Alaska Studies Semester Unit 1 + Problem Solving Guidebook

Dear friend,

If you’re looking for a way to start Alaska Studies that feels thoughtful, grounded, and genuinely engaging, this unit is meant to help.

This download includes the complete Unit 1 of the High School Alaska Studies semester course, along with the student-facing Problem Solving Guidebook used throughout the class. Together, they set the tone for the entire semester—inviting students to think carefully about place, culture, geography, identity, and the relationships between people and the land.

Instead of memorizing isolated facts, students investigate how land shapes culture, how people adapt to environments, and how meaning, movement, and belonging are tied to place. The work is inquiry-driven and reflective, asking students not just to learn about Alaska, but to think with it.

Inside this unit, you’ll find:

• the full Unit 1 instructional materials

• multiple performance task options aligned to the unit’s core concepts

• structured support for inquiry and portfolio-based work

• the Alaska Studies Problem Solving Guide, used across the semester

The Problem Solving Guide introduces a six-step reasoning process that students use to work through complex situations. They practice identifying underlying problems, weighing constraints, evaluating possible solutions, and creating realistic action plans—while documenting their thinking along the way. These skills carry through the entire course.

Unit 1 focuses on:

• Alaska’s cultural and geographic foundations

• place, identity, and belonging

• human–environment adaptation

• mapping, movement, and meaning

• systems thinking and evidence-based reasoning

Students work with maps, oral histories, data, narratives, and scenarios, building understanding through sustained, meaningful tasks rather than quick answers.

This unit is typically introduced at the start of the semester and taught over about four weeks, though it’s flexible enough to adapt to different pacing, schedules, and classroom contexts. It’s designed for grades 9–12.

This is not a script. It’s a robust, teacher-guided framework that supports inquiry, discussion, problem solving, and performance-based assessment—while leaving room for professional judgment and local context.

If you teach Alaska Studies, work in a high school social studies classroom, or use inquiry- or project-based learning, this unit gives students the tools they need to think clearly about complex places and problems—and gives teachers the structure to guide that work with confidence.

— Wild North Consulting