Hello, and welcome to A Moment in Time. My name is Eric, and I am your host.

This unit is about Americans moving west to begin a new life.

You will learn many new words to help you understand the information in this unit.

You will read an article about preparing to move west. People took few things with them.

You will also learn how to ask questions about the past. You will learn how to write verbs
in the past too. You will practice these verbs at the end of the unit.

You will hear these questions in an interview between a young boy and his grandfather.
The grandfather tells a very interesting story about his grandfather moving west and
beginning a new life.

Finally, you will write about a trip that you took. You will use the words and ideas from this
unit.

Host: Let's get started with our unit, Moving West. Please say hello to Emilia. She is a
historian. A historian is a person who knows a lot about the past. Welcome Emilia. We're
very happy to talk with you today.

Guest: Hello! I'm excited to be here. I like talking about the past. The time people moved
to the West is very interesting.

Host: Please tell us why people moved west.

Guest: In the 1800's, many people moved to the United States from Europe and western
Asia. Cities started to get very crowded. Many people were not very happy. Few people
lived in the west, so they moved their families there. They wanted a new life, so people
were excited to move to the west.

Host: It is a lot of work to move to a new place. Why did people move west?

Guest: Yes, it is a lot of work to move places. Most people were farmers. They got free
land to start a new farm. Some people didn’t have a job. Others wanted gold. Some
people wanted to live a quiet life because they didn't like big cities.

Host: How did people prepare for the trip?

Guest: They took only the things they needed. There were no stores on the trip. They took
food, medicine, tools, and a few clothes. They didn’t bring many things.

Host: How did they travel?

Guest: They traveled in a covered wagon. It was made of wood and it wasn’t very big.
The wagons were not always strong.

Host: I think the trip was difficult.

Guest: It was very difficult. Most of the trips began in Independence, Missouri, so families
had to get there first. They had to drive their wagons across a large river called the

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 Mississippi River. This was not easy, and the horses did not like it.

Host: How did they know the way?

Guest: Many families traveled together, and some of the people knew different ways to
go. Sometimes many families traveled in large groups. Some families had someone travel
with them. This person taught the wagon driver the way to go.

Host: How did they live during the trip?

Guest: They cooked their food over a fire. They went fishing for food if they were near
water. They slept in the wagon or under the stars.

Host: This sounds like camping!

Guest: Well, yes, but it was more difficult than camping. It was not comfortable traveling in
the wagon. It was crowded with things and people. The trip was many months long
because they did not travel very far each day. It was a very slow trip.

Host: How was the city they traveled to?

Guest: Each city was different. Some were small towns. Other cities were crowded
because people came for gold. Many workers came west to build a new railroad too. They
slept in hotels. They moved to another city when the railroad got longer.

Host: It sounds exciting. Did the new towns grow quickly?

Guest: Yes they did. When small cities began in the west, they needed teachers, doctors,
store owners, and different kinds of workers. Many people came for jobs. They brought
families with children.

Host: What an amazing time! Thank you so much for sharing this information with us
today.

Guest: You are welcome! I enjoyed it.

We will learn more about moving west in this unit. I hope you enjoy it.

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