Can you find the Halbrook family?

Their wagon left Missouri carrying everything they owned, and it never reached Oregon. Now remains found near Guernsey, Wyoming may finally explain what happened, and your students are the team brought in to solve it.

Working as forensic historians, students sift through Margaret Halbrook’s diary, a soil analysis, a forensic report on the remains, a campfire excavation and an old newspaper clipping. They build a timeline, test each theory against the evidence and defend their best explanation for what went wrong, whether it was drought, bad water, a broken wagon, illness or the trail itself. Along the way they see how geography and climate decided who made it west and who didn’t.

Print the case files, split the class into teams, and you’re ready for one or two class periods of real historical thinking. This lesson reveals the real dangers of westward migration—drought, contaminated water, broken wagons, illness, and environmental exposure.

What’s in the case file 

• Opening scenario: the discovery near Guernsey, Wyoming

• Margaret Halbrook’s diary excerpts

• Soil analysis report

• Forensic report on the remains

• Campfire excavation report

• Historical newspaper clipping

• Student investigation worksheet

• Teacher guide and answer key
  

What students learn

• Analyzing written, archaeological and forensic evidence

• Building a timeline from primary-style sources

• Reading scientific data in historical context

• Making and defending a claim supported by evidence

• Explaining how geography and climate shaped westward migration
  

Details Grades 7–10 · 1–2 class periods · DOK 3 · Printable · Download a Sample