Major themes or topics: Trail of Tears, Westward expansion, Manifest Destiny, Louisiana Purchase, Homestead Act, Indian Removal Act, encroachment, genocide, treaty, Native Nations, territory, Andrew Jackson

Key content: Students investigate westward expansion from the perspectives of Native Americans and trace Native Americans' enduring presence in shaping the nation’s identity through images, stories, and names that bridge the past with contemporary American life.

Focus questions: What is the Trail of Tears? Why is it important to U.S. History? How have Indigenous people been represented in American culture?

DCPS alignment: Grade 5 Social Studies, Unit 1 - Problems and Perspectives on Progress: Indigenous People, Immigration, and Invasion