregon Trail migration fits within the scheme of the Westward Movement of the United States. You will also familiarize yourself with an Internet site that presents information about the Oregon Trail. 

Resources (Top)

Pretests 1: How much to you know about the Oregon Trail?  Click here to see how much you know about the Oregon Trail

Pretest 2: How much more do you know about the Oregon Trail?  Click here to see how much more you know about the Oregon Trail.

Process (Top)

1.        Click on the pretests sites listed above.  Using a word processor application, copy the questions into a document.  Title your document as “What I Know and Want to Know About The Oregon Trail.”  Enter your answers.  After you answer the questions, check your answers, using the web pages.  How many answers did you get correct?  Record the number of correct answers.

2.      Watch the video The Oregon Trail.  Type three complete questions you have about the Oregon Trail, in the same document you created in Step 1.

3.       Look up the “American Westward Movement” in the Encarta Encyclopedia.  Read the introduction to the article.  Then look at the “American Westward Movement” map.  The Oregon Trail was active from about 1836 to 1869.  In you document, write the name of the states, west of the Mississippi that became a part of the United States from 1820 to 1885.  Write complete sentences.

4.      Save your document on a 3 ½” floppy.

Evaluation (Top)

20 pts for taking PreTest 1

20 pts for taking PreTest 2

20 pts for watching video and writing 3 questions

20 pts for listing the states included in the United States during 1820 – 1885

20 pts for starting “Oregon Trail” file  

Conclusion (Top)

This Web Quest should serve as an introduction for the Web Quests that are to follow.  The student developed questions about the Oregon Trail while completing this Web Quest.  The student will find the answers to these and many more questions about the journey of these brave pioneers as he/she continues explores the next Web Quests about the Oregon Trail.

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