American History: Oregon Trail Unit Study

A homeschool unit study is a great way to incorporate a variety of activities into your study of American history. Check out these creative resources for learning about the Oregon Trail and westward expansion, then try creating a unit study for your own homeschool!

This westward expansion unit study from Our Journey Westward offers some excellent suggestions for living history reading, hands-on activities, ideas for structuring your unit study, and even a recipe for homemade crackers to help round out your studies.  

The Crafty Classroom shares some fun pioneer-themed crafts, including a yarn doll, quill pen craft, pioneer quilt, and more. The yarn dolls and quilting crafts would be excellent activities to occupy young hands during some read-aloud time. 

This map shows the various routes the pioneers would have taken westward, including the Oregon Trail, the Whitman Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail. A map is an invaluable visual aid in a homeschool unit study!

This blog post follows the Oregon Trail through the landmarks the pioneers would have looked for and passed along their journey. 

What did kids do on the Oregon Trail? This FAQ answers a variety of questions about daily life on the Oregon Trail, what children might have done for fun and the chores they’d have been responsible for, and even shares some excerpts from the diaries of pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail as children.