I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the fears over the Ghost Dance and the significance of the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Students have to analyse text, answer differentiated questions and use video evidence to evaluate the reasons for the massacre and the implications of the Ghost Dance.
The plenary is a connection wall which requires students to connect 4 key words together and explain why.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account ’ question worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included from the start.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to explore the consequences of the Battle of Little Big Horn as public perceptions of the Plains Indians changed from weak savages to a real threat.
Students are introduced to General Custer before analysing some text on the causes of the Battle and his subsequent defeat. For further challenge, they are then given some fragments of sentences which they have to fill out and complete.
They are also required use key words to evaluate the consequences of the battle and recognise a new direction of policy for the US Government when dealing with the Plains Indians.
The plenary is to create a brewing pot of ingredients which led to Custer’s last stand and defeat.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included to recall the significance of treaties.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to assess the importance of Billy the Kid in the continued problems of law and order in the West.
Students learn about his story from a young age to him acquiring his notorious reputation and have to emoji rate each part of it to judge how bad he really was.
They have to give reasons for each of their judgements before they give an overall assessment of his life. There is an excellent link to a documentary to reinforce the learning.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘importance’ question worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The plenary uses key letters of the alphabet to link to the learning of the lesson.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included linking their prior knowledge of law and order in the towns
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the large scale mass migration of black Americans to Kansas in 1879.
Students are introduced to a picture called ‘American Progress’, painted in 1872 and have to decide how and why it promotes the inhuman treatment of native Americans.
They also have to answer the following key questions: Where does the word Exoduster come from? Who was Benjamin Singleton and why was there a mass migration of black Americans to Kansas in 1879?
Furthermore they have to pick part and decipher the causes and consequences of this mass migration to Kansas and why black Americans received a positive as well as a negative reaction from white Americans living there.
The plenary uses boxing gloves to spark a number of discussions amongst the students and what they have understood in this and previous lessons.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘consequences ’ question worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included which involves splatting bubbles.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to assess the importance of Wyatt Earp and the continuing problems of law and order in the West. It follows on from the previous lesson on Billy the Kid.
Students learn why Wyatt Earp was employed in Tombstone and then have to emoji rate each part of his story to judge how wicked he ‘possibly’ was.
They have to give reasons for each of their judgements before they give an overall assessment on his life.
There is an excellent link to a documentary on Earp and well as a clip from the film Tombstone to reinforce the learning.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘consequences’ question worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The plenary is a literacy challenge which requires definitions of key words.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
Some retrieval practice is also included from the beginning to think of the similarities and differences between Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to understand and evaluate the impact of the US Government policy on the Plains Indians.
Students recall previous Government policy pre 1860 and analyse how this started to encroach on the Plains Indians way of life.
They then have to analyse four areas of impact; the coming of the railroad, cattle, reservations and the discovery of gold. Using a cauldron, they have to decide which facts (or ingredients) are the most significant to mix into it. These ingredients are placed on the shelves. The higher the shelf, the more significant the impact of the ingredient.
The plenary uses images (the linkee game) to decipher and recap further problems faced by the Plains Indians . Students then have to decide what happened at a consequence.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘consequences’ question worth 8 marks.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of the new inventions introduced in the 19th Century to the Great Plains to aid the Homesteaders and tackle the problems they faced.
Students have to decide what a Homesteader would need with up to $1000 and use images to piece together how inventions would help them settle in the Plains.
There is an effective rating activity using a battery in which they have to rate the most and least effective of all the inventions (or not if they take into account natural disasters).
Some GCSE question practice focuses of the narrative account question with key exam skills attached as well as some help if required.
The plenary involves students deciding on the answers to 12 answers.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice using the odd one out is also included.
It comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to understand the reasons for the relative success of Red Cloud against the US Government as opposed to Little Crow and Black Kettle.
Students have to piece together the causes behind Red Cloud’s decision for going to war despite his tribe being divided and the awareness of the previous consequences of fighting back.
They learn about Fetterman’s Trap and the second Fort Laramie Treaty. They then have to decide the reasons or limits of Red Cloud’s success (such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse refusing to sign the Treaty).
I have also included an interactive click and drag exercise using activex textboxes which moves text to complete gap fills to reinforce the learning of the lesson.
