Format
1. Artwork introduces diversity of the American West
-Intro question "What do you think of when you think of the American West?" paired with Visual Thinking Strategy question "What do you see" /"What's going on here?"
2. Landscapes & Environments
- Artwork guides discussion of buttes, mesa, deserts, Great Plains, western temperate forests
3. People and Cultures
- Artwork of Hopi water carrier; contact with Euro-Americans
- Object identification of trade items
-Diversity of cowboy culture explored through selected artwork
- Vaqueros (Spanish cowboy culture) and Mexican cowboy culture formed American cowboy
-Object identification of cowboy gear and its use
- Cattle trails and cattle drives
-African-American cowboys; focus on Bill Pickett through artwork
- African-American homesteaders (sculpture); Homestead Act of 1862
-Chinese-American contributions; Gold Rush, Transcontinental Railroad; business & industry
- Women; Charley Parkhurst- female stagecoach driver; artwork- primary source; Stagecoach
4. Animals of the West (bison focus)
5. Forced Removal of Indigenous Peoples
- Bison box object identification
- Artwork by Dine (Navajo) artist Baje Whitethorne, Sr.
- Resiliency of indigenous people; contributions today
Objectives
1. Explore the diversity of cultures and people that contributed to the settlement of the American West through artwork.
2. Engage in a discussion about the opportunities and contributions of African-Americans during Westward Expansion (homesteaders, cowboys, and cattle drives, Wild West shows).
3. Engage in a discussion about the opportunities and contributions of Chinese-American immigrants (Gold Rush, Transcontinental Railroad).
4. Identify landforms and environments that make up the American West.
5. Compare intended and unintended consequences of Westward Expansion through movement and migration (Oregon Trail, railroads, forced removal of indigenous peoples).
6. Explore the changing role of women in the West
Standards Alignment
National Standards
Programs support National Curriculum and Common Core Standards in areas of Social Studies and Visual Arts
State Standards
Georgia Standards of Excellence
SS5H1a, SS5G1a (Chisolm Trail), SS5E1b,d; VA5.RE.1a,c; VA5.CN.3, ELAGSE5RL1, ELAGSE5RI2, ELAGSE5RI3, ELAGSE5SL1b,c,d