Edexcel GCSE American West Complete Bundle

This bundle includes a complete set of ready-to-use resources tailored for Edexcel GCSE 9-1 History students. These resources cover all the key themes of the American West and include lessons, worksheets and exam practice, saving teachers hours of planning whilst engaging students in American history.

What’s included:

Early Settlement of the West: Life on the frontier: homesteaders, sod houses, and farming challenges, Push and pull factors for settlement, The Homestead Act and government incentives, Native American perspectives and the impact of expansion.

Development on the Plains: Growth of the cattle industry, cattle drives, ranching, and the open range, The impact of railways on settlement and trade
Technological and environmental changes such as barbed wire, overgrazing and drought, The transformation of towns and the rise of law enforcement

Conflict and Conquest: Plains Indian resistance and key events such as Little Bighorn, Wounded Knee and the Ghost Dance, The Range Wars and clashes between cattlemen, homesteaders and ranchers, Outlaws and lawmen such as Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp and frontier justice, Extermination of the buffalo and the decline of the Plains Indian way of life, Myth vs. reality with understanding historical interpretation

Features include:
Engaging Powerpoints, printable worksheets and differentiated tasks.
Case studies and story-based lessons to build student empathy and understanding
Exam-style questions and scaffolding for the Edexcel American West unit of study.
Ready made PowerPoints, suggested teaching strategies and printable activities

These resources provide a structured, coherent and visually engaging approach to teaching the American West, making complex topics accessible for all learners. Students will explore social, economic and cultural change, understand cause and consequence and be fully prepared for exam questions.

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
L12 The Homestead Act
L13 The Pacific Railroad Act
L14 Problems of Homesteading (free resource)
L15 Growth of the Cattle Industry
L16 Life of Cowboys
L17 Rivalry between Ranchers and Homesteaders
L18 Impact of Settlement on the Plains Indians (free resource)
L19 Little Crow’s War and the Sand Creek Massacre
L20 Red Cloud’s War
L21 Changes to farming on the Plains

Any reviews would be gratefully appreciated.