The plenary uses an interactive flashcard activity linking to Plains Indian Chiefs.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account’ worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included linking key words together.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to explore the rivalry and tensions that grew up between ranchers and homesteaders on the Plains from the 1860’s onwards.
Students have to think why conflict arose on the Plains and what the arguments might be with some initial guidance.
They also learn about the checkerboard allocation of land and the issue of free ‘public land’. Using some typical scenarios which arose, they have to come up with solutions to the problems.
There is some GCSE exam question practice on the ‘consequences question’, with some help given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice linking key words and subject is included.
The plenary links key words from the lesson together to form sentences to reinforce the learning. There is also some retrieval practice at the start.
It comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to explore the conflicts between the US Government and the Plains Indians in the 1860’s. It is split into two parts.
The first part analyses Little Crow’s War of 1862 and the second part analyses the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.
Students are required to place themselves in the shoes of Little Crow and have to choose which decisions he took against the US Government as a result of the Dakota Sioux’s plight, which became more and more desperate.
This is completed in the form of a quiz where points are allocated for the right decisions taken by the students. Answers are given throughout if wrong choices are made with accompanying explanations.
There is a printable worksheet included on which they give information about his early life and the reasons for growing tensions with the US Government. The sheet also tracks the decisions made by the students and the points awarded for each decision.
At the end of the task, students will be keen to hear that the results are in and a winner announced!
In part 2 of the lesson a chronological exercise as well as questions around the impact of the Sand Creek Massacre will be posed to the students.
The plenary requires some critical thinking skills around causal equations.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account’ worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included linking key words together.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson to analyse the work of the cowboys on the Long Drives and on Cattle Ranches of the American Plains.
At the start, some myths are dispelled about cowboys, many of which can be attributed to Hollywood films and John Wayne.
Students learn the importance of the Long Drives and the roles the cowboys played in bring the cattle to their final destination, including all the hazards on the way.
They also study the life on the ranches and the further difficulties endured by the cowboys in their work.
Students are thus prepared to answer a GCSE exam practice question on the importance of cowboys to the cattle industry worth 8 marks, with help given if required.
The plenary challenges students to decide if the statements can be categorised to the Ranches or the Long Drive.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to understand the rise of the cattle industry and the impact it had on the American West.
Students are given a Texan Cattle Industry Thinking Quilt which introduces them to new concepts and key words.
They are introduced to Joseph McCoy and have to decipher a number of statements relating to him which have specific errors in them to correct.
They analyse various texts and video links on the Goodnight-Loving Trail as well as the rise of John Iliff and have to work out relating statistics as well as key questions which aim to challenge assumptions and beliefs.
There is some GCSE exam practice on the ‘consequences’ question, with help given if required.
The plenary is a talking heads activity.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice on source recall is also included.
It comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson focuses on the impact of Pacific Railroad Act of 1842.
Students analyse maps and original advertisements to evaluate how effective the railroad companies were in encouraging people to move west and the difficulties involved in building a railroad in the first place.
They focus on the effects of the American Civil War and judge the economic impact of the railroad in terms of travel, immigration, the rise of towns, farming as well as the growth of the cattle industry.
They also have to determine the negative impacts the railroad had on the Plains Indians and the Buffalo.
There is some GCSE exam practice on the ‘consequences’ question, with help given if required.
The plenary requires thinking around the popular head, heart, bin and bag activity.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some key word retrieval practice is also included using a spider diagram.
It comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West, c 1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the Homestead Act of 1862.
What was the Homestead Act and who could apply? How did the US
Government make it easier for US citizens to become Homesteaders from what had happened previously?
Students will also be required to think and judge who really benefitted from it. Was it all US Citizens who benefitted or did anyone else? Were the Plains Indians considered when this Act was passed and how did it affect them? There are notes on the slides to help.
Students are required to complete a GCSE ‘importance’ practice question and are challenged to think why each specific term was significant.
The plenary requires connecting and linking key words and dates.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included using an odd one out activity.
It comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
**The early settlement of the American West c.1835-c.1862 **
This bundle is the first part in a series of lessons I have created for Edexcel GCSE 9-1 The American West, c.1835-c1895
Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of the early settlement of the west from the customs, traditions and lives of the Plains Indians through to the lawlessness of the towns.
