Overland Trails
Activity #3: Starting on the Trails in Johnson County
Materials
- Overland Trails: Focus on Johnson County online exhibit – www.jocomuseum.org
- Frontier Trails in Johnson County Map
- Journal
Curriculum Objectives
4th grade - Kansas History Standard, Benchmark 1, Indicator 5: The student compares and contrasts the purposes of the Santa Fe and Oregon-California Trail (e.g. commercial vs. migration).
4th grade - Kansas History Standard, Benchmark 1, Indicator 6: The student describes life on the Santa Fe and Oregon-California Trails (e.g. interactions between different cultural groups, hardships such as lack of water, mountains and rivers to cross, weather, the need for medical care, size of wagon)
4th and 5th grade – Kansas Writing Standard 1, Benchmark 1 – The student writes narrative text using the writing process. The student writes narrative text using the writing process.
4th grade and 5th grade - Kansas Reading Standard 1, Benchmark 4, Indicator 2: The student understands the purpose of text features (e.g. graphs, charts, maps)
4th grade – National Standards for History, Standard 5A: The student is able to draw upon data in historical maps, historical narratives, diaries, and other fiction or nonfiction accounts in order to chart various historical movements (westward, northward, and eastward) in the United States. (Source: National Center for History in the Schools)
Instructions:
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Most travelers left their “jumping off” points in Westport or Independence near the end of April. The first leg of their journeys took them through Johnson County. Have students follow the trails through Johnson County on their Frontier Trails in Johnson County maps online or on a print out, or by viewing the Overland Trail: Focus on Johnson County exhibit at www.jocomuseum.org. Both the Oregon-California Trail and the Santa Fe Trail passed through Johnson County.
Use the Trails in Johnson County document in this section to discuss Johnson County and the trails with students. Talk about each numbered site as you trace the trails through Johnson County. Two sites are not numbered on the map, but their locations are given so you can find them.
- Have students access the images of sites on the trail:
- Shawnee Methodist Mission
- Sapling Grove
- Boone’s Fork
- Mahaffie Farmstead
- Captain’s Creek
- Elm Grove
- Lone Elm
- Campground Flat Rock Creek
- Baptist Mission
- Trails Divide
- Indian Agency
- Quaker Mission
Or Have the students access the Overland Trails: Focus on Johnson County exhibit or show it to the class on and LCD projector
- Have students make an entry into their journal. Have them describe the trip from their “jumping off” point to their first night’s stay at the Lone Elm Campground. Encourage them to be as specific as possible. See A Day on the Trail in the Background Information for Teachers for more on daily trail life.
