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Unit Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Whose Land Is This? Webisode 8

For Students 9th - 10th
From Joy Hakim's marvelous set of books, A History of US, this webisode offers narrative, pictures, and teaching guides for the settling of the West after the Civil War.
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Activity
PBS

Pbs: Lewis and Clark: Yankton Sioux Indians

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about what the Yankton Sioux wanted from Lewis and Clark and why they were disappointed when they met the Corps of Discovery on its journey up the Missouri River. From PBS.
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Website
PBS

Pbs the West: Walking Pieces of Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
A look at the role railroads played in the near-extermination of the American bison.
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Journeys West

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which students explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"
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Article
PBS

Frontier House: The Extermination of the American Buffalo

For Students 9th - 10th
The reign of the buffalo across the plains ended in great slaughter by the end of the 19th century. This companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House, recounts how the decimation of the buffalo occurred, hastened by both white and...
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Activity
PBS

Pbs: Lewis and Clark: Oto Indians

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the Otos, a Southern Sioux tribe, and their encounter with the Corps of Discovery in the summer of 1804. From PBS.
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Activity
PBS

Pbs: Lewis and Clark: Missouri Indians

For Students 9th - 10th
Meet the Missouri Indians, the first group of western Indians encountered by the Corps of Discovery. Read how Lewis and Clark dealt with them. From PBS.
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Website
PBS

Pbs the West: The Grandest Enterprise Under God

For Students 9th - 10th
The critically acclaimed PBS series, "The West," depicts the coming of the railroad throughout the west and the consequences of the settling of the west.
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: History of a Buffalo Hunter

For Students 9th - 10th
A manuscript from the Federal Writers' Project gives an interview with Don Manuel Jesus Vasques, who was hired to hunt buffalo in Texas and Oklahoma. Read his fascinating account of the terrible slaughter of the buffalo on the plains.
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Website
Other

Kickapoo History

For Students 9th - 10th
A thorough look at the history and culture of the Kickapoo Indians from Pre-Columbian times to 1900.