Westward Expansion for Kids – Activities, Printables, & more!

There is so much more to the wild west than just cowboys, Indians, covered wagons, and dust bowls. This westward expansion for kids is a fun history lesson for kids about American history. This hands-on us history for kids has everything you need to make history come alive for your elementary age kids including westward expansion activities, resources, and westward expansion worksheets. Come join us on our 3 week lesson heading west with Lewis and Clark, pony express, oregon trail, Gold rush, and more! Use this westward expansion 4th grade, 3rd grade, 2nd grade, first grade, and kindergarten age students.

There is so much more to the wild west than just cowboys, Indians, covered wagons, and dust bowls. This westward expansion for kids is a fun history lesson for kids about American history. This hands-on us history for kids has everything you need to make history come alive for your elementary age kids including westward expansion activities, resources, and westward expansion worksheets. Come join us on our 3 week lesson heading west with Lewis and Clark, pony express, oregon trail, Gold rush, and more! Use this westward expansion 4th grade, 3rd grade, 2nd grade, first grade, and kindergarten age students.

Westward Expansion for kids

How many of you thought this period of history was just about cowboys & Indians?  I’m a huge history fan and I myself never wanted to dive deeper because I wasn’t a fan of cowboy movies. LOL!  Boy was I missing out! The westward expansion for kids unit is filled with epic adventures for everyone: from dangerous covered wagon rides to searching for gold, our first post office, railroad, and more!

Westward Expansion Activities

Come joins us we dive into this truly fascinating period of American history for kids – Westward Expansion! These lessons are perfect for kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, and their siblings. Here are the lessons included in this American history study;

Lewis and Clark for Kids

Most kids know about Columbus “discovering”  America in 1492, early settlers in Colonial America, but their history drops off after we gained our independence after the Revolutionary War in 1776.  It’s a shame because we just became a nation and there is a lot of exciting things happening as we form our new nation, and discover the rest of the country!

Westward Expansion for Kids covers 1783 to 1898 (just after Hawaii joins the USA) so make sure you see our Civil War for Kids unit to get that important piece of history that deserves a study all of it’s own.

This week kids will make a salt dough map of the us noting elevation and rivers which were so important to settlers moving west, learn about the Louisiana Purchase (steal of deal that doubled the size of the USA), learn about animal trails (who the settlers encountered), and made our own moccasins to remind us of Sacajawea who helped Luis and Clark on their expedition to the Pacific Ocean.

Plus we completed some westward expansion worksheets, matched animal trails to the North American animals, and did some mapping exercises.

 

Oregon Trail for Kids

This week students learned about the dangerous Oregon Trail and painted it on our dried salt dough map. We made our own model of a covered wagon and learned how hard life was for settlers traveling west. Kids loved learning about life for these wild west Americans by making their own crackers and square dancing. Finally we used a wild west themed activity to practice counting and skip counting before completing our worksheets for the week.

 

Pony Express for Kids , Gold Rush, and the Transcontinental Railroad

This was one of our favorite weeks as my kids were fascinated by the idea of striking it rich when the gold rush hit in 1849 and the subsequent ghost towns you can still find all along the deserted towns in western America.
 
HINT: If you life nearby the area make sure to visit one of the many ghost towns – it is not an experience you will soon forget.

Take a virtual field trip to learn about the pony express, pan for gold, make a railroad project, and finish your westward expansion worksheets to complete the unit.

This Westward Expansion Reader is a great way to work on reading skills while learning about how the US expanded west into the Louisiana Territory and beyond. Add this westward expansion printables to your westward expansion lesson as part of an American history study for preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th graders. Simply print the westward expansion summary for kids to read, color, and learn about US history of the 1800s.  cute wild west worksheets are a fun way to sneak in some math and literacy skills! Use these wild west printables to teach toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and first grade students. The cute cowboy, cactust,horse, covered wagon, boots with spur, cowboy hat, and more on the free printable kindergarten worksheets will make children eager learners! Simply print pdf file with free preschool pages and you are ready to leran with fun themed worksheets. salt dough map for kids

