Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl

Rachel is a Pioneer Girl. traveling to California with her family. But when disaster strikes again and again. Will she be able to tell the tale someday. I loved this fun and historical book

This book would be appropriate for 5th+grade. The diary is written in script and would be hard to read if you didn't know how to read script. This diary is about a young girl named Rachel who is on a journey with her family on the Oregon Trail to California. THey have packed up and left their friends and family in Illinois and set out on this wild and crazy adventure. Rachel's grandfather gave her this journal to write in while ma and pa are driving the team of animals. This is her first journal and she is very excited to write in it. The book is about her trip with her family and trail families along the way to the west. The journal entails all the interesting encounters they find along the way. Along the margins of the journal there show more are picture and descriptions such as a picture of the different skin color between an Indian and her hand. Pictures of the people in her wagon and the people in the wagon train. Rachel had a lot of time to write down what to eat and what not to eat. Draw the tools they had in the wagon and how she couldn't wait to get to California. Her family finally reaches California where they can start their new life.
Teachers could use this book to:
-Read to students to show what it was like for children that traveled the Oregon trail. Use the pictures to ask questions.
-Have students start a pen pal with a student from a different school. They could use this journal for ideas and structure. show less

Character: Rachel, Mother, Pa, Grandmother, Grandfather, Ben, Will, Uncle Pete, Millie, Biscuit, John Elias, Pamelia, Judith, Mr. Sunshine, Frank, Mr. Bridge, Simon,
Setting: The West
Theme: make-believe, magic
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary: The journal begins with Rachel and her parents saying good -ye to their home in Illinois in order to head to California. The family decides to go to California because of the wonderful letters her Uncle Pete has written about California. The family begins their journey with 50 head of cattle because they can resell the cattle in California and make a fortune. The family takes the Oregon Trail until it splits towards California. Rachel describes her journey along the trail and explains all of the show more obstacles they had to overcome. Rachel’s mother gives birth to a baby girl they name Sierra Nevada. The family low on food is able to muster up enough strength to make it to California. There goal was not to pan for gold but instead to live in a community.
Audience: Beginners and Youth
Curriculum ties: Manifest Destiny
Personal response: The book is formatted like a journal with short entries. Although they entries do not go into detail in terms of the true hardships pioneers faced it would give a child an understanding of how long the journey truly was and some of the hardships. If the gruesome details of the Donner party were discussed it may not be suitable to a childs book. Overall, an interesting read. show less

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