The Wild West

What They'll Explore

• The different groups of people who lived in, settled, or passed through the West
• The real stories of everyday settlers on the Great Plains
• A fictional plot of land, developed as the unit progresses
• What happened to the animals of the West during this period
• A significant historical figure of their choosing, researched in depth

What's Included

Reading Options

Choose one historical fiction title to read alongside the unit.

• Farmer Boy
• Little House on the Prairie
• On the Banks of Plum Creek
• Hardscrabble
• How I Became a Ghost
• My Heart is On the Ground
• Sing Down the Moon
• Little Britches

Then choose two nonfiction titles from the Cause and Effect series:

• Apache Resistance
• Last Stand
• Defending the Land
• Last Battle
• Seeking Freedom

Optional books & videos:

• BBC Wild West video
• You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Railroad
• You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Wild West Town
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pony Express Rider

Who It's For

How It Works

1. Read the required chapters and complete the daily workbook pages at your own pace.
2. Choose one historical fiction book and two nonfiction titles to read alongside the unit.
3. Develop a fictional plot of land, imagining the life of a settler as the West changes.
4. Research a significant person of your choice and build a biography poster as a final project.

Sample & Preview

The workbook is free to download

Since the full student workbook is free, you can preview the whole unit before you start — these are real pages from the actual unit, not mockups.

Click any page to open the full, real workbook PDF.

Download the workbook →