School Workshops and Community Group Presentations

The Westward Movement

Uncover the history of the American West through the use of maps, photographs, surveys and records relating to American Indians. Examine treaties and homestead applications which document the acquisition of new territory. Follow the early expeditions of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and John C. Frèmont and learn what they found in this new land. Travel with settlers as they moved west and built homes and towns.

IN THIS WORKSHOP OR PRESENTATION THE PARTICIPANTANTS WILL:

  • Identify through federal records the various individuals and groups who help settle the American West.
  • Compare the information from several types of federal records related to the settlement of the American West.
  • Engage in a document analysis activity featuring relevant records from the National Archives.
  • Become familiar with the history, location, holdings, education and volunteer programs of the National Archives and Records Administration.

This workshop meets the following curriculum standards:

  • DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GRADE 7-12 STANDARDS
    • Grade 11
      • Content Standard 1: Students understand chronological order and spatial patterns of human experiences, by placing the stories of people and events in the context of their own time and place.
      • Content Standard 3: Students recognize scientific, technological, and economic changes and understand how they have affected societies, culture, and politics throughout history.
      • Content Standard 4: Students understand how the origins, evolution, and diversity of societies, social classes and groups have been affected and changed by forces of geography, ideology and economics.
      • Content Standard 7: Students understand the historical evolution of political ideas, ideologies, and institutions. They see how different political institutions have affected human life and how technological, economic, social, cultural, religious, and philosophical forces in history have shaped politics.

  • MARYLAND GRADE 7-12 HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
    • History
      • Indicator Statement: Analyze reasons for exploration and the acquisition of territories.
      • Indicator Statement: Evaluate westward movement in the United States.

  • VIRGINIA GRADE 7-12 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT STANDARDS
    • Expansion and Reform: 1801 to 1860
      VUS. 6 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major events of the first half of the nineteenth century.

    • Reshaping the Nation and the Emergence of Modern America: 1877-1930s
      VUS. 8 The student will demonstrate knowledge of how the nation grew and changed from the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century.

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