You’ll love these ideas for a hands-on Oregon Trail unit study for your kids. Homeschool history is much more enjoyable with books, art, maps, and more!
Oregon Trail Lessons For Your Homeschool
I remember reading about the Oregon Trail’s Great Migration of 1843 in elementary school. The thought of having all of my family’s possessions in a covered wagon for months while we traveled a dangerous path was astounding to me. Imagining myself as a little pioneer girl with none of our modern luxuries was hard to fathom.
Later on, the computer game Oregon Trail came out at school. I can’t even count the times I died of dysentery and cholera, let alone starved to death! It was simply fascinating to me that people intentionally put themselves into these predicaments. Why?
A mighty tempting offer was three hundred sixty acres per family and 160 acres for unmarried settlers in Oregon. The idea and promise of something better drove most people across the western part of the United States. Yet, there is so much more to the Oregon Trail than the pioneers. There are the effects this migration had on the Native Americans, religion, government, and more!
That’s why it’s an essential part of our nation’s history in westward expansion.
Apples To Oregon: An Oregon Trail Read Aloud
Our favorite way to learn history is through hands-on activities and rich literature in the forms of picture books, read alouds, and chapter books. To start our study on the Oregon Trail, we chose Apples to Oregon Being The (SLIGHTLY) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (AND CHILDREN) Across the Plains!
This was a lovely and silly book that both my children enjoyed.
Yes, even my 14-year-old.
*Don’t be afraid to incorporate read alouds and picture books into your older kids’ studies.*
It helped capture the essence of how a daring little girl named Delicious managed to overcome obstacles that placed her father’s plants in danger during their trip to Oregon.
One such obstacle is the crossing of the Platte River, just as real families did when trekking the Oregon Trail in their covered wagons.
Hands-On Oregon Trail Art and Geography
We followed Delicious and her family as they traversed the Oregon Trail past Chimney Rock, Courthouse Rock, climbed the Rocky Mountains, and traversed many rivers. Nana’s chalk Pastel Oregon Trail Map helped us to see just how far the family traveled. Plus, chalk pastel maps are so much fun!
My son is a huge fan of Nana’s maps!
Nana provides art and geography lessons with the You ARE An Artist Clubhouse Membership. All you need is a simple set of chalk pastels, a pack of construction paper, and Nana’s video art lessons, and you are well on your way to making your homeschool history fun and hands-on!
The You ARE An Artist Chalk Pastel Clubhouse is a favorite in our homeschool because we get access to 700+ video art lessons!
While studying the Oregon Trail, we not only explored Nana’s Oregon Trail Map, but also her Covered Wagon lesson, and the American landmark Multnomah Falls (in Oregon).
Additional Homeschool History Resources
There are loads of additional homeschool history resources you can add to your Oregon Trail lessons. We included my son’s The Oregon Trail handheld video game! It’s almost exactly like the one I played as a little girl and such fun!
Other books we’ve included in our study are:
- If You Were a Kid on the Oregon Trail
- Wagons Ho!
- You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer!
- Choose Your Own Adventure The Oregon Trail
- plus a couple of our history encyclopedias to start
Here are a few other history art lessons we’ve enjoyed with Nana:
- Ancient Egypt Lessons Perfect for Your Homeschool
- 7 American History Art Lessons Your Kids will Love
- Medieval Times Homeschool Art with Chalk Pastels
There are so many excellent chalk pastel lessons, no matter what part of history you are studying. Nana’s got you covered.
- Ancient History – Ancient Video Art Lessons, Old Testament Bible, New Testament Bible
- Middle Ages History – Medieval Video Art Lessons, Knights & Crusaders
- American History – American History Video Art Lessons, American Landmarks
- Modern Era History – Modern History Video Art Lessons, Art in Space Video Art Lessons, Inventors
Dive as deeply as you like and follow as many rabbit trails of learning as your kids want by combing great books and chalk pastels art with your next history lesson!
Erin is a writer, blogger, and homeschooler to two intense kids. Her blog is filled with information to help you explore a child led education while making meaningful connections with your children. Discover favorite read alouds, seasonal books, games, art projects, hands-on activities, and learn to just breathe through the ups and downs of life. She loves nature, farm life, good books, knitting, new pens, and hot coffee. Erin is a contributing writer for Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Her work has also been featured on Simple Homeschool and Book Shark.