Making the The American West Pop? - Myths, Realities, Peoples, and Events.

Hello Everyone,

My name is Adam Chunn and I am currently enrolled at Aurora University as a History in Secondary Education major. In one of my courses, I am to gather as many resources as I can in creating a unit based on my major. The unit I plan on utilizing is the American West and how it was settled, specifically with the Native American Wars. So far, I have resources about the Apaches during the Apache Wars, their battle tactics, weaponry, etc. I need more info on the American soldiers, their battle tactics, weapons, and so on. So, if anybody out there can post me some links to some uber sites that involves hands on learning, class discussions, and role-playing, please post them! I appreciate and welcome ANY and ALL aid you can give me.
Thanks,
Adam Chunn

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ryan Goble on October 14, 2009 at 9:41am

Adam - so you're looking for the wild west during the 1800s?

OK, so you might use some clips from westerns to look at stereotypes of "cowboys" and "indians" and use these films as a way to explore the fact and fiction of these conflicts. I'm already thinking you could get your students really riled up with PG clips from Blazing Saddles...

You might check the book Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies (Henry Holt Reference Book) features some Western films like the The Alamo.

As I'm writing this, it might be in your best interest to find one event that has become part of popular history - like say the Alamo - and use that as a case study for historical methods - how do we find out the truth of the issue. What weapons and strategies were REALLY used, what was the role of women, the media, etc. After that you can give students a list of other major conflicts and have them do independent historical research?

I also think calling the unit "Cowboys, Cowgirls, Indians and their Horses - Facts and Fictions" or something better than that - might be really fun since there are so many pop artifacts to play with - from the Lone Ranger and Tonto to Wyatt Earp and Sitting Bull. If you go on iTunes and search for these character's you'll find many pop songs have been written about them - not to mention a massive amount of films.

Sites about the myths of the American West are everywhere - and they give you a nice bank of concepts /people/ events that kids might really get into.
http://www.thewildwest.org/
http://www.americanwest.com/

You might also use the "ABC's of culture" framework from class to help you get a broader picture of the culture - the battle stuff will probably be too narrow of a focus in an American History class.

Don't forget to check out the comics "Taming Horses on the Great Plains" and "The Cattle Drives" from the American History Ink. Series.

Also be sure to look at the teacher's resources for the Ken Burn's series: New Perspective on the West

Hopefully this will help you start shaping your unit to capture more content with a tighter focus!

RRG:)

Permalink Reply by Ryan Goble on October 19, 2009 at 2:33pm

Adam,

Over the weekend I saw this cute Harry Bliss cartoon in the Tribune (might be just fun for an assignment sheet)

There is also a great chapter in Celluloid Blackboard - Teaching History with Film that you might enjoy: "Popular Film and Young People's Understanding of the History of Native White Relations."

Permalink Reply by Ryan Goble on October 30, 2009 at 6:15pm

Adam, I also thought of this great book you could use as a resource. The plays aren't exactly the type that were snubbed for Tony awards BUT they are a great way to engage students in role play and history!

Here's the description of Stages of History: Plays About America's Past by perfection learning:

Stages of History: Plays About America's Past
Grades 6–12
A perfect integration of language arts and social studies!
This collection of eight original plays focuses on defining moments in American history.

Whether used in a language arts, social studies, or combined curriculum classroom, this text will make learning interactive and exciting. Flexible casting, adolescent protagonists, and minimal staging make these royalty free dramas ideal for class or school productions as well as drama competitions.

Careful research on the historical basis of the plays helps students use reading and speaking skills to connect with events in American history.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke
The Revolutionary War
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Battle of the Alamo
The Gold Rush
The Underground Railroad
The Civil War
Homesteading

Teacher Guide
A comprehensive Teacher Guide provides support for historical, literary, and dramatic studies of the plays.

From: http://www.perfectionlearning.com/browse.php?categoryID=1594