Lessons By Chapter
Chapter One:
- Find Springfield, Illinois on the map.
- Trace how you would travel out west to California. How long would it take by car? How long would it take by making 20 miles a day?
- Why were the Reeds planning to move? What is the difference between a territory and a state?
- Why wasn’t California a state? Who lived in the California territory?
Chapter Two:
- What would you pack to take to a new home?
- Looking at the supplies they took, would that be enough for you?
- How big do you suppose a wagon is? What would your wagon hold?
- How did they pack their food? Where would they get fresh vegetables, fruits, meats and milk?
Chapter Three
- What was early life like on the trail?
- What foods did they collect and eat? Could you eat those foods?
- What happened when they saw Indians?
- What was Fort Laramie like?
Chapter Four:
- What difficulties were there on the trail?
- Was time an important factor in their travels?
- Would you have done anything different if you had been traveling on the trail?
Chapter Five:
- Who was Lansford Hasting and what was his Doctrine?
- Was the idea of a shortcut a good one? Why or why not?
- What is the Continental Divide?
- What was Fort Bridger like?
- What types of countryside and weather did the Donner Party encounter. Were they prepared?
- How difficult did the trail become?
- What was the worst part of the trail? What would have been most difficult for you?
- How did they survive once they were snowed in? Would you have tried to snow shoe out or stayed in the make shift cabin?
- Were you surprised by who survived and who did not?
- What lessons of life have you learned?