This big-picture lesson gives your class an overview of the course in one hour. You will introduce your class to the ‘contested West’ and the three main groups of people that will be studied. Using a picture and caption match your students will identify the themes and then work out[…]

This lesson exposes your class to an interpretation that appeared in History Review magazine. It argues that US policy lurched between assimilating the plains Indians into Western ways on one hand and encouraging them to live their natural way of life on the other. Were the policies of the US[…]

This enquiry allows your students to get to grips with the push and pull factors that dragged people West in the 1840s and 1850s. They will be introduced to a number of factors,  classify them as ‘push’ or ‘pull’ factors. They will then consider how important each factor was via[…]

This lesson actually introduces your class to two famous westward migration stories: the Donner Party’s controversial failure and the Mormon’s migration success. By using the strong story line here the aim is to engage the students with a classic Phillips style ISM – anyone who says that students don’t need[…]

This lesson uses the personal story of Abigail Scott Duniway. Often the so-called ordinary live extraordinary lives and Abigail Scott Duniway is no exception. The big question asks what does her story reveal about life on the great plains? By shining a light on an individual, historians can learn about[…]

This enquiry asks your students to critically evaluate a ‘dodgy’ interpretation written about the Fort Laramie treaty. They will look at the wording of the interpretation, cross-reference it with other evidence and then produce a more accurate account. This is great interpretations work meeting many of the types of analysis[…]

This enquiry uses the personal story of Henry Plummer to work out generally what law and order was like in the new mining towns. Henry Plummer migrated West when he was young and lived a very interesting and unconventional life. He ran for Sheriff in his new town, was involved in a duel,[…]

Start by re-capping some of the key content from the first key question of the American West unit using the nifty worksheet below.   This enquiry (the first relating to key question 2 of the unit) asks your students to make sense of an historian’s interpretation, and then test its[…]

This enquiry re-caps content from the first key question of the American West topic, whilst introducing new material relating to the ways in which settlers on the Plains came up with solutions to the problems they faced after migrating west. It is a good opportunity for interleaving content from the[…]

This enquiry encourages students to engage with the stereotypical idea of the American West as lawless, brutal and frightening. Students consider a historian’s interpretation, in which it is argued that the ‘Wild West’ should actually be called the ‘Mild West’. Then, they look at a number of case studies in[…]

This enquiry develops students’ understanding of the consequences of westward expansion. It focuses on the ways in which the extension of the railroads (and other factors) facilitated the growth of the cattle industry. Students are presented with an historian’s interpretation, and then use a passage of text to test the[…]

This enquiry develops students’ ability to make inferences from sources and to reach conclusions about why different sources might offer contrasting interpretations. Students are presented with a set of sources about the life of a cowboy and asked to make inferences about the cowboys’ lives and characteristics. Only having discussed[…]

This enquiry uses a mystery approach to develop students’ understanding of the rivalry between ranchers and homesteaders in the years following the westward migration in the mid-19th century. It follows the story of rancher Peter French, who was murdered after a dispute with homesteader Ed Oliver. Students use a series[…]

This enquiry shifts the focus of key question 2 away from the new settlers in the west, and towards the Plains Indians whose land was seized by the settlers. In the enquiry, students chart the experiences of the Plains Indian communities in the period 1851-76, by creating ‘living graphs’ to[…]