Ten reason cards sit above a two-column chart on page 1 of this 3-page 5th grade social studies sheet. Students write each card, from crowded cities and debts to cheap or free land and gold in California, under Push or Pull. Page 2 is a diary entry frame dated May 15, 1850, where students write why their family is leaving, what they hope to find and one danger on the trail. Page 3 gives the answer key.
“Sort reasons for moving west into push factors and pull factors.”
Page 1 has ten cards, five that push people out of the East and five that pull them west.
“Write from the point of view of a pioneer family using details from the time.”
Page 2 asks for the family's reason for leaving, their hopes and one danger on the trail.
A short definition of push and pull factors, ten cards in two rows and a chart headed Reasons to Leave the East and Reasons to Go West with eight lines in each column.
A diary entry that starts Dear Diary with three sentence starters. Students finish why the family left, what they hope to find in the West and one big danger on the trail.
Both columns filled in with five cards each, then a sample diary entry that mentions poor soil, debts, cheap land, gold and cholera.
Say why first
Ask students to say why they put each card where they did before they write it down. Two sentences of reasoning show who understands push and pull.
Religious freedom card
This card can be argued either way, and the key lists it under Push. Let students defend their column, then agree on the class answer.
Diary read-aloud
Have students read their diaries aloud in character. Listeners decide whether the family sounds more pushed out of the East or pulled to the West.
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