… If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon is one of many books in the “… If You Lived Then” series about different historical events and eras. The series takes history from a kid’s perspective, a long list of questions, and answers the questions in careful, factual detail. This particular book written by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Elroy Freem, focuses on the Oregon Trail and all the pioneers who traveled it. Instead of a common table of contents, the book opens with a list of questions kids seem likely to ask about the Oregon Trail. Examples of these questions include: “Did anyone lead the wagon train?” “What kinds of clothes did people wear?” “What would you eat?” “What chores would you have to do?” The questions will appeal to kids because they step away from more of the textbook information about the Oregon Trail and address interesting details like the best way to preserve buffalo meat. Simple but detailed illustrations supplement each question and answer with visual context for the information.
Students can read this book on their own easily with the large font. It can be read all the way through or used in parts as reference when talking about a certain aspect of pioneer life. The questions are ordered in a loose chronological order, explaining Oregon territory first and then ending with information on the present remains of the trail. All of the information is presented in a conversational and welcoming tone. …If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon is a great classroom resource for kids to use as reference in their first research projects and as a way to get them interested in the topic with information on obscure details.
Curriculum Connections
…If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon is a great way to talk about expansion in US History and formally satisfies some of the Virginia SOL for history: USI.8 a) describing territorial expansion and how it affected the political map of the United States. Since the print is large enough and simple enough for students to read, they can work on their reading skills as well. Asking questions is an important part of learning about History. The “..If You Lived Then” books provide quality models for asking questions about topics in history and also shows how to best answer those questions with age appropriate detail and connections.
Additional Resources
- Although some of the links are faulty, this site takes each of the questions asked in the book and directly provides links to different sites that answer the questions. It provides an alternative perspective to the information provided in the text.
- Check out Library Thing for a list of the other “…If You Lived then” books in the series.
Book: … If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
Author: Ellen Levine
Illustrator: Elroy Freem
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: 1992
Pages: 80 pages
Grades: 3-5
ISBN: 0590451588