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The Making of America: Expansion, Reform, & the Westward Movement

by  HistoryConnects from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture

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While Virginia was establishing her claim to being “the Mother of Presidents”, nearly a million Virginians left the state between the Revolutionary and American Civil wars. This program examines the contributions of Virginians to the new Republic (Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc) as well as the nineteenth-century movement of Virginians to the West and their contributions to settling the American frontier. Using primary sources from Virginians who traveled west, along with reproductions of objects that might have been found on a settler's Conestoga wagon, students interpret the great migration from Virginia in the decades before the Civil War. This program also looks at the movement of African Americans during the time period, both via slave trade and the Underground Railroad.

Program Rating

   based on 8 evaluation(s).

About This Program

Cost

Point to Point: $125.00
By Request: $125.00


This program is offered at $50 discount for schools within the state of Virginia.

Length

60 minutes


Target Audience

Education: Grade(s) 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Parent, Adult Learners University Public Library: Library Patrons Retirement Communities

Minimum participants:

1

Maximum participants:

There is no maximum, but for we suggest no more than 30


Primary Disciplines

Social Studies/History


Program Delivery Mode

Videoconference - H.323 (Polycom, Cisco/Tandberg, LifeSize, etc...)
Videoconference – Webcam/desktop (Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco WebEx, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, etc...)
WebinarZoom



Booking Information

Programs are available Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. If these times do not work for your group, please contact Evan Liddiard at eliddiard@vahistorical.org and we will make every effort to find a convenient time for your program.

Sorry, this program is not currently available. To inquire about future availability, please contact HistoryConnects from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture

Receive this program and 9 more for one low price when you purchase the CILC Virtual Expeditions package. Learn more

For more information contact CILC at (507) 388-3672

Provider's Cancellation Policy

We will not charge for programs cancelled due to nature i.e. snow days. The full fee will be charged to sites which cancel with less than 48 hours notice.

About This Provider

Content Provider logo

 

HistoryConnects from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture

Richmond, VA
United States

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society—a private, non-profit organization. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation. For use in its state history museum and its renowned research library, the historical society cares for a collection of nearly nine million items representing the ever-evolving story of Virginia.

HistoryConnects is an outreach education initiative by the Virginia Museum of History and Culture utilizing video and web conferencing to reach learners of all ages across the state of Virginia and around the world! HistoryConnects is made possible in part by the Hugh V. White, Jr., Outreach Education Fund.

Contact:
VMHC Education
education@virginiahistory.org
804-342-9689

Program Details

Format

The instructor will lead a discussion beginning with a look at the contributions made by key Virginians in the early years on the Republic. Using primary sources and images, students will explore the nature of westward expansion, and examining life on the 19th century American frontier. The discussion of moving west will include an examination of replica artifacts that might have been found on a settler’s Conestoga wagon. The presentation will conclude with a look at the role slavery played in expansion, with a particular focus on slave trade and the Underground Railroad.

Objectives

The participant will:
-be able to analyze and interpret primary source materials.
-be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
-identify contributions of Virginians to the new Republic (Madison, Jefferson, Mason)
-understand the factors that led people to decide to move west in the mid-nineteenth century, specifically push/pull factors.
-understand some of the hardships that people faced as they moved west in the mid-nineteenth century.
-understand the role ordinary Americans played in the making of American history.

Standards Alignment

National Standards

Historical Thinking Standards:
Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
Standard 3: Historical Analysis & Interpretation

Historical Content Standards:
Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861):
Standard 2: How the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions.

Common Core
Grade Two
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 : Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.4 : Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.6 : Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
Grade Three
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 : Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3 : Describe the relationships between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7 : Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (eg, where, when, why, and how key events occur).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.9 : Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Grade Four
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 : Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text , including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.6 : Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and information provided.
Grade Five
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 : Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6 : Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7 : Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
Grade Six-Eight
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.1 : Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.2 : Determine the central ideas or information of primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.3 : Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.7 : Integrate visual information (eg., photographs or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.9 : Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
Grade Nine-Ten
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 : Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3 : Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.9 : Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Grade Eleven-Twelve
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 : Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 : Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.9 : Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

State Standards

Virginia Standards of Learning:
STANDARD USI.8The student will demonstrate knowledge of westward expansion and reform in
America from 1801 to 1861 by
b) identifying the geographic and economic factors that influenced the westward
movement of settlers.
c) describing the impact of inventions, including the cotton gin, the reaper, the
steamboat, and the steam locomotive, on life in America.

STANDARD VUS.6bThe student will demonstrate knowledge of the major events from the last decade of
the eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century by
b) identifying the economic, political, and geographic factors that led to territorial
expansion and its impact on the American Indians.