Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

Lesson Idea Name: Westward Expansion

Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level(s): Fourth

Content Standard Addressed: SS4H3 Explain westward expansion in America.

b. Describe the impact of westward expansion on American Indians; include the Trail of Tears, Battle of Little
Bighorn and the forced relocation of American Indians to reservations.

Technology Standard Addressed: 3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning;

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Selected Technology Tool: Timeline

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-

interactives/timeline-30007.html

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Engagement: Students will collaborate with peers during the lesson to brainstorm what “Westward
Expansion” means. They will also be working online to create their own timeline of events from the topic
given.
Representation: Students will be given choice on how they wish to create their PowerPoint. They can use the
online tool or handwrite their information. The sample timeline the teacher will use demonstrates and
provides visuals as to what is expected from the students.
Action and Expression: The teacher will review the timelines students make with each student individually to
provide feedback. For students, they will have the choice of how they will research the information necessary
for the timeline activity.

Lesson idea implementation:

To begin this lesson, the teacher will review the concepts of the Louisiana Purchase with the student. they will
ask “Who can briefly explain the Louisiana purchase?”. Call on two students to provide the brief overview.
Next, the teacher will say “Today we are covering Westward expansion. Based on the title, who can guess
what ‘Westward Expansion’ means?”. Call on two students to share answers with the class. After, the teacher
will share and demonstrate with the students the Timeline feature from readwritethink.org. The teacher
should explain that a timeline is used to show the most important details from a given event. The teacher
should model to the student how to create new events, place them on the line, and what sources to use to
find the information. After, the teacher will share a timeline they made using important events from
Westward expansion to provide an example for the student to follow.

Spring 2018_SJB
 Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

Then, the student will be allowed to complete their own timelines using the website shown. They should
include at least ten events, each with a description and picture. Students who cannot use the online source
can handwrite their timeline while still using the computer for research. This serves their formative
assessment for the lesson. They will be given one hour of individual work time to complete their timelines. At
the end of this time, the teacher should instruct the student to save the timeline as a PDF file and submit it to
the online drop box. The teacher should go through each student’s timeline and provide individual feedback
about their strength and weaknesses in their timelines.

Reflective Practice:

This activity can impact student learning because it provides a tool students can use for a variety of topics.
Timeline can not only be used to chart events, but it can be used to organize ideas in sequential order. To
extend this lesson, the students can make timelines for each unit learned. This can create an on-going all-
inclusive list of events learned in social studies throughout the school year. Technology that can be used to
further enhance this activity can online games where students match the event to the description.

Spring 2018_SJB