Rocky Train Trek

Explore the various modes of transportation used to move west across North America in the 1800s. Create a scene with paint, drawing, and collage.

• 1.

  Research modes of transportation available to people moving into the North American west in the 1800s. Find out about geographic features, weather conditions, indigenous peoples, and items settlers took with them. How did the Homestead Act and the Gold Rush change the course of U.S. and Canadian history? Write an imaginary log about a train journey across the continent using Crayola® Colored Pencils in a notebook. Include maps and other information.

• 2.

  Imagine stunning mountain ranges in the Canadian and U.S. Rockies, and the seemingly endless winter prairies that travelers encountered. Cover your work area with recycled newspaper. With Crayola Washable Kid's Paint and Paint Brushes, paint tall, snowcapped mountains and a dramatic sky on a large sheet of construction paper. Dry.

• 3.

  Tear white construction paper to make a snowy foreground. Attach with a Crayola Washable Glue Stick.

• 4.

  With Crayola Construction Paper Crayons, draw a steam train on the rest of the white paper. Cut it out with Crayola Scissors and glue to the landscape. Add railroad tracks using brown and black crayons.

• 5.

  Draw other landscape elements, such as trees and wildlife. Cut out and glue.

Benefits

• Children explore the history of North America's westward movement and the effect of railroads on indigenous peoples, U.S. society, the environment, and the economy.
• Students plan, map, and document an imaginary train journey across North America during the 1800s.
• Children use a variety of art techniques, including painting, drawing, and collage to make a unique landscape depicting a scene on their westward journey.

Adaptations

• Read historic accounts and fiction about this era. Write and illustrate an imaginary advertisement describing the "exciting west." Produce an historically accurate play about Native American and settlers' experiences.
• Younger children and special needs students can work together in pairs, or teams, or as a class to create a travel log. Write a supply list and entries on chart paper. Teachers and classroom volunteers can transcribe ideas for pre-writers.
• Incorporate map skills. Children trace a route on a U.S. or Canadian map to go along with their travel logs, researching landforms and living things in each region, then incorporating details into daily entries.