Westward Expansion Bundle | 4 Video Lessons & Activities

This bundle teaches the story of Westward Expansion through engaging videos with full lesson plans. All four lessons go with videos like this one- Manifest Destiny & The Mexican-American War!

In the first lesson, students learn about the Trail of Tears and how the hunger for land led to Indian tribes like the Cherokee being pushed off their ancestral lands. It covers President Jackson, the Indian Removal Act, and the tragedy of the trail itself. Lesson two is on the Battle of the Alamo and Texas Revolution. It teaches how American immigration to Texas and the tyrannical policies of Santa Anna as well as the desire to keep slaves led the revolution and the amazing stand-off at the Alamo. Then they learn about how the Mexican-American War fulfilled America's Manifest Destiny under President Polk's expansionist policies. Lastly, they learn about the amazing story of the Gold Rush and how it changed the nation and the 49ers who migrated there! State standards and major themes in US history are covered in throughout the unit.

As students watch the video they complete an interactive notesheet with fill-in-the-blanks, critical thinking questions, a warm-up, a thinking map, and a summary at the end to answer the exploration question. Then, each lesson has an optional extension lesson where they read a primary source, analyze maps and images, create a timeline, and design and write a postcard! The lessons have scaffolds to help diverse learners and build critical thinking skills! And there are answer keys for everything. 

There is also a unit test included with the bundle. It is mostly multiple choice with some fill-in-the-blanks. The test is based on the notesheets so they act like perfect study guides for the test.

I am sure you and your students will enjoy this bundle and it will save you a ton of time, energy, and stress on planning, lecturing, and prepping! Stop lecturing and start exploring history with your students! 

Links to all the videos:

1) The Trail of Tears
2) The Alamo and the Texas Revolution
3) Manifest Destiny and the Mexican American War
4) The Gold Rush and the Forty-Niners