The Travelin’ Trunk team fashioned an entirely new trunk—a mini-archive in a box—for middleand high school classrooms on Grand Canyon’s human history, and they created additional lessons that are available below.The curriculum serves as a window onto American history and as a microcosm for learning about human encounters with the land and other peoples. Lessons explore important themes and eras emphasized on the project’s website and aligned with state and national educational standards such as the role of the federal government, progressivism, and civil rights.

Moreover, the trunks help engage students in doing history by reading and analyzing primary documents, offering interpretations, and examining life at the canyon over time. They focus on important concepts—use, movement, and power—by asking students to think about who used the canyon, how it was used, and why.  They ask students to ponder who visited and who stayed at the canyon. In addition to essential questions of use and movement, lessons involve students in thinking about power relations at the canyon. Who claimed rights to the area? Does anyone own the place? Who decides?

You may download the PDF of the teacher guide here.

Educators may borrow the Travelin’ Trunks for a two-week period to help their students learn about the Grand Canyon. For more information on ordering a trunk, visit the Grand Canyon Association's website at http://www.grandcanyon.org/fieldinstitute/educators_trunk.asp