11.2B – Read the Text #2: Building Comprehension
Read the module text again as a class.
Students take turns reading a paragraph (or a few sentences).
After each paragraph, STOP to go over vocabulary and questions about the reading as a class.
READING TEXT
Module 11: Westward Expansion and Indigenous Communities
PARAGRAPH 1
After the colonists won the American Revolution, there were 13 “united states” on the East Coast. The country also gained more land that was claimed by Britain in the past. While Native peoples still lived in all areas of the Americas, European countries such as France and Spain claimed some Native lands as their own.
- Let’s review: what is united?
- After the American Revolution, how do we know that the 13 states worked together? What word tells you this?
- Let’s review: what is the word to claim?
- Who was already living on the lands Europeans claimed as their own?
PARAGRAPHS 2-3
In 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. He paid about 3 cents per acre (or, 4,000 square meters)! This land, between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, made the United States almost twice as big. By the mid-1800s, the United States had gained much more land by fighting wars, and making purchases and negotiations. The territory of the United States stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Canada bordered it on the north, and Mexico on the south.
As the United States grew, people debated if slavery was fair. While state governments in the North banned slavery, it was still legal in the South until the American Civil War in the 1860s. As new states joined the country, U.S. leaders tried to keep a balance between slave states and free states because they wanted to avoid disagreement between the North and South.
- Let’s review: what is to border?
- What were the borders of the territory of the United States?
- What do you think purchase means? What did President Jefferson purchase?
- What happened because of this purchase?
- The new states joined the country. How were they different from each other?
- Learn the word TO BAN: (verb) not allowing an activity, person, or event
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- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- Many organizations ban smoking in offices.
- Some parents and schools want to ban certain books.
- Which part of the country banned slavery?
- Learn the word TO AVOID: (verb) keeping away from something or someone
-
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- To avoid the traffic on the highway, I drove on the side roads.
- She avoids fast food for her health.
- What did the government do about slavery to avoid conflict between states?
The green area shows the land that Jefferson bought from France in 1803, called the Louisiana Purchase. [Credit] 
PARAGRAPH 4
More territory and a growing population meant that settlers (who were mainly white) began moving west into Native lands. This westward expansion caused many problems for the Native population. The United States government passed many laws to take away Native lands. They removed Indigenous peoples from their home lands and forced them to walk long distances to settlements called reservations. The United States pressured Native people to sign treaties. Also, the U.S. government often ignored the treaties later.
- As the population grew, what did settlers begin to do?
- What do you think “disastrous” means? What is the base word in it?
- What do you think “remove” means?
- Learn the word RESERVATION: (noun) land set apart for a special purpose, as for the use of an Indian tribe
-
- What is the word in your home language?
- Example:
- Arizona is home to many Native American reservations today.
- Was the westward expansion helpful to Native people? Why?
- What does treaty mean (review)?
- Learn the word TO PRESSURE: (verb) to put force on someone or something to get a result. It can also be a noun, describing this force
-
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- Her parents pressure her to do well in school. This pressure is too much for her.
- The boss pressured the workers to work overtime. This pressure will make some people quit.
- Extreme poverty puts a lot of pressure on families.
- Think of a possible example of the extreme pressures Native people faced when signing treaties.
- Learn the word TO IGNORE: (verb) not keeping a promise, or not paying attention on purpose
-
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- When somebody makes a hurtful comment, I choose to ignore it.
- It is dangerous to ignore global warming.
- Who ignored some of the treaties?
PARAGRAPH 5
Native peoples’ lives did not improve as the westward settlement continued. In addition to moving Native people off of their lands, the federal government forced Native peoples to change their way of life to be like the majority white culture in the United States. This is called assimilation. Starting in the 1880s, the U.S. placed Native children into boarding schools far away from their families. These schools forced the children to speak only in English, to change their names, and to abandon their culture. Some of these boarding schools stayed open through the 1970s, but many Americans never heard about boarding schools because they weren’t usually included in history books.
- What do you think “boarding school” means? Who went to boarding schools?
- What do you think “assimilation” means? Do you have examples from your life?
- Why do you think that many Americans did not learn about the boarding schools in their education?
- Learn the word TO IMPROVE: (verb) to get better
-
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- The patient’s health improved.
- My English has improved since attending these classes.
- Did the treatment of Native people improve in the 1880s?
- Learn the word TO ABANDON: (verb) to give up or leave behind something completely, not going back
-
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- If a ship is sinking, people have to abandon it.
- It is raining hard, so we will abandon our picnic plans.
- What does it mean to abandon a culture?
- Why did the U.S. government want Native people to abandon their culture?
The U.S. government forced Native American children into boarding schools. [Credit] 
PARAGRAPH 6
The federal government and many state governments did not treat Native people as equal citizens of the United States. While Native Americans were recognized as U.S. citizens in 1924, many states passed laws that made it very difficult for Native people to vote. It wasn’t until 1958 that Native people could vote in every state in the U.S.
- Let’s review: what does to recognize mean?
- When were Native people recognized as citizens?
- Were Native people treated as equal citizens?
- What do you think “sovereign” means? What kind of government do tribal nations have?
PARAGRAPH 7
Native people and cultures continue to survive and thrive today as sovereign nations. Today, the United States recognizes more than 570 sovereign tribal nations. They have a special political status in the federal system. These nations are responsible for making their own decisions to secure the cultural, political, and economic success of today’s Native Americans.
Sharice Davids was one of the first Native American women to be elected to Congress in 2018, representing the state of Kansas. [Credit] 
