The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.
Here are the teacher pack items for Western United States:
Overview
In this experience, students brainstorm associations with the name “American West.” Then they learn about the physical geography of the Western United States, focusing on the landforms and their climates. Next they examine the human geography of the region. Finally, they prepare an oral report about one state in the region.
Estimated duration: 40–60 minutes or several days, depending how much time you want to give students to research and present their oral reports. You may choose to have students prepare their reports in pairs, or split the class into two groups that listen to the individual oral reports in parallel to give every student time to present.
Vocabulary words:
Objectives
The United States is often divided into geographic areas. In this experience, you will learn about the Western region, which contains the following states: Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
Objectives
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge
When you hear the name “American West,” what do you think of? Post a thought or connection using a single word or short phrase. To list multiple items, separate them with commas, like this: winter, Philadelphia.
Students may post place names or words related to sunshine and beaches, the entertainment industry, the Wild West, etc. This activity will give you a glimpse into what your students know about the West and what stereotypes they may hold about the region.