What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...

For any teacher of American History, The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a watershed event that should be shared with your students. This is a very good lesson on the Expedition, and the events that led up to it; including The Lousisiana...

You have just hit the lesson plan jackpot! This isn't just a activity, it's a ten-day unit covering westward expansion, pioneer life, and the Oregon Trail. Activities include baking, model building, role-play, newspaper writing, science...

An ambitious and engaging instructional activity on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A...

They expected good soil and hearty crops ... but they found buffalo chips and grasshopper plagues. Using an advertisement encouraging famers to go west, budding historians examine primary sources including letters, photographs, and...

Barbed wire may have made cattle farming easier, but it brought to an end the free-roaming days of the plains. No longer could Native American groups continue their nomadic lifestyle, and the days of cowboys herding large groups of...

"Go West, young man!" is a familiar refrain in American history. But why did people leave their homes in the East to travel westward and what impact did that movement have on people already living in the American West? By examining...

Commonplace today, the zipper and button construction of blue jeans was a major innovation. Using the patent for the J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss innovation, individuals comb an image of the fly for clues. Afterward, they discuss its...

Although popular culture tells the story of the American West simplistically, its reality is far more complex. Native American tribes—while already on the land—didn't have the same interests, and conflicts between white settlers and...

Lewis and Clark's famous expedition is a prime example of the United States' westward expansion. Aspiring historians examine maps from Lewis and Clark's journey, as well as discuss their interactions with Native American tribes. The...

How do policies aimed to help actually hurt? Native American boarding schools—an attempt at assimilating children of indigenous tribes into white culture—had a shattering effect on those who attended. With primary sources, including...

Did the Transcontinental Railroad connect the nation or divide it? Learners demonstrate their knowledge of the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad in a written assessment. The assessment also uses an original photo as a prompt for...

"Westward, ho!" may have been their cry in spite of the hardships. Using a series of photographs by Solomon D. Butcher of those who ventured west, class members consider what life was like in the 1800s for those who embarked on the...

The Sand Creek Massacre refers to the killing of hundreds of native peoples at the hands of federal troops. Today, the site is marked as a sacred spot by the National Parks Service. Young people consider the impact of the atrocity and...

What do the War of 1812 and the accidental presidency of John Tyler have in common? Historians ponder the question as they learn about the Battle of Tippecanoe, how it led to the declaration of war with Great Britain in the War of 1812,...

What led Americans to head west in the 1800s? Using an interactive map and journals from those who traveled, pupils explore the stories of those who migrated. In addition, they see how the numbers fluctuated in response to the push-pull...

Sitting Bull was not expected to be a great warrior. Yet, he led the Lakota people and other tribes to several pivotal victories against the United States government when federal troops threatened their land. Using primary sources, such...

How can primary sources bring history to life? Scholars create detailed lesson plans on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in American history. The 17th installment of a 22-part program exploring American history examines...

Have you ever seen a movie about the romance of the American West with its buffalo, horses, cowboys, and endless frontier? The 13th installment of a 22-part series on American history presents the myths associated with the American West....

Tumbling tumbleweeds! Scholars work with video clips, primary and secondary documents, and song lyrics to uncover life in the Old West. They examine song's lyrics to uncover myths told in the 1930s about life in the Wild West. 

What would be in your life's scrapbook? Scholars use short video clips, primary and secondary documents, and photos to investigate a 1909 scrapbook. They analyze and uncover what the Rogue Book tells them about the past in Western...

Go West, young man! Scholars use PBS video clips, slide shows, and interactive materials to create a picture of Manifest Destiny in the American West. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, young historians learn about the...

There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...

As your young historians study Westward Expansion, practice in-depth primary source analysis with the documents and guidelines presented in this resource. They will examine a lithograph and excerpts from two letters written by a Nebraska...