The Oklahoma Rush (Grades 5-6)

Explore the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, an important event in American history. As students read a primary and a secondary source about the Oklahoma Land Rush, they learn how an author’s purpose, audience, and proximity to an event shape the content of a text.

• Two informational texts
• 2-3 weeks instruction
• Explanation writing

What is this unit about?

In this unit, students will read two texts: “Built in a Day: The Oklahoma Land Rush” by the National Park Service and “The Rush to Oklahoma” by William Willard Howard. Both texts explore the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, an important event in American history. The first text was published in The Museum Gazette in 2001. The second text, a primary source document, was published in Harper’s Weekly in 1889. Through the study of these two articles, students build their knowledge of the Homestead Act, the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, primary and secondary source documents, and essential ways of reading, writing, and talking about informational text.

This short unit is not intended to be a comprehensive exploration of westward expansion, pioneers, frontier life, Native American displacement, or other related topics. This unit can easily be nestled into a larger unit of study on these topics. Additionally, teachers can extend this study to delve deeper into those topics by reading additional sources, viewing photographs and videos, or conducting research.

What content and concepts will students learn?

Students will learn about:

• the Homestead Act and the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.
• the personal qualities of settlers.
• the biggest challenges people faced in participating in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.
• methods authors use to bring events to life such as imagery, figurative language, dialogue, and anecdotes.
• characteristics of explanations.
• how an author’s purpose, audience, and proximity to an event shape the content of a text.
• why it’s important to consult multiple sources when studying an event.

How long will it take to engage students in the unit?

This unit spans approximately 10-13 instructional days, assuming 45- to 60-minute classes. The tasks in the unit are designed to be implemented sequentially in order to support students to achieve the instructional goals. As such, the pacing of the lessons will depend on the time students need to achieve these goals.