Spine texts to provide historical background for big kids for this section of history could be Abraham Lincoln's World, Expanded Edition or The New Nation: 1789-1850 A History of US Book 4 or From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America (pp. 291-296).
Middle and little kids will get their historical background from the If You... book series. If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon, If You Were a Pioneer on the Prairie, and If You Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln will be used over the course of the next eight weeks.
Crafts and activities for the first four weeks of study can be taken from Westward Ho! An Activity Guide to the Wild West and Pioneer Days: Discover the Past with Fun Projects, Games, Activities and Recipes can be used for the second half of the unit.
Week One: General covered wagon, heading west titles
Little Ones:If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon , Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails , The Josefina Story Quilt Papa and the Pioneer Quilt
Middle Ones:If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon
Big Ones: Brave Buffalo Fighter.
Family Read Aloud: Little House on the Prairie
Geography: S is for Sunflower: A Kansas Alphabet
Week Two: Gold Rush
Little Ones:Gold Fever (Picture Puffin)/Boomtown (Levitin)
Middle Ones:Gold Fever!: Tales from the California Gold Rush
Big Ones: Gold Rush Fever: A Story of the Klondike (Greenwood)
Family Read Aloud: By the Great Horn Spoon!
Geography: California
Week Three: Pony Express/Daniel Boone
Little Ones: Bewildered for Three Days (Andrew Glass)/
Middle Ones: Riding the Pony Express
Clyde Robert Bulla/ Trailblazing Life of Daniel Boone (Harness)
Big Ones: Riders of the Pony Express (Ralph Moody)
Family Read Aloud: Daniel Boone (Childhood Famous Americans)/ Buffalo Bill (d'Aulaire)
Geography: Nevada
Art:
Weeks Four and Five: Oregon Trail
Little Ones:The Oregon Trail (True Books)
Family Read Aloud: On to Oregon! (OOP but worth searching; also available in some libraries on audio)/ Bound for Oregon
Geography: Oregon/Washington
Art:
Weeks Six and Seven: Frontier Living
Little Ones:If You Were A Pioneer On The Prairie (If You Were)
Kindle Me a Riddle: A Pioneer Story
Warm as Wool
My Great-Aunt Arizona
Pioneer Girl
Pioneer Life from A to Z
Middle Ones:A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer..
If You Were A Pioneer On The Prairi (If You Were)
Pioneer Girl
Pioneer Life from A to Z
Family Read Aloud: Caddie Woodlawn
Geography: Nebraska/Wyoming
Art:
Week Eight: Log Cabin Life (Abe Lincoln Childhood Titles)
Pioneer Days: Discover the Past with Fun Projec.
Little Ones:If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln (If You.)Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books
Middle Ones:If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln (If You.)
Young Abe Lincoln: The Frontier Days: 1809-1837
Big Ones:Abe Lincoln Grows Up by Carl Sandburg
Family Read Aloud: Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to the White House (OOP)
Geography: Illinois
Art:
In the Book Baskets throughout the study:
The Little House Picture Books Basket(These are read again and again and again in our household.You'll also see them on the Alphabet Path)
The Deer in the Wood
Dance at Grandpa's
Winter Days in the Big Woods
Summertime in the Big Woods
Christmastime in the Big Woods
Tall Tales and American Legends BasketJohnny Appleseed (Kellogg)
John Henry (Keats)
Story of Paul Bunyan (Emberly)
Pecos Bill (Kellogg)
Brer Rabbit and His Tricks (Gorey)
Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific NorthwestCoyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest
For Tea Time and More
