Fourth Grade DBQ #3 – Hastings Cutoff and the - Teacher’s Guide

A document based question (DBQ) is an authentic assessment where students interact with historical and scientific related texts. A DBQ asks students to analyze documents, gather information, and fill in short scaffolded responses. Then students assimilate and synthesize the information from the documents, and write to an overarching prompt, by using information from the documents as well as integrating background knowledge they may have brought to the topic. In this version of a DBQ, the documents link to both science and social studies concepts and include text, visual models, diagrams, illustrations, videos, etc., all examples of resources a scientist or engineer might use in research and/or in the field.

This DBQ is aligned with the fourth grade NGSS standards about Human Impact (4-ESS1-1, 4- ESS2-1, 4-ESS2-2, 4-ESS3-2), physical science (4-PS3-1), and the Nevada social studies standards regarding Disciplinary Skills (SS.4.1, SS.4.2, SS.4.3, SS.4.4, SS.4.5, SS.4.6, SS.4.7, SS.4.8) , and pioneers moving west (SS.4.13, SS.4.24).

With prompting and support, the students will review the series of documents to write to a final prompt.

Helpful vocabulary:

human impact route personally

environment terrain explain

emigrant energy interact

pioneer momentum affect

cutoff leader

Writing Task:

Answer the following question: In what ways did our world change during this time?

 Use at least four of the vocabulary words in your writing.  Use evidence from each document.  Use your background knowledge about these topics.

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 Fourth Grade DBQ #3 – Hastings Cutoff and the Donner Party - Teacher’s Guide

A DBQ is a very structured activity, it cannot be independent or used as a worksheet, it must be directed. Most of the time, a DBQ combines prior knowledge and inferences with the documents students are exposed to.

When directing students though this DBQ, these are the suggested steps in the process for each document:

1. Review the final writing prompt. Throughout the document, you might want to reference this question as the objective for what students are expected to understand. 2. Have students look at, read, watch, or listen to the document. 3. Have the students discuss their general observations of the document. 4. Talk through the first question, or have groups of students talk through the question. You could also have students jot down their individual ideas prior to having this discussion. 5. Have students write their answers to the question, either independently or together. As the students get comfortable with the process, they should do the writing independently after their discussions. 6. Move on to the next question, discuss, and then write.

*Note: If students have prior experience with DBQs, you could reverse the order of how you complete this by having the students independently answer the question to a document and then discuss it as a whole class or in groups. Whichever format you choose, both the discussion and writing are essential to students processing each document. 4th Grade DBQs also have optional Multiple Choice/Response questions as an extra practice in preparing students for state testing. These questions are optional and do not affect the scaffolding or order of the written responses.

You will notice that the questions in each document build on one another, leading students to higher levels of thinking and deeper into the content. It is important to do each document and the questions in the order they are listed as part of the scaffolding process.

The vocabulary words should be posted, as they come about in the DBQ, in a highly visible area of your classroom and should be referred to often.

When completing the final writing, the length and specific details of writing is dependent on purpose, timing, and your expectations. Depending on your students writing ability, you might also choose to scaffold this writing and/or model how to cite from the documents.

*Note: When printing this DBQ for students, you will NOT need to include the first page, however students should know the final writing prompt throughout the process so they understand and make connections to the final writing task. Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 Document A

“… The most direct route, for the emigrants, would be to leave the Oregon route, about two hundred miles east from Fort Hall; then bearing west southwest, to the Salt Lake; and thence continuing down to the bay of San Francisco…”

(Excerpt from The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California, L. Hastings, 1842)

“…Virginia’s father played his winning card: an “open letter” from Hastings himself, delivered about a week earlier by a passing traveler. The guidebook author, who was leading other emigrants to

California, was ahead of the Donner Party

by a few days. In his letter, Hastings

promised to backtrack toward

and personally escort the rest of the

travelers through the shortcut…” (Excerpt from The Perilous Journey of The Donner Party, Calabro, 1999)

