5th Grade Social Studies - Westward Expansion Analysis

===== VERSION 1: SCAFFOLDED FOR IEP STUDENTS =====
(For students requiring modified assignments and structured support)

Causes and Effects of Westward Expansion
Name: _________________ Date: _________________

WORD BANK (Use these words in your answers):

• settlers (people moving west)
• land (ground, territory)
• Native Americans (indigenous peoples already living in the West)
• resources (valuable things like gold, farmland)
• opportunity (chance for a better life)
• conflict (disagreement, fighting)
• government (U.S. leaders and laws)

---

PART 1: Understanding the Documents

Read each document summary. Then answer the guided questions.

Document A: A Settler’s Letter (1849)
Summary: A man writes to his family: “We are going to California! They found gold there. We can get rich and buy our own farm. It will be hard, but we will have a better life.”

1. Why is this person going west? (Circle the best answer)

   • a) To visit family
   • b) To find gold and get land
   • c) To go on vacation

2. Complete this sentence:
   This person hopes to have a _____________ life in the West.

---

Document B: Government Map (1850s)
Summary: This map shows the U.S. government dividing western lands into territories. The map labels areas as “available for settlement.”

3. Who made this map? (Circle one)

   • a) Native Americans
   • b) The U.S. government
   • c) Settlers

4. Complete this sentence:
   The government wanted settlers to move _____________ (direction).

---

Document C: Native American Account
Summary: A Native American leader says: “These are our lands. Our people have lived here for many generations. Now strangers come and take our hunting grounds. We must protect our homes.”

5. How does the Native American leader feel? (Circle all that apply)

   • a) Happy
   • b) Worried
   • c) Angry
   • d) Excited

6. Complete this sentence:
   Native Americans were worried because settlers were taking their _____________ and _____________.

---

PART 2: Causes and Effects Chart

Use the documents to complete this chart. The first one is done for you.

CAUSE (Why people moved west)	EFFECT (What happened)
EXAMPLE: People wanted gold and land	Thousands of settlers moved west
The government said land was “available”	_________________________
Settlers took Native American lands	Native Americans lost _____________

---

PART 3: Writing About Westward Expansion

Use the sentence starters to write your answer.

Question: What were TWO causes of westward expansion?

Cause 1:
One reason people moved west was because _________________________________.
(Use a word from the Word Bank: gold, land, opportunity, resources)

Cause 2:
Another reason people moved west was because _________________________________.

---

Question: What was ONE effect of westward expansion on Native Americans?

When settlers moved west, Native Americans _________________________________.
This happened because _________________________________.

---

REFLECTION:
Draw a picture showing either:

• Settlers traveling west, OR
• Native Americans before settlers arrived

Label your picture with at least 3 words from the Word Bank.

---

===== VERSION 2: ON-GRADE LEVEL =====
(For students working at 5th grade expectations)

Causes and Effects of Westward Expansion
Name: _________________ Date: _________________

Instructions: Read the three primary source documents. Then analyze the causes and effects of westward expansion by answering the questions.

---

Document A: Letter from James Marshall to his brother (1849)

“Dear Brother, I write to you from California. Gold has been discovered at Sutter’s Mill! Thousands are coming. The opportunity for wealth and land ownership draws people from all over. The journey was difficult—we crossed mountains and deserts—but the chance to own property and make our fortune made it worthwhile. The government is encouraging settlement, offering land to those willing to farm it.”

Document B: Excerpt from the Homestead Act (1862)

“Any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States… shall be entitled to enter one quarter section of vacant land… for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation.”

Document C: Statement by Satanta, Kiowa Chief (1867)

“I love the land and the buffalo and will not part with it. I want you to understand that the Indians wish to remain on the prairie and follow the buffalo. I have heard that you intend to settle us on a reservation near the mountains. I don’t want to settle there. I love to roam over the wide prairie, and when I do, I feel free and happy, but when we settle down, we grow pale and die.”

---

ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

Part 1: Identifying Causes

1. Based on Documents A and B, identify THREE reasons why Americans moved west in the 1800s.

   • Cause 1: _________________________________
   • Cause 2: _________________________________
   • Cause 3: _________________________________

2. How did the U.S. government encourage westward expansion? Use evidence from Document B.

   ---

   ---

Part 2: Identifying Effects

3. Based on Document C, what was ONE major effect of westward expansion on Native American tribes?

   ---

   ---

4. Explain how westward expansion changed the Native American way of life. Use specific details from Satanta’s statement.

   ---

   ---

   ---

Part 3: Cause and Effect Connections

5. Complete this cause-and-effect chain:

   CAUSE: The U.S. government passed laws like the Homestead Act
   ↓
   EFFECT: _________________________________
   ↓
   EFFECT on Native Americans: _________________________________

6. Why might settlers and Native Americans have had different views about westward expansion? Use evidence from at least two documents.

   ---

   ---

   ---

   ---

---

===== VERSION 3: ADVANCED - COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS =====
(For students ready for higher-order thinking and multi-perspective analysis)

Causes and Effects of Westward Expansion: Comparative Analysis
Name: _________________ Date: _________________

Instructions: Read the three primary source documents. Analyze multiple causes and effects of westward expansion, comparing different perspectives and evaluating long-term consequences.

