Social Studies Lesson Plan Covered Wagon

Lesson Title/ Subject:
Level: Grade 2
Covered Wagon Lesson
Grade
Standards:
SS.5.A.GR 1- Read maps
SS.5.D. GR 2-Describe how transportation and communication systems have
facilitated the movement of people, products, and ideas.
SS. 5.E. GR 2- Describe the different types of communication and
transportation and identify their advantages and disadvantages.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided
sources to answer a question.
CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.A.1
Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as
rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
Understand
Students will understand and appreciate the use of covered wagons in

Laura Ingalls Wilders life.
Students will understand how difficult it was to travel in a covered
wagon compared to the cars we drive today.
Students will understand the importance of packing light when
traveling in a covered wagon.
Know
SW know the parts of a covered
wagon.
SW will know the size of a
covered wagon.
SW know how long it took to
travel in a covered wagon
compared to a car.
Materials:
Call sticks
Be able to do
Students will be able to make

decisions on what to pack or
leave behind in their covered
wagon.
Students will be able to
compare/contrast covered
wagons to cars using a graph.
Anchor chart paper

Markers
YouTube video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fJFUYKIVKA
Paper
Pencils
The book, Going West by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Measuring tape
Side walk chalk
Picture of a covered wagon( one for each student)
Graphs for comparing/contrasting cars and covered
wagons( one for each student)
Smart board
Procedures:
Schema activation:
Teacher will ask the students (using call sticks) to list the different
modes of transportation they have used to travel. (Car, bus, bicycle,
airplane, etc.)
The teacher will write their answers on an anchor chart.
The teacher will say, What mode of transportation did Laura Ingalls
use? Think hard!!
Teacher will say, The Ingalls family used a covered wagon to travel.
Do you think it took longer to get places in a covered wagon then it
would in a car?
Students will discuss this question with their shoulder partner.
The teacher will play a short video describing the use of covered
wagons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fJFUYKIVKA
The students will pair up in groups of 3(teacher will pair up children
according to their birthdays) to write down 3 facts they learned about
covered wagons.
Next Steps:
Teacher will read aloud the book, Going West by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The teacher will take the students outside to the sidewalk.
The students will use a long measuring tape to determine the size of a
covered wagon. They will draw the shape and actual size of a covered
wagon using sidewalk chalk.( 4 feet wide; 10 feet long)
The teacher will draw the parts of the wagon and label them for the
students to understand.
The students will take turns jumping on a part of the wagon and
explaining to the rest of the class what that part is.
The students will see if everyone is able to fit in the covered wagon.
Teacher will say, What kind of items do you think the Ingalls packed in
their wagon? They lived in their wagon for a long timewhat items do
you need to survive?
Every student will take a piece of side walk chalk and draw the
materials that they think the Ingalls family packed in their covered
wagon.( they will draw inside of the chalk covered wagon)
Once the wagon fills up, the teacher will say, It looks like we have
packed too much! The Ingalls had to make difficult decisions to decide
what was necessary to pack and what was not. Lets examine our
wagon and cross out several items that arent necessary.
Students will cross out the items that they could survive without.
Students will go back inside and individually write a list of items that
they would pack if they were traveling in a covered wagon.
Students will come to the gathering place(the carpet).
The teacher will show children a map of the United States and explain
that it took the pioneers a long time to travel. Teacher will explain that
the pioneers were able to travel 8-20 miles a day depending on the
weather and road conditions, whereas we can travel hundreds of miles
in a day using a car.
The teacher will draw a line on the smartboard (the US map will be
pulled up) showing the distance that the covered wagon could travel in
a day compared to a car. This is a great way to for visual learners to
learn and understand.
Closure:
Students will fill out individual graphs comparing cars and covered
wagons. They will write down their similarities and differences.
The class will come together as a group and share some of the
similarities and differences they wrote down.
Evaluation:
Students will be given a picture of a wagon and they will be required to

label the parts of the wagon.
Teacher will assess the childrens understanding of covered wagons by
observing their group conversations and by assessing the students
written work.
Self-Evaluation:
I feel like this lesson is excellent for 2nd graders. This lesson is intended to
offer learning through a variety of ways (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic.) As
a 2nd grader, my favorite thing was learning in nature. I wanted to
incorporate nature and the outdoors somewhere in my lesson, so that is why
I decided to use side walk chalk to make a covered wagon. Learning is more
fun if you are able to move around outside! By the end of this lesson, the
students should understand the difficulty the pioneers faced as they traveled
west in a covered wagon.

Social Studies Lesson Plan Covered Wagon

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Social Studies Lesson Plan Covered Wagon

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Lesson Title/ Subject:

Covered Wagon Lesson

Students will understand and appreciate the use of covered wagons in

Students will be able to make

Anchor chart paper

Students will be given a picture of a wagon and they will be required to

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