Lesson Plan - Remembering the Trail of Tears

Build Background Knowledge

Download the Skill Builder Charting Your Knowledge from the Graphic Organizer Library at junior.scholastic.com/library. Tell students that the Trail of Tears was a dangerous journey that about 100,000 Native Americans were forced to make in the 1830s, walking hundreds of miles from their homelands to present-day Oklahoma. Have students complete the first two columns of the KWL chart with what they know about the Trail of Tears and what they want to know. 

Preview Vocabulary

Use the online Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms autonomy, civil rights, Congress, constitution, federally, Indigenous, petition, sovereign, Supreme Court, and treaty. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to complete the last column of Charting Your Knowledge.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• Who is Whitney Roach? What details does she add to the article? (Key Details)
Roach is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. In June, she participated in the Remember the Removal Bike Ride that retraced the Trail of Tears her ancestors were forced to make. She explains how the trip made her feel closer to her ancestors and shares that she wants people to know that Cherokee people are strong and resilient.

• What text structure does the section “Territory Under Threat” mostly use? How does it support the article? (Text Structure)
The section mostly uses a chronological structure that gives details in time order. It supports the article by explaining some of the history of the Cherokee Nation, including how the Cherokee people tried to protect their homeland and why settlers and the state of Georgia wanted to take it from them.

• How did many Cherokee people try to resist leaving their homeland in the Southeastern U.S.? (Analyze Interactions)
The Cherokee Nation signed treaties with the U.S. government to protect some of its land, and it adopted a national constitution in 1827. It asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Georgia from taking its land. Thousands of Cherokee people signed a petition asking Congress to reject a removal treaty that had been signed by a small group of Cherokee people who did not represent the will of the Nation. Finally, many Cherokee refused to willingly move west.

• How were most of the Cherokee people ultimately removed from their land? (Key Details)
At the order of U.S. President Martin Van Buren in 1838, thousands of soldiers invaded Cherokee homes and rounded up people, placing them into camps. About 16,000 Cherokee people were forced to march about 1,000 miles to what is now Oklahoma. About 4,000 of them died along the way from starvation, disease, and exposure to cold weather.

• What happened to the Cherokee people after they were forced to move to Oklahoma? (Analyzing Events)
The Cherokee people worked to rebuild their lives and wrote a new constitution in 1839. But the U.S. government took control of their government and seized some of their land when Oklahoma became a state in 1907. The Cherokee people finally elected their own leader again in 1971. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that about half of Oklahoma falls within tribal reservations, meaning that the Cherokee Nation’s laws apply to its citizens.

• How does the “Retracing the Trail” map support the article? (Text Features)
The map shows the route of the 2021 Remember the Removal Bike Ride, which followed one of the routes that Cherokee people were forced to walk during the Trail of Tears. They went from Georgia through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri before reaching Oklahoma. The map also allows readers to compare where the Cherokee Nation was located in 1830 versus today.

• Why does current Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. say everyone should learn about the Cherokee people? (Central Ideas)
Hoskin says that everyone should learn about his people to appreciate how they have showed determination and overcome tragedy. He says that everyone can benefit from thinking about his ancestors’ experiences.

Analyze a Primary Source

Use the Skill Builder Primary Source: “An Act of Injustice” to have students read an adaptation of the letter that Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross wrote in 1836 to Congress protesting the removal treaty. Guide students to answer the questions and discuss responses.

Write an Objective Summary

Have students respond to the “Write About It!” prompt at the end of the article. If students need more support, use the Sum It Up or Quote vs. Paraphrase Skill Builders from the Graphic Organizer Library at junior.scholastic.com/library.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.