Social Studies/History - American West

Annabel's Journey to California
http://www.huntington.org/Education/GoldRush/game/anna_1.htm
Annabelle is an 11-year-old girl from Ohio who travels to California with her family during the Gold Rush. Read about her trek across the continent and, along the way, help Annabelle's family make some important decisions about their trip.

Harvest of History
http://www.harvestofhistory.org/index.html
This site compares and contrasts a farming village of 1845 to the modern day world. Students can make their own video online using clips, narrative, and music supplied by the authors.

Klondike - The Rush For Gold!
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Klondike/English/startgame.html
On the educational website Klondike – Rush for Gold kids can reenact the 1897 to 1898 gold rush adventure through the harsh wilderness in Alaska and Yukon. Make the decisions about how to travel, which routes to take, what to pack, and where to look for gold. If you have some luck and make the best decisions, you will find gold! If you don’t, you can try again and make different decisions.

Oregon Trail
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html

Photos of the American West
http://photoswest.org/collect.htm
Teaching history with authentic historical photos certainly makes the task easier. The Denver Library has supplied wonderful photos that document the development of the American West: the great railroads rolling West, covered wagons on the trails, wild west shows, Native Americans, and even the famous Western saloons complete with patrons. The Library has also provided special collections on Native American women, and on Denver, The City Beautiful, which contains pictures of great early American architecture.