They will focus on the settlement of the Great Plains with the coming of the early settlers and the problems they faced farming the land.
They will learn about the conflicts and conquest of the Great Plains such as the Gold Rush of 1849 and the use of the Oregon Trail by the Donner Party for example.
Questions will target consequence such as the US government policy towards the Plains Indians and the treaties which followed such as the Indian Removal Act, the Indian Appropriations Act and the Fort Laramie Treaty.
Furthermore students will be empowered to master the significance of key events such as the Mormon migration west and write analytical narratives such as the perils of the Oregon Trail.
I have dispensed with individual learning objectives for each lesson to focus throughout on a specific enquiry based question which addresses the knowledge and skills required for the GCSE questions and shows progression in learning required during this course.
Moreover it allows the students to critically think for themselves to decide who was benefitting from this rapid change to America as well as how and why.
For assessment purposes each lesson, with the exception of the first two, is accompanied by one of the three key exam questions with help and exam tips if needed. These can be completed in the lesson or for homework tasks if required.
The lessons are all differentiated and are tailored to enable the students to achieve the highest grades.
The lessons come in PDF and Powerpoint formats if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction to the Plains Indians (free resource)
L2 Plains Indian society
L3 The Great Plains and the Buffalo
L4 The Spirit World (free resource)
L5 Conflict over land
L6 The Oregon Trail
L7 The Gold Rush and the Donner Party
L8 The Mormon Migration
L9 Early Settlement on the Plains
L10 The Fort Laramie Treaty
L11 Problems of lawlessness
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to explore the problems of the rapid rising of mining towns and the lawlessness they created.
Students complete a Head and Tails activity and a thinking quilt which challenges them to decide the greatest changes as well as the most important and biggest impact the early towns and settlements brought.
There is some GCSE exam question practice on the ‘importance question’, with some help given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice using an A-Z task is also included.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to introduce the Fort Laramie Treaty and how the Government began to force the Plains Indians into fixed territories.
Students have to decide and justify why conflict and tension grew between the Plain Indians and white settlers, with some red herrings thrown in for challenge.
The terms of the Fort Laramie Treaty are given, which the students should learn and a printable worksheet is provided.
They also have to rate the success of each term and/or fact about the Treaty by colour coding a battery and then deciding the problems each might cause. A quick fire quiz also will reinforce their learning.
There is some GCSE question practice on the consequences question, with some help given if required.
A play your cards right plenary (complete with music) will test chronology and understanding from this and previous lessons.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included on the first slide on treaties.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to analyse some of the problems the early settlers faced moving west onto the Great Plains.
Students have to work out the initial problems through various images and think through how they could solve these.
They also have to decide how to deal with the swarms of locusts that descended on the Great Plain such as in 1874 when an estimated 120 billion grasshoppers devastated over 300,000 square kilometres of land.
There is some GCSE exam question practice on the consequences question with some help given if required.
The plenary requires students to use dice to pick and link key words together to create sentences.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice with talking heads is also included on the front slide.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to examine the role of the two leaders of the Mormons; Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and the story of the Mormon migration West to Salt Lake City.
Students learn the teachings of the Mormons and how isolationist the movement became in the face of so much hostility and persecution.
Students have a choice of tasks using key questions or a story board to plot the life of Young and then annotate some text to analyse the leadership qualities of Brigham Young.
They also complete a prioritisation activity as well as a planning thinking quilt of Brigham Young to ascertain his successful migration west.
There is some GCSE exam question practice on the ‘importance’ question, with help if required and a noughts and crosses quiz at the end to reinforce the learning of the lesson.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format is there is a wish to adapt or change.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson examines the process and problems of migration using the Oregon Trail, exacerbated and proliferated by the discovery of Gold in California.
Students analyse the positive and negative effects of migrating to California and are then challenged to link statistics to the various facts shown.
There is some text analysis on the Donner Party and its consequences with key questions as well as video footage to reinforce the learning.
Some GCSE question practice focuses of the narrative account question with key exam skills attached as well as some help if required.
The plenary uses an interactive hangman game.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice using the odd one out is also included.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
