Today’s Walking Classroom discusses the Trail of Tears and its aftermath. The Trail of Tears was the name given to the path that thousands of Cherokee and other Indian tribes were forced to walk when the U.S. government kicked them out of their land as part of the Indian Removal Act in the 1830s. The trails led from the southeastern states to reservations west of the Mississippi River, and people had to walk hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles. Thousands of Native Americans died during the forced removal.
Character Value: Tolerance
Click for Standards Alignment
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.)
Trail of Tears Google Quiz
Slide Deck:
Trail of Tears Slide Deck
Shares a brief history of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Experience an in depth look at Cherokee life before and during their relocation in this virtual field trip from PBS Learning Media.
Develop your knowledge of Trail of Tears with this interactive slide deck from PBS Learning Media.
Write a newspaper article about the Cherokee removal from a selected perspective in this activity from the University of Iowa.
Answer passage based questions in this printable packet from the National Park Service.
See More Podcasts in Subject Area: Social Studies
See More Themed Groupings that Contain this Podcast: Native Cultures, Westward Ho