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 Click for larger imageExercise: Social Studies/Visual Art
Objectives and Overview
The goal of this exercise is for the class to pretend that they are newspaper reporters in 1863. Using historical research, along with proper grammar usage, students will write a news article, inserting historically accurate quotes, as needed. *To modify this exercise, have students present their reports orally to the class. Students may work in pairs or in small groups to prepare their research for the report.
Materials
Paper
Pencils or pens
Project Procedure
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Discuss early territorial exploration, expansion, and the settlement of the West, prior to the Civil War. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the pioneers who left from St. Louis to take the Santa Fe or Oregon Trail, the term "Manifest Destiny," and Western United States geography.
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Have students access and use a variety of appropriate sources to gather information about Westward Expansion before the Civil War, including magazines, technology/Internet, encyclopedias, and atlases, among others.
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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.
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*Modification: Ask students to present their reports orally to the class.
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