Moving to the Frontier

Students explore U.S. history by researching a historic map. In this westward expansion lesson, students discuss the mystery of the western U.S. in the early 1800's and the impact expansion had on Native Americans and agriculture....

Students face a challenge. In this survival lesson, students discover the hardships faced by the pioneers who moved west and see if they would survive a similar situation. They discuss essential items they need to survive and...

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....

Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...

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 comes to mind when the class imagines settlers traveling out West? The lesson teaches pupils about the western frontier of Alabama and what life was like for people traveling West—in wagons with few possessions. Scholars write,...

What was it like to be a cowboy in 1867? Visit the Cooke Ranch and explore a cowboy's working and dwelling quarters. Play the interactive games to learn about the many aspects of daily life in the American West. (Click "Interactive...

Students explore American frontier life. In this history instructional activity, students participate in a series of activities that challenge them to discover what pioneer life was really like.

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

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.