Unit Learning Goals
1. Students will understand the causes leading up to Westward Expansion
2. Students will learn about significant people that shaped the west.
3. Students will learn the causes and effects of the Mexican War.
4. Students will learn how the United States acquired areas of land and the dates each were acquired.
5. Students will comprehend the impact Westward Expansion had on different aspects of the United States, both then and now.

Instructional Overview
 Due to the nature of history, much of the content is knowledge based and needs to be given to the students. I have found that direct instruction is best suited to do this. Most of the lessons that I have developed are taught in a lecture format.  I have incorporated other learning styles into some of my lessons, and each lesson will attempt to be more of a class discussion than a straight lecture. The students will be asked questions to keep them involved in the discussion and they should be actively taking notes. Indirect instruction is incorporated into a couple of lessons, which are discovery lessons. Because history is based on knowledge level facts, there does not seem to be much room, or time, for the students to discover how or why events happened. I do believe that there are lessons, and even entire units, in a history class that can be written more indirectly, but I did not chose such a topic.
 I have written a few indirect lessons, which will teach my students to use the knowledge based specifics that they have learned and make generalizations and predictions.  One activity has the students using previously learned geography skills to determine where the most heavily  traveled trails west ran. They will work in groups to draw several trails onto a topographical map. The students will need to make generalizations about how the pioneers would travel through and around the Rocky Mountains and other geographic features. Towards the end of the unit, I will lead a class discussion on the effects that Westward Expansion had on different aspects of the United States. The students will need to apply the knowledge they have gained throughout the unit and make generalizations and predictions of future events. By having the students discover this type of information for themselves, they will be prepared to do so in other situations. Students need to learn to think things through for themselves. By teaching at least a few lessons indirectly, I feel that I am better preparing my students to become critical thinkers.
 I have chosen to write this unit so the lessons will be taught both in chronological order as well as by land area. Many of the events that are considered a part of Westward Expansion happened simultaneously, that is why the lessons cannot be taught by dates alone. By teaching the content in this way, the students should be able to see how these events contributed to nationalism and sectionalism in the United States and eventually to the Civil War. In addition, I feel that the way I developed the lessons in this unit will move the students from acquiring knowledge based material, to being able to process the material on the more complex levels of analysis and synthesis.
 By teaching this unit in this particular way, I feel that I am meeting my students needs. I have predominately used direct instruction in the form of lectures, but I believe that I have incorporated enough indirect instruction, as well as hands-on activities, to keep my students motivated and attentive.
 

Assessment Techniques
 I have incorporated a variety of assessment tools into this unit to accommodate each student and lesson plan. Much of the assessment will be informal. Personal communication will be an integral tool, due to the fact that much of the unit will be taught in a lecture format. The students will be asked questions frequently throughout each lecture to make sure that they understand the material that is being presented. Asking questions randomly will also ensure that the students are being attentive, for the most part. I will also circulate through the classroom during student activities, such as coloring and labeling the current lesson’s land acquisition, to check on progress and answer any questions that may arise. Being observant should give me a good idea to whether or not my students understand the material on a daily basis.
For the topographical maps that were completed by the group, I will stop by each group to evaluate whether or not they are close to where the actual trails ran. Even though they will be handed in, the maps will not be formally assessed. I would just scan them over to see if the students’ geography skills were up to par, or if they need a refresher lesson.
I have incorporated several class discussions into the lessons. Even though class participation is difficult to assess, I feel that it is an important aspect to an active history class, and I will expect my students to participate. I would informally grade the students on whether or not they orally contributed to the discussion or not, as well as if they came to class prepared. Due to the length of time in a class period, I find it of the utmost importance for all of my students to come to class prepared. I would keep a checklist in my grade book for this, making check marks next to those who came to class prepared and those who participated in the discussions.
In terms of formal assessment, I have developed several tools to use for this particular unit. Daily journal questions will also be used to check student comprehension. The journal questions will be in the form of a review question on the material from the previous day. These will be collected and graded, using a 2 point rubric scale. I feel that it is important for the students to complete the journals, but because they are being used primarily for review, I do not see a need to score them very formally, but points toward their grade will be given. The journals will be given 2 points for a good answer, 1 point for being done and handed in, and 0 points for not being completed. The “Important People” biographies will be graded in a similar fashion. There are 10 people on the list and each are worth 2 points each for a total of 20 points. I have not developed a formal rubric for this assignment, but due to the number of points for each person, I did not think one was necessary. The students are asked to write 2 to 5 sentences about each of the people listed. If there are at least 2 sentences and the information is correct, the student will earn 2 points for that individual. A quiz on the important people will be given at the end of the first week and a comprehensive unit test will be given at the end of the unit. These tests will allow the teacher to formally assess the students’ knowledge and retention.
 An essay will be assigned for homework in the second week asking the students to discuss aspects of life in the United States that were effected by Westward Expansion. I have developed a primary trait scale for this essay and included it on the handout with the essay question that will be given to the students. I feel that it is important for the students to know exactly what is expected from them, especially for this type of assignment. Many 8th graders have never written an essay before and by giving them the scale that they will be evaluated with, they will know what an excellent paper should look like.
I chose to develop a primary trait scale for the essay assignment because there are many different aspects to an essay. A student may have wonderful ideas and be able to write very well, but if his mechanics are bad, it is hard to give one grade. This way, students will be assessed on three different aspects of their essay and when the points for each section are totaled, they will have one grade. In developing this scale, I kept the grade level in mind and made the scale simple. I felt that the three most important aspect of this essay were the format, the discussion, and the mechanics of the essay.
The assessments gathered informally will be primarily used to evaluate the students’ day to day comprehension. The grades derived from the more formal assessments will be weighed appropriately and added together to come up with a final unit grade.