Uncover the Clash of Cultures: A Westward Expansion Reading Comprehension

Engage your students in a critical exploration of the American Frontier with this captivating reading comprehension worksheet!
This comprehensive resource delves into the complex relationship between Native American tribes and European settlers during westward expansion. Students will gain insight into:

• Diverse Native American Cultures: Explore the rich tapestry of traditions, customs, and beliefs that existed before European arrival.
• The Threat of European Settlement: Examine the devastating impact of diseases, resource competition, and land claims on Native American ways of life.
• The Brutal Indian Wars: Uncover the causes and consequences of a century-long conflict fueled by cultural clashes and territorial disputes.
• A Primary Source Analysis: Analyze a powerful speech by Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux leader, to understand the frustrations and perspectives of Native Americans.

Strengthen critical thinking skills with a variety of engaging questions:

• Multiple Choice Questions test key factual understanding.
• Matching Questions solidify vocabulary and concept recognition.
• Fill-in-the-Blank Questions reinforce essential details and chronology.
• Short Answer Questions encourage analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Answer Key included for easy assessment!

Learning Objectives:

• Students will be able to explain the diverse cultures of Native American tribes in the American West.
• Students will be able to analyze the impact of European settlement on Native American ways of life.
• Students will be able to identify the causes and consequences of the Indian Wars.
• Students will be able to understand the perspectives of both Native Americans and European settlers through primary source analysis.

Recommended Common Core Standards:

• RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says or when analyzing its content.
• RI.5.2: Determine the central ideas or author's purpose of a text and explain how it is supported by key details.
• RI.5.3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a text.
• RI.5.6: Analyze the author's point of view in a text and distinguish it from the narrator's or character's point of view.

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