---

Document A: Letter from James Marshall to his brother (1849)

“Dear Brother, I write to you from California. Gold has been discovered at Sutter’s Mill! Thousands are coming. The opportunity for wealth and land ownership draws people from all over. The journey was difficult—we crossed mountains and deserts—but the chance to own property and make our fortune made it worthwhile. The government is encouraging settlement, offering land to those willing to farm it.”

Document B: Excerpt from the Homestead Act (1862)

“Any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States… shall be entitled to enter one quarter section of vacant land… for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation.”

Document C: Statement by Satanta, Kiowa Chief (1867)

“I love the land and the buffalo and will not part with it. I want you to understand that the Indians wish to remain on the prairie and follow the buffalo. I have heard that you intend to settle us on a reservation near the mountains. I don’t want to settle there. I love to roam over the wide prairie, and when I do, I feel free and happy, but when we settle down, we grow pale and die.”

---

PART 1: Multi-Causal Analysis

1. Identify and categorize THREE different types of causes for westward expansion (economic, political, social). Provide specific evidence from the documents for each.

   Type of Cause	Explanation	Document Evidence
   Economic:
   Political:
   Social:

2. Comparative Analysis: How did the motivations of the U.S. government (Document B) differ from the motivations of individual settlers (Document A)? Why might these motivations have been different?

   ---

   ---

   ---

---

PART 2: Perspective Analysis

3. Contrasting Viewpoints: Create a comparison chart analyzing how settlers and Native Americans viewed the same land.

   What they valued	Settler Perspective (Docs A & B)	Native American Perspective (Doc C)
   View of the land
   How they used it
   What “freedom” meant

4. Critical Thinking: Document B describes western land as “vacant.” Based on Document C, evaluate whether this description was accurate. What does this word choice reveal about government attitudes?

   ---

   ---

   ---

   ---

---

PART 3: Effects Analysis - Short-term vs. Long-term

5. Analyze the effects of westward expansion using this framework:

   Effect Category	Short-term (1840s-1870s)	Long-term (through today)
   Effect on settlers
   Effect on Native Americans
   Effect on U.S. government

6. Cause-Effect Chain Analysis: Create a multi-step cause-and-effect chain showing how ONE cause led to multiple effects. Use this format:

   Initial Cause: _________________________________

   → Immediate Effect: _________________________________

   → Secondary Effect on settlers: _________________________________

   → Secondary Effect on Native Americans: _________________________________

   → Long-term consequence: _________________________________

---

PART 4: Synthesis and Evaluation

7. Comparative Evaluation: From the perspective of 1867, who benefited most from westward expansion and who paid the highest cost? Support your answer with specific evidence from all three documents.

   ---

   ---

   ---

   ---

   ---

8. Historical Empathy Question: Satanta states that when his people “settle down, we grow pale and die.” What does this metaphor reveal about the cultural and physical impact of westward expansion on Native Americans? Compare this to James Marshall’s view that settlement brings opportunity.

   ---

   ---

   ---

   ---

9. Extended Analysis: If you could ask ONE follow-up question to each document author (James Marshall, the Homestead Act’s authors, and Satanta), what would you ask and why? What additional information would help you better understand the causes and effects of westward expansion?

   • Question for James Marshall: _________________________________

     Why this question matters: _________________________________

   • Question for Homestead Act authors: _________________________________

     Why this question matters: _________________________________

   • Question for Satanta: _________________________________

     Why this question matters: _________________________________

---

CHALLENGE EXTENSION:

Research one additional primary source document about westward expansion (from a settler, Native American, government official, or other perspective). Write a paragraph explaining how this new source either confirms or challenges the patterns you identified in Documents A-C.

---

TEACHER NOTES:

Version 1 (Scaffolded for IEP):

• Extensive scaffolding: word bank with definitions, sentence starters, simplified document summaries
• Multiple-choice questions reduce writing demands
• Documents pre-summarized to reduce reading load
• Visual support option (drawing) for alternative expression
• Chunked into small sections with clear headers
• Key vocabulary explicitly taught and reinforced
• Time estimate: 30-35 minutes with support

Version 2 (On-Grade Level):

• Full primary source documents with period-appropriate language
• Mix of short-answer and extended response questions
• Requires independent reading and analysis
• Addresses standard cause-and-effect analysis expectations
• Time estimate: 35-40 minutes

Version 3 (Advanced - Comparative Analysis):

• Same source documents, significantly deeper analysis required
• Comparative analysis across multiple perspectives
• Evaluation and synthesis-level questions (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
• Multi-step reasoning and evidence-based argumentation
• Historical empathy and critical thinking about language/bias
• Extension to additional research
• Time estimate: 45-55 minutes (with extension: 60+ minutes)

Grouping Recommendations:

• Version 1: IEP students, students with reading difficulties, ELL students needing language support, students requiring modified assignments
• Version 2: Grade-level students working independently, most of class
• Version 3: Gifted students, students working above grade level, students who finish quickly and need meaningful challenge

Standards Alignment (All Versions):

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1: Cite textual evidence from primary sources
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2: Determine central ideas in historical texts
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal point of view
• Social Studies Standard: Analyze causes and effects of westward expansion
• All three versions address identical learning objectives with appropriate scaffolding or extension

Implementation Tips:

• Print versions on different colored paper for easy distribution
• Version 1 students may benefit from partner work or teacher check-ins after each section
• Version 3 students can peer-review each other’s comparative analyses
• Consider allowing Version 2 students who finish early to attempt selected Version 3 questions
• All versions can lead to whole-class discussion comparing perspectives