1. What leadership qualities did Lansford Hastings show that encouraged people to follow his ideas? Explain each trait that you choose. (Check off the traits you choose, then explain your thinking.) Students should choose and explain at least 2 qualities. (SEL Relationship Skills 4A, 4B, and 4C)

a. role model (lead by example, c. enabler (empower others, build teams demonstrate integrity, support others) and collaborate) Sample response: Hastings Sample response: Hastings seemed to be a role model empowered others to follow his trail by writing his book, because he supported people by saying he would lead this shows authority and makes people want to follow. them through his cutoff. b. inspirer (create an inspiring vision, d. achiever (focus on results, be persistent, inspire risk taking) Sample response: Hastings lead change) Sample response: Hastings was leading seemed to be an inspirer, by writing his book he showed change by encouraging others to take a new route. his vision and set directions for the pioneers, inspiring them to follow a new trail.

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 2. Use the map to explain the interaction between emigrants and their environment. Sample response: As emigrants traveled west they had to cross many landforms, interacting with their environment. When the Donner Party crossed the mountains, they would have to go uphill which takes more energy than the flats or the downhills. The mountains made the trek more difficult, therefore affecting the travelers. When they crossed a river, the Donner Party had to plan how to get the wagons across, depending on how deep and how wide the river was, so the interaction required a lot of planning. Also, when the pioneers were in the desert, they would have to plan their water supply very carefully, the desert land impacted the people because there are less supplies that they can use along the way. Make sure to include the vocabulary words “environment” and “interact” in this discussion. (SS.4.24) Possible leading questions if students are struggling: What are some ways people interact with their environment? How is this similar to the pioneers traveling across the country? How did the pioneers interact differently than we do today?

3. As a leader, based on the map and information, would you take the cutoff or not? Why? Include how the land and landforms would affect your decision? Answers vary. Students should explain how at least two landforms affect their decision in their answers. Possible leading questions if students are struggling: Think about the advantages and disadvantages to taking a cutoff. Look at the map to see what landforms you might encounter or avoid, how does this affect your decision?

4. Which direction is Lansford Hastings suggesting that they travel to save time? a. Northwest b. Southwest c. Northeast d. Southeast

5. According to the map, what landform(s) would the Hastings Cutoff go by or through? Choose all that apply. a. Mountains b. Desert c. River d. Lake e. Earthquake

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 Document B

Within a few days they knew Hastings Cutoff was a fraud. There was no road, no trail, only the barest path through wilderness. Most maddening of all, there was no Lansford Hastings. Some of the hills were so steep that the wagons threatened to somersault. Then the Donner Party would lock the wagon wheels, slide straight downhill, and pray. Other times they would have to yoke all the oxen to one wagon, pull it uphill, and return for the next; or they used chains and pulleys to winch themselves upward. Some of the land was so rocky that the clatter of their wheels resounded for miles. And they wondered if Indians, hostile ones, were listening and watching… The Donner Party was barely advancing two miles a day. Some days were spent cutting through thickets of thorn bushes that slapped them in the face. Some mornings they spent hours rolling a single boulder from a narrow creek bed in order to go forward. Energy plummeted. Food supplies dwindled. Anger simmered… …Like her father, like everyone, Virginia [Reed] had taken a keen sense of what Hastings’s empty promises had cost them. So far the shortcut “had taken us an entire month, instead of a week, and our cattle were not fit to cross the desert.” (Excerpt from The Perilous Journey of The Donner Party, Calabro, 1999)

1. How did the terrain affect the energy of the wagons? Sample responses: The terrain affected the energy of the wagons because they had to go uphill which takes more effort than going downhill or on a flat. When trying to pull a wagon uphill, extra oxen, tools like pulleys, or men were needed to pull the wagon up; this made the process much slower which also affected energy (the faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses). Energy is also different when going uphill verses downhill. Make sure to include the vocabulary words “affect,” “terrain,” and “energy” in your discussion. You might also include the Crosscutting Concept Energy and Matter in this discussion (energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects). (4-PS3-1) Possible leading questions if students are struggling: What is terrain? How does the terrain affect the travelers’ ability to move along the trail? Is it helping them move faster or slowing them down? Is it easier or harder to move the wagon in this terrain?

