Potts Inn Museum Pottsville, Arkansas: Transportation

Social Studies Frameworks K-8
H.6.4.16 Describe how new forms of transportation and communication impacted the westward expansion of the United States (e.g., Pony Express, Railroads, Telegraphs)
Transportation played a tremendous role in the expansion of the United States. From the first settlements, people were continually pressing westward.

Here are some resources that can help you investigate with your students different modes of transportation. Emphasize the railroad, the Arkansas River, and the Butterfield Overland Mail Route to make connections with Pottsville and Potts Inn.

From the Library of Congress:

This unit integrates student interpretation and analysis. It culminates by inviting students to synthesize and apply their new understandings for an authentic purpose.

What were the motivations of the people who traveled west?
What conditions did they encounter as they journeyed west?
How did the conditions encountered influence their decisions?
What were the conflicts between the settlers and the native people they encountered?
How did policies of the U.S. government influence westward migration?
Using five pre-selected photographs (gold miner, pioneer family, Native American, explorer and fur trader) from the American Memory collections and five corresponding personal narratives, students individually analyze the photographs, read the narratives, and then match the viewpoint represented in the narratives with the photographs. Students record their thoughts on the Primary Source Analysis Tool. Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher's guide Analyzing Primary Sources to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.

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Joan Brodsky Schur is the author of an excellent lesson about the Transcontinental Railroad for grades 6-12 which could be adapted for grades 3-6 as well. This is available through the PBS website.