Description

Westward Expansion Escape Room – VA SOL USI.8

Are you looking for a fun way to review westward expansion? Look no further! This Westward Expansion Escape Room has everything you need! Whether teaching remotely or in-person, this classroom escape room is easy to set up, and students will have lots of fun reviewing what they have learned!

In this Westward Expansion Escape Room, students are in the process of time traveling back in time to study westward expansion when their time machine malfunctions! The only way to repair the time machine and return to the present is for students to successfully complete seven challenges.

To take a closer look at the escape room activities included, check out the images at the top of the page!

What will students learn with this classroom escape room?

Topics covered:

• The Louisiana Purchase
• Sacagawea
• The acquisition of western territories including Florida, Texas, Oregon, and Califonia
• The effects of westward expansion on Indigenous people
• Ways people traveled West including the Oregon Trail, steamboat, and steam locomotive
• The meaning of “Manifest Destiny”
• The effects of the California Gold Rush
• The reasons for westward expansion

What escape room activities are included?

Students will complete seven challenges. When completing the activities, students will use critical thinking and inference skills. Challenges include activities such as:

• Reading information and drawing conclusions about the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Decoding information about new states and territories
• Matching the causes and effects of westward expansion
• Decoding information about transportation that aided westward expansion
• Sorting true and false facts about westward expansion
• Solving math problems to find a code
• Decoding information about Manifest Destiny
• Creating codes with given information

Is a digital version included?

This resource includes two versions of the escape room. The first version is a PDF escape room that can be completed in a classroom.

The second version is a digital escape room that can be completed in Google Forms. The digital escape room is self-checking so that students can review the answers to their work even when learning remotely.

What standards are covered?

This Westward Expansion Escape Room is specifically aligned with the 2023 Virginia U.S. History SOL USI.8, although it closely matches most U.S. History standards related to westward expansion and Manifest Destiny.

What are other teachers saying about this escape room?

• “This fit so well with our study of Westward Expansion.  I will definitely use it again and again.” (Keri G.)
• “My students loved the escape room.  It was fun to watch them figure out the activities.” (Valerie R.)
• “Liked how it reinforced curriculum objectives! Will definitely use it every year.” (Pattie H.)

Don’t miss out!

Students will love completing the activities in this Westward Expansion Escape Room! Teacher instructions are provided, making it easy to set up and implement whether in-person or virtually.

Want to save money?

This Westward Expansion Escape Room is included in my U.S. History Escape Rooms Bundle for a discounted price!

 

More Westward Expansion resources:

• Westward Expansion Unit
• Westward Expansion Escape Room
• Westward Expansion Task Cards
• Westward Expansion Study Guide
• Oregon Trail Board Game
• U.S. History Curriculum

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Other Information:

©Meghan Vestal, Vestal’s 21st Century Classroom. All rights reserved. This product is to be used by the original downloader only. Copying for teachers, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Teachers may NOT upload the product to school/district servers, or to any website, or share digital or print copies. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All sales are final.

If you would like more information about using classroom escape rooms, check out my blog post “Create the Perfect Classroom Escape Room.”