Review + Recommend: Look no further than this ultimate common core, close reading and DBQ Westward Expansion bundle!

You want your students to have a better understanding of cowboys and Indians --er-- Native Americans than the movies right? So much US history happened between the years 1803 and 1840, and if you're looking for a resource heavy, yet fun and engaging way to teach your middle grade students all about it, you need to read the rest of this review about this US history lesson plan.

Westward Expansion Notes, Reading, and Resource Bundle

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(More on Mr. and Mrs. P below)

This bundle is brimming with unique primary resources and activities that are student centered and interactive. Games and primary source readings collide with various common core literacy and writing activities, making this bundle the perfect balance of fun and smart. It's a complete unit plan for 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade history lessons on the complicated events of the Westward Expansion and the key figures that lead the political angles of it. In addition, several of the primary resources offer up challenging, thought-provoking activities that will have your middle grade students pondering things long after they leave the classroom. 

This bundle offers Westward Expansion "Instructional content designed with the framework of the key concepts of U.S. history, including geographic expansion and political, social and economic development," and gives you not only instruction content, but also offers great visual organizers, printables, and one of the best Westward Expansion lessons on the Teachers Pay Teachers website, not to mention editable common core tests and quizzes.

The three primary source pieces of the Westward Expansion Bundle offer a variety of options for worksheets and in class learning opportunities. The full length primary resources, from 1 to 3 pages in each, will have student's comprehension up. Then in each of the activity options, students will support claims with evidence, determine the main idea, analyze perspective and relate the source medium to modern technology and history. In the homestead act part, they will have an actual application for property where they must state improvements they'll make to their claimed land.

In most text books, the Nullification Crisis is a blur of dates and names that lull students to sleep. The Nullification Crisis Powerpoint and flow chart notes include specific details on Andrew Jackson, and makes the entire timeline more accessible for students. The instructions include notes for a simple but effective graphic organizer or you can update the included iPad App Templete Graphic Organizer included in this bundle (see below) for it.

Another included printable, interactive activity is the above Story of Manifest Destiny speech bubbles PowerPoint stations packet. This 8 station reading activity offers a chance to use graphic organizers or fun, graphic rich worksheets to answer questions about the Westward Expansion and its key concepts.

If you need some geography and time lines mixed in with your Westward Expansion worksheets, then you'll be happy to know this popular, and currently featured, product is also included in the Westward Expansion bundle. Eight (8) stations, DBQ style questions and answer worksheets, common core writing exercises, and maps make this interactive and just plain fun for students. The stations include: Mexican Cession, Gadsden Purchase, Oregon Country, Louisiana Purchase, Texas Annexations, Spanish Session and the Land Above the Louisiana Purchase.

Be sure to consider using it for your sixth grade lesson plans, seventh grade lesson plans, and 8th grade lesson plans. It's that versatile!

Okay, this one got a lot of special attention on the bundle reviews because student's have so much fun with it. Each social studies student creates four trading cards based on the powerpoint presentation and share them with their classroom group. At the end, points are awarded for each topic and the students find out who won!.Instructions are included and if you're looking for easy, this is the best part of the Westward Expansion bundle!

While the above are offered individually on Instructomania's e-store, the following parts are exclusive to this bundle:

Jacksonian Democracy printable notes with graphic organizer 

Jacksonian Democracy PowerPoint

Common Core FaceTime Interview template for Jackson, Sacajawea, James K. Polk, John Ross and a blank template for teachers choice.

Treaty of Echota Indian Removal, Primary Source Analysis

Working with Primary Sources election of 1848 Political Cartoon

Common Core Writing Activity for War and Negotiations of Westward Expansion

America Moves West Map Activity.

Jackson Tweets His Followers Template

Nullification Crisis Political Cartoon Assignment

William Travis' Letter to Texans Primary Source Analysis Activity

The Railroad Moves West! Primary Source Analysis Activity

Two Part Westward Expansion DBQ (Document Based Questions) Assessment with 6 Primary Source Documents and Common Core Writing. This assessment is versatile with tons of teacher options for a differentiated classroom.

A Fantastic Key Concept Match Activity, with graphic organizers, a matching assignment and writing guides with 3 options

Here is what teachers are saying about the Westward Expansion Bundle: 

Want to see a complete activities list for this 50 page social studies bundle, as well as more about the creators Mr. and Mrs. P? Click the link below for all the details on their 26 years combined teaching experience and how they were literally student nominated as superheroes!

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