This great lesson is designed to help students understand how the Homesteaders overcame the problems they faced on the Great Plains such as water supply, natural hazards, extreme weather, protecting crops, bankruptcy, insects and Native Americans. This lesson includes a 26 slide PowerPoint with six core activities including starter, review summary tasks on the problems, thinking skills review activities, card sort and an exam question. I have also included fourteen illustrated information slides to be used either before or after the card sort activity explaining both the problems facing the Homesteaders and the solutions that they came up with. In addition, the PowerPoint contains aims, objectives, differentiated outcomes, information slides, pictures, diagrams and templates for summarizing learning. The two page word document contains 14 problems with the solutions that the Homesteaders came up with mixed up. Students cut out the cards and match the problems and solutions under the two headings. Once they have peer reviewed or checked them during a class feedback session, students can then stick them into their books. Alternatively, you could create a class set that are kept in envelops and quickly matched and then put back as a quick starter or plenary. For more information please see the sample preview. The aims and objectives for this activity are: Theme: How successful were the Homesteaders at settling on the Great Plains? Know: What problems did they have to overcome? Understand: How did the Homesteaders survive and build successful farms on the Great Plains? Evaluate: What impact did these solutions have on the Homesteaders, the environment and the Native Americans? Skills: Cause, Consequence, Change, Continuity and Source Evaluation. WILF – What Am I Looking For? Identify and describe: What problems did the Homesteaders have to overcome in order to survive? Explain: Did they try and solve these problems? Analyze: begin to make an overall judgment on how successful the Homesteaders were at settling on the Great Plains and at what cost? This is a great lesson which, which your students will enjoy. Please check out some of my other resources on the American West or follow the History Academy on You Tube, Facebook or Twitter. Kind Regards Roy

This great little card sort exercise is designed to help students who are studying law and order in the American West. It can be used as a revision activity, starter or plenary on this topic. When you purchase this resource you will be able to download a single page Microsoft Office Word document, which contains a lesson objective, instructions and ten key solutions and their matching explanations. Once students have cut out the cards, they match the solution with the explanation of how it helped to maintain law and order. A simple exercise which works effectively with students of all abilities. The aims and objectives are: Theme: Law and order in the American West Know: What solutions were used to solve the problems of law and order in the West? Understand: How did these solutions help to maintain law and order? Evaluate: How successful were these solutions? WILF: What Am I Looking For? Identify and Describe: The solutions that were used to solve the problems of law and order in the West? Explain: How these solutions were supposed to help maintain law and order? Analyse: How successful were these solutions? If you like this resource then why not check out my other resources on this topic in my TES shop. You can also follow ‘The History Academy’ on Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube and Facebook for the latest updates or even to get in touch and chat about how you have used this resource or to ask questions. We aim to produce cheap and affordable resources for either the price of a good cup of coffee or a happy meal so that you can spend more time doing the things that you want. Anyway, have fun and stay in touch via social media for the latest updates. Kind Regards Roy