An extensive list of resources and game and an evaluation to help explain the decisions that were made by the pioneers.

1. Marife B.
Eva H.
Makoto K.
Lara K.
Annakarina S.
Eric Y.
Unit of Study: The Oregon Trail
Objective: Students will learn what the Oregon
Trail pioneers packed and what they had to get rid of.
For Mr. Haskvitz

2. This presentation was done by Mr.
Haskvitz’s Social Science Classes
Walnut, California
Some Rights Reserved

3. Outline
 Each group will have 4 members who each have a certain task for finding out why and what to bring on the journey?
Members will have to work together and individually to find and retrieve valuable information. Group Work:
 Determine what each member will be doing (Member 1, 2, 3 or 4)
 How many items to bring (limit of 50 items)
Individual Work:
 Members 1 and 3 will be determining what items to bring on their journey. Each doesn’t have to provide a specific reason
why they brought that item for that is member 2 and 4’s duty.
 Research what pioneers needed on their 6 month long journey
 Understand how much of each item was needed
 Create a list of what is being brought and the quantity of each item
 Total cost of all items
 Members 2 and 4 are going to explain why the items members 1 and 3 chose were needed. These members will also be
required to write an essay on why the items chose were necessary.
 Write an essay on why the items chose were needed
 Research what items were important to the settlers
 Include information gathered about size of wagon in essay
 Explain the purpose of each item chose

4. Websites…Need help?? How many pounds of food were needed to be packed?
http://www.lm.liverpool.k12.ny.us/whacked/oregontrail/Jumpingoff.html#Suppliesanchor
(Scroll down to Supplies)
 What happens when they realize they had overpacked?
http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/Jumpingoff.html
 How much did the wagon weigh with all the junk where were some supplies usually located?
http://www.nps.gov/whmi/educate/ortrtg/ortrtg1.htm
(Scroll down, the paragraph starts with "Wagons used on the Oregon Trail...")
 What were some supplies bought at "jumping-off spots" necessary for their journey?
http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/road2oregon/sa10starthere.html
(Third Paragraph)
 What were some more supplies needed for men traveling on the Oregon Trail?
http://encyclopediaindex.com/b/ortrl10.htm
(Scroll down to Chapter IV "JUMPING OFF")
 Where were some supplies usually located in the wagon?
http://www.nps.gov/whmi/educate/ortrtg/ortrtg1.htm
(Scroll down, the paragraph starts with "Wagons used on the Oregon Trail...")
 What kind of supplies were taken on the trip? And why
http://www.oregontrail.net/~thesmiths/oregontrailrecipes.html
(Scroll down to What kind of supplies did the pioneers take)
 What did the pioneers bring and how much did it cost?
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpioneer.html
(Scroll down to Westward Ho! Wagon Train Cookery

5. Websites..cont.
 What was the best way for a family to survive?
http://homeworkhelp.aol.com/default?id=20050714120609990001
(Scroll down to second paragraph)
 What were items taken by almost all wagon parties?
http://www.hasd.org/ges/oregon/Oregon.htm#how
 Which food item weighed the most? Why do you think it weighed ad much as it did?
http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/supply%20list.htm
(Scroll down to the list of foods)
 Why weren’t horses a good idea to take? Which animal was the best choice?
http://homeworkhelp.aol.com/default?id=20050714120609990001
How much money did pioneers have to save for supplies?
http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/outfit.html
 What supplies were necessary for travel?
http://homeworkhelp.aol.com/default?id=20050714120609990001
 What kinds of foods did pioneers take with them? What kind of recipes did they make? How much did food
supplies cost?
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpioneer.html#frontier
 What did pioneer women bring to comfort their families through hardships?
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/pioneer.htm
 How would pioneers bring eggs along in their wagons?
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210182/didyouknow.html

6. Step into the Life of a Real
Pioneer…
Each of these links connect you with diary entries of many pioneers. Read each and get a
better understanding on how the right use of supplies was very important to survive…
YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE SOME NOTESYOU MAY WANT TO TAKE SOME NOTES
 http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=65-0060987510-2
scroll down to: Me and Mama rolled up the dishes in curtains and packed...
 http://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1938/38_1_hull.htm
 http://members.aol.com/DanMRosen/donner/jul46.htm
 http://www.oregonpioneers.com/fire.htm http://
www.oregonpioneers.com/oxen.htm
http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/road2oregon/sa15outfitting.html http://
www.endoftheoregontrail.org/philemonmorriss.html http://
www.oregonpioneers.com/provisions.htm http://
www.oregonpioneers.com/packing.htm
http://www.oregonpioneers.com/packing.htm
http://www.kancoll.org/books/marcy/
 http://lib-operations.sonoma.edu/fin/aaa-0712.html
 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~steelquist/GeoBushnell.html

