The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) in association with Boston Productions is producing a 1-hour broadcast television program, "In Pursuit of a Dream," and series of short videos to be shown in schools throughout the country about what it was like to be an emigrant traveling West on a wagon train.

Partners & Links

OCTA is pleased to have affiliations and partnerships with a variety of educational and informational online resources.

Elementary Students

Reading List

Lesson Plans

America's Westward Movement
Designed for students in grades 3-4, this 3-week interdisciplinary unit covers Lewis and Clark, Mountain Men, and the Oregon Trail.

Middle & High School Students

WebQuests

These WebQuests were designed by the middle school students of Alan Haskvitz. They are presented in PowerPoint format and can be used by students of a variety of age levels. They are made for students, by students.

Wagons
Food

Reading List

Coming soon ...

Activity Books

America’s westward march has been captured in OCTA’s four educational activity books and its trails map. The books are appropriate for use at the middle school and high school, and parts may be adapted for use in the lower levels. They focus on the Oregon-California Trail, the Mormon Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail and the Pony Express Trail. They are designed to provide basic information and useful exercises to test the understanding and comprehension of the students.

Reading, ‘Riting and Riding Along the Oregon-California Trail

This 64 page activity book is focused around the experiences of early emigrants and is written for middle school students and their teachers. Activities include maps and map work, word searches, identification, making charts and graphs, crossword puzzles, classifications and reading comprehension. Answer section at back of book.

Finding the Right Place, the Story of the Mormon Trail

This book is concerned with many of the experiences of the Mormon travelers whose main routes was from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska area, and then to Salt Lake City, Utah. Those experiences are based on the use of primary source materials. Activities include map work, charts and graphs, classifications, identification and word search.

Presentations

The following English and Spanish PowerPoint presentations were designed for elementary students, and would be most appropriate for grades 3-5.

Following Lewis and Clark's Track, the Story of the Corp of Discovery

This illustrated book includes maps, word searches, charts, graphs and puzzles. Excerpts from the L & C journals provide insight into one of the most important events in the history of the United States.

Here Comes the Pony, the Story of the Pony Express

Published in conjunction with the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. Fun-filled activity book suitable for children of all ages, but especially geared toward 4th graders and up. It contains a teacher's guide at the end of the book.

Other Resources

Historic Trails of the Western United States

OCTA's map measures 26" x 36". Full color map, both sides, on high-quality 100# matte coated text stock paper and is ideal for framing. The map also features beautiful renderings of the trail experience, details about major historic trails and wonderful quotes from emigrant diaries.

The Road to Oregon

Written by Dr. Jim Tompkins, a prominent Oregon City historian and the descendant of Oregon Trail emigrants, The Road to Oregon is a good primer on the history of the Oregon Trail. The articles are suitable for grades 6 and up, though younger students may benefit from them if they are strong readers.