Westward expansion hands-on activities

  • Westward Expansion for Kids Printable Reader to read, color, and learn about America from 1803-1890
  • Free Wild West Worksheets – over 70 pages of math and liteacy skills for kids 2-7 years old with a fun cowboy theme! Perfect to do alongside this history lesson and to keep younger siblings engaged at the same time
  • Oregon Trail Skip Counting Game allows children to practice skip counting with a fun themed activity
  • Dig in to history with this engaging, Wild West History Sensory Bin ideas
  • Geography is Fun with a Salt Dough Map – learn about US geography and features as you mark the path the westward travelers took

Colonial America for Kids American Revolution for Kids  Learn all about the Roaring Twenties with this fun 1920s for Kids Reader. This 20s printables are a great way to work on reading skills while learning about american history for kids. Use this free printable as part of a famous person,  History or 1920s study for preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade students. Simply print pdf file with the roaring twenties worksheet to learn about life in the 1920s. 

 American History for Kids

Dive into American History with these fun, hands-on and engaging homeschool history include not only clever activities to make history fun and memorable, but FREE printable worksheets and games too!
  • Native Americans for Kids – explore various tribes as you create free printable book, make PVC tent, totem poles, Indian fry bread, husk dolls, recreate an archeological dig with arrow heads, and more!
  • Colonial America for Kids takes kids on a journey back to the first settlers in America – eat Gruel, make a Wattle & Daub house, create a tin lantern, write with a quill, make simple Johnny Cakes, make you own marbles, create traditional silhouette art projects, and more.
  • American Revolution for Kids.  In 4 units your students will learn what events lead up to the American Revolution and famous figures will making dragon pistols, roll their own cartridges, working spy cipher, cold feet activity.
  • Westward Expanion for Kids?  History comes alive as they learn about the Oregon trail, pony express, gold rush, transcontinental railroad, and more with printables and activities like making a covered wagon, homemade crackers, how to square dance, pan for gold, and make a railroad project.
  • Civil War for Kids We have recommendations for mapping and visiting famous battle sights nearby, printable civil war board game, make an informative emergent reader, create a flip book or people students should know, and complete some free printable Civil War worksheets.
  • Learn about US States for Kids – state coloring pages, president coloring pages, state report forms, states and capital printables, and so much more!
  • Rosa Parks for Kids Printable Reader to Color and Learn
  • Titanic Study, Glacier or Iceberg Activity, and Continents and Oceans Printables
  • Martin Luther King Jr for Kids Printable Reader to Color and Learn (or Martin Luther King Jr Study)
  • Titanic for Kids Reader to Color and Learn
  • Learn about the Roaring 1920s for Kids – Printable Book to Read, Color, and Learn
  • 1930s for Kids – Printable Book about the Golden age of Hollywood, Great Depression for Kids and more to read, color, and learn
  • Life in the 1940s America for Kids Reader
  • Anne Frank for Kids Printable Reader to read, color, and learn about this Jewish girl who lived behind the wall in Holland during World War 2
  • 1950s for Kids Reader to Color, Learn and read about what life was like in America in 1950
  • Life in the 1960s for Kids Printable book to read, color and learn about life in the 1960s
16 Printable Country Studies for Kids - children will have fun learning about countries around the world with this fun resource perfect for pre k, kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, and grade 6 including Kenya, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Netherlands, Mexico, China, Philippines, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Chile, Colombia, Australia, and Costa Rica.  Make geography come alive by using these free printable passport for kids. Childrne can pretend like they are traveling all around the world as they study and learn about other countries while keeping a record of where they've been. This free printable passport activity is fun for toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students. Inside their passport for kids they can put their picture, personal information, signarure, and informatin about the countries they travel to. Simply print pdf the free printable passport for kids file and you are ready to go around the world! FREE Lego Challenge Cards - free printable STEAM education uses lego or duplo bricks to help students learn about famous buildings and landmarks from around the world. This fun learning activity is great for parents, teachers, school at home and homeschoolers from preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade students.

Geography for Kids

Looking for more resources and free worksheets to teach students about geography for kids? You will love these coloring sheets, printable maps, books, activities and games:

us presidents coloring pagesFREE Printable 50 Us States coloring pages These free U.S. Presidents Worksheets are a great way for children to practice and improve their knowledge of the Presidents of the United States as well as work on their research and handwriting skills. This history for kids activity is perfect for kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade kids learning about American history, preparing for Presidential Elections for kids, or celebrating Presidents Day.  american-symbols-for-kids-read-color-and-learn

United States Lesson for Kids

Help children learn about the great country of the United States with these free printables and resources: