Day 6:
Today we will be learning about Fort Bridger and the Indian Tribes that most pioneers ran into along the Oregon Trail. Once again they will have two scenarios that they must chose from before they can continue on the trail.
Questions To Talk About: Ask your child what two scenarios they had to chose from. Discuss the positive and negative outcomes of each scenario. Talk to them about what scenario they chose and why they think it was the best choice.
Day 7:
Students will be making another journal entry for today. This entry will include what they have experienced along the trail so far. I would like them to include the two scenarios that their wagon train decided on earlier on the trail and how the scenarios affected them.
Questions To Talk About: Has the trip met their expectations so far, why or why not? Does your child think that their wagon train will make it to Oregon, why or why not?
Day 8:
Today we will be using the Google Earth application that is on all of the school computers. This tool is very useful in making maps and it is a fun way for the students to learn. Their maps should include these places along the Oregon Trail: Independence, Missouri (start of the trail), Fort Kearny, Fort Laramie, Fort Bridger, Fort Hall, Fort Boise, Whitman's Mission, Oregon City, Oregon (end of the trail). Once they have completed their map each student will e-mail me the file since it is difficult to get it onto their blog.
Questions To Talk About: Have your child tell you the importance of each of the places that are included on their map. You can ask your child to show you their map by signing into their e-mail and accessing the map in their sent mail folder.
Day 9:
Now each wagon train has made it to Fort Boise in Idaho. They only only have 400 miles left until they reach the end of the trail. Today we will learn about the fear that the pioneers had of passing through the state of Idaho. If they didn't reach Idaho in time, or if they didn't make it further west in time, they risked being stuck in the snow. Many of the pioneers did not bring proper supplies to hold them over in the snow conditions, so many died. Students will be asked to make another journal entry focusing on the cold weather that is approaching their wagon trail.
Questions To Talk About: Discuss with your child the fast approaching cold weather and how it may interfere with their travels. Ask them what they will you do if it starts snowing before they make it out of Idaho. Talk about the supplies that they brought that will help them survive in the frigid weather. Ask them if they feel prepared or if they are you scared for the road ahead.
Day 10:
It is Friday so your students will be able to pick one project from the list that they want to complete. They cannot do the same project twice but they should not have a problem finding a project from the list that interests them.
Questions To Talk About: Ask them what project they decided to do this week and how they liked it. Discuss how this project was different or the same from the one that they did last week.