On Friday, March 23, the Woonsocket third graders were invited over to the third grade room at Sanborn Central to do some kick-off activities for their unit on the Oregon Trail. For the past few years, the third graders from Woonsocket and Sanborn Central have worked together in studying the Oregon Trail for social studies. They also include Parkston third graders with some of their activities.

This first step was a start to the next few weeks while they study the Oregon Trail and how the settlers traveled and where they went. First, the teachers separated the kids into groups of five. Each group measured out the dimensions of the size of a covered wagon, and they taped the size of the wagon on the floor. All five of the kids in their group had to stay within that taped area and decide together what they needed for supplies to travel from Independence, Mo., west to Oregon.

Then, they watched a video on the dangers that the settlers encountered on the trail as they traveled. Afterward, they made homemade butter using whipping cream and salt and shaking them together in a baby food jar. The kids then used their own butter to eat on toast or crackers.

They ended the activities on Friday with a game in the gym that children their age used to do to pass the time on the trail. They rolled a hoop with a stick, not touching the hoop with anything but the stick.

The classes will end the unit later this quarter with a field trip, together with the Parkston third graders, to Hansen Wheel and Wagon.

…See a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!