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Lesson Plan

Great Plains Homesteaders

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This Great Plains Homesteaders lesson plan also includes:

"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 journey as well as those who were already there. After examining the photographs from the Library of Congress, scholars speculate on the reliability of photographic historical evidence.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Concepts
the midwest, the american west, american history, native americans, native american history, native american tribes, westward expansion, slavery, the homestead act, railroads, the transcontinental railroad, primary source analysis, primary source images, primary sources, photograph analysis
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Additional Tags
social studies
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Instructional Ideas
  • Create a jigsaw-style discussion for learners to evaluate the photographs of life in the West
  • Develop a secondary discussion using images of native peoples in the West
Classroom Considerations
  • To use the materials, teachers must make a free Stanford History Education Group account 
  • Links to specific photos are no longer live, but they can be recovered through the link to the larger Library of Congress archive
Pros
  • Images are stimulating and easy to evaluate
  • PowerPoint includes all relevant background information
Cons