Love Creek students explore westward expansion
Living museum showcases pioneers, Native Americans, explorers
Students (l-r) Tyler Rankin, Ryan Morgan and Christopher Harris studied Native Americans. Tyler said President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans from their land and made them walk to reservations 1,000 miles with only their children and the clothing on their backs. ELLEN DRISCOLL PHOTOS
June 20, 2019
Quinn Lobley, left, and Jack Shockley studied ’49ers who flocked to California in search of gold. Quinn said ’49ers struggled a lot, and Jack said oftentimes, they didn't even find gold.
Ryleigh Archer, left, and Phoenix Johnson studied Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea. Ryleigh said Lewis and Clark were most important in western expansion because they were the first to explore land west of the Mississippi River.
Leah Reddix studied pioneer women. She said they moved west in search of better lives but had to deal with harsh conditions, food shortages and many dangers on the prairie.
Garrett Vansant, dressed as a ’49er, said life was harsh and gold hard to find.
Love Creek Elementary fifth-graders capped off a unit on westward expansion by hosting a living museum for parents and classmates.
Students researched pioneers, ’49ers, Native Americans and explorers from the gold rush era and wrote opinion speeches about their lives and professions.
Parents and classmates were invited to the May 30 living museum, where students dressed in period costume or used poster board to create wearable personalities from the era.
