Click on any of the learning units to find printable worksheets and easy-to-o-follow lesson plans that promote critical reading and analysis. Exploring the West is geared to students in grades 9-12. more
Teachers
Exploring the West has lesson plans and worksheets that can be used in any high-school social studies classroom. The curricular units teach students that the West has been shaped by policy and environmental factors, as well as by history and popular myth. more
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This unit explores urban growth in three western metropolitan regions: Phoenix, Arizona, Calgary, Alberta, and the Bay Area, California. Students investigate the roots and ramifications of urban growth.
This unit explores the role that mapmakers have played in imagining the West. Students encounter dozens of maps spanning several centuries. They learn to read the maps as historical artifacts.
This unit explores the role that the cowboy has played in the historical myth of the West. Students trace the emergence of the cowboy myth in the 19th century. They learn to read popular culture critically.
