Tell It Again! Read-Aloud Anthology - EngageNY

Key Vocabulary Brainstorming
Materials: Chart paper
Give students a key domain concept or vocabulary word such
as voyage. Have them brainstorm everything that comes to
mind when they hear the word, such as steamboat, canals,
transportation, etc. Record their responses on a piece of chart
paper for reference.
You Were There: Robert Fulton’s First Steamboat Voyage;
Traveling on the Erie Canal
Have students pretend that they were at one of the important events
during the westward expansion of the United States. Ask students
to describe what they saw and heard. For example, for Robert
Fulton’s historic steamboat voyage, students may talk about seeing
the paddle wheels turn, or steam pouring from the smokestacks.
They may talk about hearing the water splash, or the captain giving
orders, etc. Consider also extending this activity by adding group
or independent writing opportunities associated with the “You Were
There” concept. For example, ask students to pretend they are
newspaper reporters describing this historic voyage and have them
write a group news article describing the event.
Class Book: Westward Expansion
Materials: Drawing paper, drawing tools
Tell the class or a group of students that they are going to make
a class book to help them remember what they have learned
thus far in this domain. Have the students brainstorm important
information about the different ways pioneers traveled west,
Robert Fulton, Sequoyah, the Erie Canal, or the Trail of Tears. Have
each student choose one idea to draw a picture of and then write
a caption for the picture. Bind the pages to make a book to put
in the class library for students to read again and again. You may
choose to add more pages upon completion of the entire domain
before binding the book.
Another option is to create an ABC book where students
brainstorm domain-related words for each letter of the alphabet.
Westward Expansion PP | Pausing Point 83
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