
Today’s Walking Classroom focuses on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. Both of the trails began in the Missouri frontier and were routes that led settlers to unclaimed land in the west during the mid-1800s. The Oregon and Santa Fe Trails were important routes for the settlers in promoting the idea of Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny.
Character Value: Life goals
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Common Core
L–Language | SL–Speaking and Listening | RI–Reading: Informational | RL–Reading: Literature | W–Writing | RH–6-8 Literacy in History/Social Studies | RST–6-8 Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects Elementary School:RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.4
RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, SL.4.1, SL.4.4
RI.5.1, RI.5.2, RI.5.3, SL.5.1, SL.5.4
Middle School:
RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.3, SL.6.1, SL.6.4
RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.3, SL.7.1, SL.7.4
RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.3, SL.8.1, SL.8.4
RH.6-8.4
Supplemental Resource Links and Downloads

Quiz: (Make sure you're already logged into your Gmail account, then click to copy this Google form to your Google Drive. Quiz keys are here.)
The Santa Fe Trail Google Quiz

Slide Deck:
The Santa Fe Trail Slide Deck

Presents footage taken out the window of a train going west across the United States.
Discusses the historic route the settlers took.
Search for answers using the list of provided websites in this activity from Easy Fun School.
Script a scene that could have happened on the Oregon Trail in this project from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Test knowledge of the Santa Fe Trail with this worksheet bundle from the National Park Service.
Budget and plan for a journey on the Oregon Trail from Teacher Bulletin.
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See More Themed Groupings that Contain this Podcast: Westward Ho