GeoCivics
You can be a water protector too!
Author: Ashley Alarcon, Arizona
Grade 4
This lesson focuses on water usage and preservation while exploring cultural differences between the Indigenous perspectives and today’s mainstream cultural perspective on water. This 5E lesson tells the story of how Indigenous people utilized water as well as the land for many things they needed to survive without necessarily changing it. During westward expansion, the treatment of land and water changed dramatically. However, the Indigenous perspective on natural resources has always stayed the same; we see the land as a relative and water as life.
You can be a water protector too!
Author: Ashley Alarcon, Arizona
Grade 4
This lesson focuses on water usage and preservation while exploring cultural differences between the Indigenous perspectives and today’s mainstream cultural perspective on water. This 5E lesson tells the story of how Indigenous people utilized water as well as the land for many things they needed to survive without necessarily changing it. During westward expansion, the treatment of land and water changed dramatically. However, the Indigenous perspective on natural resources has always stayed the same; we see the land as a relative and water as life.
Additional Westward Expansion
Teaching Resources
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Teacher's Guides and Analysis Tool - Library of Congress
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Frontier Museum Virtual Field Trip. Visit the museum from the classroom and explore life in the old world.
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Library of Congress. Firsthand accounts from Americans as they traveled west from 1750 to 1920. Great for providing primary sources to students!
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National Park Service. A resource article titled, The Expedition’s Impact on Indigenous Americans.
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National Gallery of Art. A resource that looks into the role that artists played when it came to shaping the publics’ understanding of the western part of the United States.
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PBS Interactive Westward Expansion map. A resource that allows you to view native tribes, geologic features, and precipitation from 1790 to 1850.
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History Channel. A resource with various articles on the western Expansion from different perspectives.
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National Archives. Primary resources for teaching Westward Expansion.
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National Geographic Western map. Maps, articles, and encyclopedic entries for all grade levels!
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PBS Interactive Westward Expansion map. A resource that allows you to view native tribes, geologic features, and precipitation from 1860 to 1890.
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Library of Congress. Student discovery set of free eBooks on the Industrial Revolution.
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National Gallery of Art. A classroom activity focusing on the multiple viewpoints of the Industrial Revolution.
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The Ohio State University, History Teaching Institute. Classroom activities on teaching the Industrial Revolution.
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C3 Teachers. A high school level lesson on Industrialization.
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PBS Learning Media. Teaching instruction, activities, and videos for 3rd -12th grade.
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Cherokee Phoenix and Indian’s Advocate Newspaper 1800s.Primary sources resource of newspaper articles from the 1830s.
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Sequoyah Research Center, American Native Press Archives. A primary source that shares accounts of families and family members who either experienced the Trail of Tears or are passing on the stories from their elders.
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Native American Rights Fund. “Since 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation.”
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Library of Congress. A resource that provides additional information on Native American Boarding Schools.
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Bureau of Indian Affairs. An interactive map that displays the land areas of Federally-Recognized Tribes.
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How to Address Native American Issues as a Non-Native: A Resource for Allies.