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 2. How did the terrain affect the energy of the travelers? Sample responses: When trying to pull a wagon uphill, the travelers had to use more energy, either with extra oxen, tools like pulleys, or men, to pull the wagon up; this made the process much slower which also affected energy. In addition to this, the pioneers were tired from cutting down trees and other plants, so their energy was very low. Notice that students should be referencing energy is several ways, in terms of the energy of the wagon as well as the people’s physical energy. Refer back to cause and effect relationships between the environment and the people. 3. Explain 3 or more ways the people affected the environment to meet their needs. Possible examples: (4-ESS3-1, and SS.4.24) -Cutting down plants to make a path - the pioneers affected the plants by cutting them down and likely killing them to create a path that they could travel on. -Traveling over rocks and boulders - when traveling over rocks, terrain, and boulders, the pioneers leave marks like ruts, changing the environment and meeting their needs by making progress in their travel. -Using the natural resources for survival - the people would gather firewood to stay warm, plants and animals to eat, and water to drink. By doing this, they affect their environment.

3. Using context clues, what is the meaning of the word “yoke” as it is used in the passage? a. A wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the cart that they are to pull. b. To put a yoke on a pair of animals c. To rob or mug

4. What were the effects of taking the Hastings Cutoff? Choose as many as apply. a. It took longer than the original route b. Entire days were spent creating a new trail c. The pioneers got to their destination sooner than expected d. The Donners got to meet Mr. Hastings in person e. The cattle became exhausted

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 Document C

Virginia Reed, a survivor of the Donner party, said in a letter to her cousin Mary Keyes, May 16, 1847:

“…I have not wrote to you half the trouble we have had but I have wrote enough to let you know that you don't know what trouble is. But thank God we have all got through... We have left everything but I don't care for that. We have got through with our lives but Don't let this letter dishearten anybody. Never take no cutoffs and hurry along as fast as you can.”

This “starvation camp” photo shows tree stumps cut by the Donner Party, Camp at Donner Lake revealing the snow depth that January 1847 trapped the emigrants during the winter of 1846-47.

1. How did the land and environment affect the pioneers? Was this area a good place to stop? What natural resources were available (or not available) to help the pioneers survive? Sample response: This land affected the pioneers because there were not many natural resources available once the snowfall started. Animals hibernated and plants were buried, so the pioneers had to find other resources for food. This was not a good place to stop because of that. (4-ESS3-2, 4-ESS3-1, and SS.4.13) 2. How does studying the interactions of people with the environment help us understand current issues? Consider both the Hastings Cutoff experience and the Camp at Donner Lake to answer this question. Sample response: Studying the struggles at Donner Lake helped future travelers understand that this was not a good place to stop and that the winter could affect them drastically. This also affected the way people eventually settled in that area because they knew that the weather would impact how they built their shelters and survive through the winter. Other pioneers also learned about the Hastings Cutoff and that it wasn’t a trail that was ready to be traveled. (4-ESS3-2 and SS.4.13)

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 3. What were some of the effects of the weather at the Donner Lake Camp? Choose all that apply. a. Cabins were buried in snow. b. Trees had to be cut down to build shelter. c. The snow made it difficult to hunt for food.

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018 Name: ______

Writing Task: Answer the following question: In what ways did our world change during this time?

 Use at least one piece of evidence from each document. After a piece of evidence from a document, put the document letter in parentheses. For example, “The Camp at Donner Lake was covered in snow during the winter of 1847 (Doc. C).”  Correctly use at least four of the vocabulary terms from this DBQ in your writing. human impact route personally

environment terrain explain

emigrant energy interact

pioneer momentum affect

cutoff leader

 Students reference all documents in their answer, include an introduction that restates the

question, and a conclusion that restates the question.

 Students use at least 4 vocabulary words in their answer.

 Students identify that pioneers will change because of their experiences on the .

They might also mention that pioneers are taking resources from the land that the animals and

other settlers might need.

 Students identify that the experiences of the Donner Party might affect other pioneers’ decision

to travel west, therefore changing the number of people traveling to California.

 Students identify that pioneers changed the land and natural resources as they traveled.

 Students identify that pioneers affected the landforms that they traveled across by either leaving

a track, using the resources, or clearing the trail to establish their route.

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018