Teaching GCSE History: The American West

>>UPDATE MARCH 2012 How can we explain the rise and boom in the cattle industry?

Probably one of the most innovative features of this section on teaching American West  history is the use of US sources and teaching materials.  Close co-operation with academic institutions in the USA has enabled unfamiliar sources to be used in imaginative ways.  You will find lessons using de Bono’s Thinking Hats on the coming of the railroad, detailed analysis of one painting on manifest destiny and a kinaesthetic approach to Moving West - all with planning and the resources you need.  Smart tasks focus on source analysis and explanation, providing ready made starters and plenaries as well as key developmental stages of the lesson.

Outstanding Lessons

• ADDED MARCH 2012 How can we explain the rise and boom in the cattle industry? Students are asked to pose historical questions stimulated by a graph, then investigate their questions using a set of written clues supported by a PowerPoint presentation before watching a short video clip to see how well it answers their questions.
• Manifest Destiny - interpreting a painting, hot seating the artist.  A fun lesson in which students not only consolidate their knowledge of the people who crossed the Plains but also present their understanding of the order in which they came, by custom animating annotations on a PowerPoint slide.
• Who went West and why?  A rare lesson that uses objects to explore different groups' motivation.
• Phases of Native American Life: but can you work out the categories?
• Was the life of a cowboy really so adventurous?  Source analysis followed by interpretations
• The likely impact of the Railroad: Time for de Bono's thinking hats and some creative products

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Smart Tasks

Why were mining towns such lawless places? This is a very straightforward, yet highly effective task with PowerPoint which asks students to distinguish between the generic and the specific, to speculate about possible reasons from clues, to think creatively about historical myths and just as importantly to know how to get full marks on this GCSE question.

Opening up of the Western frontier by the railroads. A history mystery. American West Mystery surrounding railroads and opening up of the west. Full lesson plan and PowerPoint to help thinking skills.

Mountain Men - myth and reality  This task starts with an interesting story before exploring and explaining two contrasting images of Mountain Men's encounter with native Indians.

Why did the Indians lose control of the Great Plains? I want that for my essay Students practise using evidence flexibly to answer two slightly different questions on the same theme. (16.12.09)

Attitudes of US government to Native Americans: milking an image for meaning. Students milk the meaning of an unusual image of white attitudes to the Native Americans.

Teaching American West at Key Stage 4

Schools have been teaching the American West as part of the SHP course for over 30 years. I introduced it myself in the first department I led. There have been so many examination questions set on this module and so many good textbooks now available that a new set of lessons seems almost superfluous. What I have tried to do is to avoid repeating what I know you teach well and concentrate on some more original ideas, approaches or resources. You will still find your own favourite topics, but with a new twist.

The lesson on Manifest Destiny revolves around one fascinating painting which is analysed in detail, including hot seating the artist. The one on the reasons why people went west introduces artefacts to the KS4 menu of strategies and the work on the image of cowboys invites the use of music. The lesson on the railroads provides opportunities for using de Bono's thinking skills as well as role play.

Helpful websites

Did you know that Andrew Charer of  timelines tv has now made available an on-line version of "Seven Journeys in the American West", a series he made for the BBC a few years ago. It's a user-friendly account of how the West was won (and lost) through the accounts of seven eye-witnesses. The resource comes with a slideshow and a "full screen" option, which makes it more classroom-friendly than our original History of Britain resource. Here is the link to timelines tv. Do have a look, let me know what you think, and publicize / spread the word to your department and colleagues teaching this specification for whom the resource might be useful - thanks!

If you don't know it already, have a look at Dafydd Humphreys' Learnhistory site. I particularly like the student answers he provides on a whole range of topics which students then analyse, grade and possibly improve. Geared towards EDEXCEL but useful for all specifications.

Try www.americanwest.com with its illustrated pages on topics including; Cowboys, Events, Expansion, Films, 'Indians', Mining, Outlaws, Pioneers, Trading Posts and Transportation.

To support the lesson on the railroad go to www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/hist-ov/index.shtml where you will find an excellent historical overview. This is the story of the first transcontinental railroad; the greatest, the most daring engineering effort the country had yet seen.  The time was the 1860s.  Imagine the task.

www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/owfrm.htm contains interesting testimonies on topics such as Crossing the Plains, 1865; a Buffalo Hunt in 1846; Ranchers and Farmers collide in Nebraska, 1884 and a Cowboy in Dodge City, 1882.

Up next

• What role did the US government play in the destruction of the Plains Indians?

If you would like to preview sample activities and resources from these lessons, then email us and we will forward some draft material prior to formal publication here.

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