7. Pioneers Goods: What They Brought
Name__________
Period__________
Date___________
 Pick 5 essential items
from your research,
input how much it cost
in the table at the right.
 HINT: Use notes and information you
read the fill out this table.
Items Cost

8. The Game of Elimination
•Choose category (ex. Food, animal)
•Place in first box
•Choose 10 items and narrow them to three items…
•After you have completed the chart…make a quick write up on why those three items were
important for the trip…
How to make the chart:
1. Start with these supplies
- pen
- ruler
- computer paper
2. The draw the boxes (first box being the category and then last 3 being the
important items)

9. Activities Online
 Packing for the Unknown
Recall the last time you went away on vacation. Write a list of all the things your family needed to bring
with them. Share ideas from the lists with a friend.
Now how do you think you would prepare for a journey in which you are uncertain of the final
destination. This journey could take months—even years—to complete, and the weather conditions,
terrain, and resources are unknown. What would you bring?
Think about how you would cope if you had no refrigerators, no electrical outlets, and no ovens on your
journey. How would you eat? Remind yourself that these are some of the decisions the pioneers had to
make before they embarked on their journeys. Get together with a friend and come up with a list of items
you should take on your travels. After you are finished, compare the your list with the list of items the
pioneers most likely brought on their journey, see To Equip and Expedition from PBS's Lewis and Clark
site. Review some of the items you didn't have on your list.
 Or you can visit this link were you are able to go through the step pioneers went through while pacing for
their once in a life time journey. To begin click here the following link http://www.sd129.org/goodwin/plan-
3.htm.
 If you want to learn more on the Oregon Trail you can visit
http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/ash/oregontrail/orgntrl.html and further your study on the last Great Migration
across America.

10. You Should KNOWKNOW This…
Is Important... Pioneers “Must Haves”
 1. Water was needed to water the livestock, washing their faces, cleaning for
Sunday, and drinking for the family or men traveling
 2. Ammunition was needed for protection on the Oregon Trail since there were
many dangerous animals and also hunt for food if there was no town nearby.
 3. Food was needed to feed the family or men traveling on the Trail
 4. Clothes were needed for them to conceal themselves on the trail.
 5. A toolbox was needed if their wagon ever broke down or any of their
belongings ever needed repair.
 6. A water basin was needed to hold the water while traveling.
 7. Furniture was needed for their new home when they get there so they would
not have to buy new ones.
 8. Kitchenware like pots and pans and plates were needed to cook and eat off
of.
 9. Feed for the livestock was needed so that the horses, mules, or oxen could
have energy to bring them to their destination.
 10.Salt was needed to preserve their food if they ever had any excess of it.

11. Unit of Study: What They Took
Test
 Answer questions 1-5 by selecting the best choice of the four
1. About how many pounds of supplies were needed for the 2000 mile journey?
 100-300lbs
 400-600lbs
 700-900 lbs
 more than1000lbs
2. How much money would suffice for the entire trip?
 $100-$200
 $200-$300
 $500-$1000
 $1500+
3. Which item was least expensive?
 Bacon
 Wagon
 Colt Revolver
 Dagger
4. If a pioneer were to bring oxen, how many would they usually take?
 1-2
 4-6
 7-10
 9-12
5. The standard size for a wagon on the journey westward was…
 3’ by15’
 4’ by 10’
 5’ by 12’
 6’ by 14’
 Answer questions 5-10 in 1-3 sentences
6. With little space in the wagon and the important demand for water, how was water taken along on the trip?
7. Which two kinds of animals were needed as the “beasts of burden” in order to carry a wagon across the country? Explain.
8. How did the pioneers use guns along the way to the West?
9. Because space in the wagons was limited, what would be the three most important items to be brought along the trip?
Explain.
10. Having extra axles and wheels was very important while traveling westward. Why do you think that this is so? Explain.

12. Answer Sheets
 See word documents on this following CD
entitled UnitofStudy Answer Sheets.

13. Grading Rubric
Activity 5/
excellent
4/
good
3/
average
2/
below
average
1/
Lack of
detail
1. List of costs
2. List of what to bring
3. Essay /10 X X X X X
4. Pioneer Worksheet
5. Activities Online (graded on effort)
6. Test /10 X X X X X
Total: /50