This lesson actually introduces your class to two famous westward migration stories: the Donner Party’s controversial failure and the Mormon’s migration success.
By using the strong story line here the aim is to engage the students with a classic Phillips style ISM – anyone who says that students don’t need to be engaged, and the subject itself is engaging enough has never taught in my classroom!).
The enquiry uses the strong narrative to focus on the conceptual by asking your students to analyse then evaluate the reasons why the Donner Party failed yet the Mormons succeeded.
The end task involves the classic idea of plaque writing. Always a valuable and clever end product.
Download lesson
- Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
- Lesson write-up:Word
- Resource 1: PDF
- Resource 2: PDF
- Worksheet 1: PDF
