Unit 3 Week 5

Weekly Concept Value the Past Essential Question How is each event in history unique?

TIME FOR KIDS History Lives Christopher Columbus sailed to America in 1492. Today, people reenact his historic voyage. Reliving past events helps us remember them and understand what happened. History is made up of many unique events. Reliving history helps us appreciate what people went through to get to new places. Talk About It Think about a time in history when people moved from one place to another. Talk with a friend about what makes the event unique.

Vocabulary Use the picture and the sentence to talk with a partner about each word.

Your Turn Pick three words. Then write three questions for your partner to answer.

Pioneers crossed America in covered wagons like these. Essential Question How is each event in history unique? Read to see how the pioneers found their way to Oregon.

The Long Roadto Oregon In the spring of 1843, more than 800 pioneers began a journey from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon. They had 120 wagons and 5, 000 cattle. This was one of the first wagon trains to travel west on the Oregon Trail. Land of Promise Life was very hard in Missouri in the 1800s. Bad weather caused crops to die. Businesses closed. As a result, many people could not find jobs. Americans wanted a more enjoyable life. They wanted to live in a place where the soil was richer and the weather was more agreeable and pleasant. The United States government was giving away free land to pioneers. So, thousands of people traveled west to Oregon, a territory in the northwest part of the country.