Mrs. Stuckey’s Social Studies class at Pineville Junior High studied the motivations of families and communities regarding the Westward Expansion and why they wanted to pursue better opportunities.
During class time, students discovered one specific group of pioneers who ventured from Illinois to California, the Donner Family. The students were given the task to investigate what happened to the Donners. Students took turns traveling to different “investigation rooms” and analyzing primary documents that included journal entries and newspaper articles. These documents helped the students create detective reports that detailed the reasons for what happened to the Donner Family and who is to blame for their mysterious end.
While awaiting their turn in the various “investigation rooms,” students virtually traveled the Oregon Trail. Once students completed their trip, by either making it to Oregon or losing their entire party, they wrote a brief documentary about their trip.