Curated OER
Women and the Homestead Act: Creating a Place for Themselves In the West
Eighth graders examine basic elements of the Homestead Act, describe gender make-up of the West before and after the Homestead Act, connect the Homestead Act with women's suffrage, and create a modern day business propaganda pamphlet.
Curated OER
Free Land
Students investigate the impact of the passage of the Homestead Act. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students visit selected websites to examine the lives of Americans who settled the American frontier.
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Native Americans and Settlers
Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 African American Settlers
Go West, young man! Scholars investigate the impact of African American settlers moving to the Nebraska territory, following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the mid 1800s. Using primary sources, timelines, maps, and...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Railroads and Settlement
Have you ever wondered how your town was placed where it is? Scholars research the impact the advancement of the railroad due to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act had on the formation of civilization in the Great Plains. Map...
DocsTeach
Reasons for Westward Expansion
"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...
Curated OER
The Transcontinental Railroad
Students investigate the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad. In this Transcontinental Railroad instructional activity, students research Internet and print sources regarding the effect of the railroad on Chinese immigrants...
Curated OER
Teaching with Primary Sources Across Tennessee
Learners examine Gee's Bend Alabama. For this resettlement lesson, students view a series of photographs taken of Gee's Bend Alabama. Learners will write a series of newspaper articles based on the images, that exemplify the evolution of...
Curated OER
National Park Service: Adeline Hornbeck and the Homestead Act
This Teaching with Historic Places lesson effectively depicts the life of a pioneer woman and ways in which the Homestead Act impacted her life. The site includes lesson plans, inquiry questions, and photos that may be used in covering...
Curated OER
National Park Service: Homestead National Monument: History and Culture
An extensive site that covers many aspects of the Homestead Act, including biographies, charts, and the text of the act. From the National Park Service.
US National Archives
National Archives: Exploring the Western Frontier With the Records of Congress
Students will analyze the impact of the frontier on American life and the role Congress played in settling the frontier. Included are worksheets, Turner's Thesis, and reflection questions. Primary sources provided are petitions for...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Contested Territories
This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.