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Exercise: Language Arts/Social Studies
Objectives and Overview
At the age of four, Fraser moved with his family from his birthplace in Winona, Minnesota, to Mitchell, South Dakota, where his father began construction on the railroad line. The objective of this exercise is for students to research westward expansion in the United States after the Civil War and prepare a short, written report. *To modify this exercise, ask students to present their reports orally to the class.
Materials
Paper and pencils or pens
Project Procedure
- Discuss westward expansion following the Civil War, including the Homestead Act of 1862, the Transcontinental Railroad, cowboys and cattle drives, and the closing of the American frontier in 1890.
- Have students access and use a variety of appropriate sources to gather information about westward expansion after the Civil War, including magazines, technology/Internet, encyclopedias, and atlases, among others.
- Students should synthesize information from at least three different sources and summarize this information into short, written reports, presenting the information in their own words and identifying and crediting the sources used to gain information.
- *Modification: Ask students to present their reports orally to the class.
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