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Our Digital Curriculum Library

Learn in All 7 Learning Styles

Welcome to the Westward Expansion Adventure Box

Wild West Expansion

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Ultimate Guide to Westward Expansion

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Extra Crafts

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Heroes and Villains Series

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Louisiana Purchase and Expeditions

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LIving Books

Week #1: Setting the Stage for Westward Expansion

Topics: Louisiana Purchase, Pioneer Life, Missouri Compromise, John Quincy Adams

For K–5th Grade:
“The Louisiana Purchase” by Dennis B. Fradin – An illustrated introduction to the land deal that doubled the U.S.
“Going West” by Jean Van Leeuwen – A beautifully illustrated story of a pioneer family’s journey.
For 6th–8th Grade:
“Abe Lincoln Grows Up” by Carl Sandburg – While not strictly about expansion, it offers insight into frontier life and values.
“Westward Expansion: An Interactive History Adventure” by Allison Lassieur – Choose-your-own-adventure style learning.
For 9th–12th Grade:
“Undaunted Courage” by Stephen Ambrose – A riveting biography of Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery.
“Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates” by Brian Kilmeade – Includes a powerful context on Jefferson and early expansionism.
 

The Earliest Pioneers

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The Missouri Compromise of 1820

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President John Quincy Adams

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President Andrew Jackson and
the Indian Removal Act

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LIving Books

Week #2: Second Phase of Manifest Destiny

Topics: Indian Removal Act, Texas Independence, Oregon Trail, Manifest Destiny

For K–5th Grade:
“The Trail of Tears” by Joseph Bruchac – Told from the Cherokee perspective; accessible and moving.
“A Picture Book of Davy Crockett” by David A. Adler – A look into the legendary frontiersman.
For 6th–8th Grade:
“Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears” by Cornelia Cornelissen – An emotional and accessible novel.
“Bound for Oregon” by Jean Van Leeuwen – A historical fiction novel based on a real family’s westward journey.

For 9th–12th Grade:
“A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory” by Randy Roberts – A deeper look at the symbolism and reality of the Alamo.
“The Legacy of Conquest” by Patricia Nelson Limerick – Reframes the myth of the West in modern scholarship.

Texas Independence & Annexation

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The Presidents 
and the Westward Expansion

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The Oregon Country and Oregon Trail

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President James Polk and
The Manifest destiny

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The Mexican-American War

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LIving Books

Week #3: The Paths Westward

Topics: Mexican-American War, Gold Rush, Religious Pioneers

For K–5th Grade:
“The Josefina Story Quilt” by Eleanor Coerr – A young girl travels west with her beloved pet.
“The Great Pioneer Projects You Can Build Yourself” by Rachel Dickinson – Hands-on projects inspired by pioneer history.

For 6th–8th Grade:
“The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung” by Laurence Yep – A Chinese-American perspective during the Gold Rush.
“Patty Reed’s Doll” by Rachel Laurgaard – An account of the Donner Party through a child’s eyes.
For 9th–12th Grade:
“So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl” (Dear America Series) – Not directly Westward, but excellent for exploring 19th-century movement and opportunity.
“Between Here and Zion: The 1861 Mormon Trail Diary of Asenath Wilcox. by Marie Woodward – Real accounts of the Mormon Pioneers traveling to Utah through a young woman’s journal.

The California Trail and Gold Rush

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The Mormon Pioneers

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The PResidents Who Continued
The Expansion Westward

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The Edge of the Frontier

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Week #4: The Aftermath and Other Important Events

Topics: Settling the Frontier, Deep West Cities, Homestead Act, Native American Conflicts

For K–5th Grade:
“Prairie School” by Avi – A simple chapter book showing early education on the frontier.
“Wagon Wheels” by Barbara Brenner – Based on a true story of a family heading west.
“Who Was Sitting Bull?” by Stephanie Spinner – A child-friendly biography of a major Native American figure.

For 6th–8th Grade:
“Sing Down the Moon” by Scott O'Dell – A powerful story of Navajo resistance and resilience.
“The Homestead Act of 1862” by Jason Porterfield – A student-friendly breakdown of the law that changed America’s land ownership.
“Caddie Woodlawn” by Carol Ryrie Brink – Based on real-life events of a frontier girl with spirit.

For 9th–12th Grade:
“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown – A powerful and important account from the Native perspective.
“The Earth Shall Weep” by James Wilson – A sweeping history of Native Americans post-contact.
“Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad” by Stephen Ambrose – Ties into the transformation of the West after expansion.

The Deep West and Southern Border

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The Settling of california and nevada

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The Rest of the Louisiana Purchase

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The Relations with the Native Nations

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