Chapters:

1.   Starter – Imag(in)ing The Wild West

2.   Change and Continuity – How the West was Won

3.   Causation – Why Did People ‘Go West’?

4.   Research – the First Homesteaders

5.   Evidence – ‘We Have to be Very Careful’

6.   Interpretations – Frank and Jesse

7.   Interpretations – Jesse James

8.   Conclusion – How wild was the Wild West?

A Note from the Author

In 2006, as part of my discussions with Hodder about the principles which would underlie the Concepts and Processes books I would eventually write for them, I produced a short demonstration unit on 'How Wild was the Wild West?'

In the end, Hodder decided that they did not want a book, in a Key Stage 3 series, on the Wild West (a GCSE topic).  But the unit was written, and I have long intended to put it online for anybody who wants it.  So here it is.

Each webpage represents a lesson, and has a worksheet of work attached (just click on the 'Time to Work' icon at the top of any page).  History teachers with access to a computer room will be able to use it to deliver online lessons.  Alternatively, they will be able to set webpages for online homeworks.  The site will be of particular use to homeschoolers. 

Time moves on, and we demand more from a Scheme of Work nowadays.  Unlike the lessons which accompanied the original pitch, the work suggestions are not differentiated; a lot of the source materials are visual, but poor readers will need help even so.

Nevertheless, whether you are a student or a teacher, I trust that you will find the unit interesting and engaging.  Some of the students who studied this topic went on to be History Graduates and even History teachers, so I can say with a surety that the lessons that follow will teach you how to be an historian!