The History of Alaska
America's Last Frontier?
An Alaska Studies Course
Fulfills Alaska Studies state requirement | 16-week semester | .5 credits | Guided, structured, and self-paced
Discover Alaska’s Past in a Bold New Format
Explore the fascinating story of America’s largest and most remote state through a course that blends exclusive on-location videos, a range of primary and secondary sources, and training in critical thinking to understand the perspectives and contexts that shaped the development of the state from its prehistory to the 21st century. Designed for high school students, homeschool students, and interested history buffs, The History of Alaska: The Last Frontier? meets the Alaska Studies credit requirements (H3110 and H3110H), while bringing the state’s remarkable story to life.
Course Format: How We Teach Alaska Studies
This 16-session course (1 session/week) revolves around guiding questions that are answered in one of four engaging ways:
On-location videos — Filmed across Alaska–from Skagway to Prudhoe Bay–key historical events are introduced where they actually happened.
Document lessons — Students explore primary and secondary sources to develop their own judgments in response to key questions that get at the heart of the state’s history.
Primary source readings — Letters, newspaper clippings, and archival materials are embedded into the course to broaden students’ perspectives.
Narrative lessons — Thorough, engaging, and organized, the course text provides an ongoing backbone to frame each lesson and keep students on track.
Each session includes guided notes handouts, helping students identify key takeaways, organize their thoughts, and practice critical inquiry.
An Introduction by The Nomadic Professor
What You’ll Learn: Course Topics by Unit
This course provides a sweeping overview of Alaskan history, from the development of indigenous cultures to Cold War tensions and 21st-century oil politics. Units are organized around essential, guiding questions designed to help students approach the text with intention, to retain key ideas, and to see history as inquiry-based.
See a snapshot of these questions below, or the full session-by-session outline of these questions here.
UNIT 1
Origins and Native Cultures
What geographical and cultural forces shaped early Alaska?
Who were the Tlingit, Haida, Athabaskans, Yupiit, Iñupiat, and Unangax̂?
How do we study pre-colonial history?
UNIT 2
Colonial and Early U.S. Alaska
Why did Russia come to Alaska—and why did it leave?
What was “Seward’s Folly,” and was the U.S. purchase legal?
How did U.S. military branches govern Alaska before statehood?
UNIT 3
Gold Rushes, Governance, and War
How did the Klondike and copper rushes reshape society?
What role did Alaska play in WWII and the Cold War?
What happened to the Aleutian people during wartime internment?
UNIT 4
Oil, Rights, and Modern Identity
What’s the impact of Prudhoe Bay, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and “The Spill”?
What are the legacies of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, ANCSA, and civil rights struggles?
Should we call Alaska “The Last Frontier”?
Why Choose The Nomadic Professor?
Authentic, Place-Based Learning
Travel across Alaska with on-location videos, filmed from Skagway to Homer, Anchorage to Fairbanks, the Brooks Range to the Arctic coast.
Critical Thinking First
We don’t just teach facts—we teach students how to interpret evidence and form their own defensible conclusions.
Homeschool-Friendly Format
A complete one-semester course with printable guided notes, built-in assessments, and flexible pacing make it easy for parents to guide learning.
Honors & Credit-Eligible
Yes, this course fulfills the Alaska Studies and Alaska Studies Honors requirements for high school graduation.
Accreditation Support
Use our handbook and your student’s portfolio of work to generate a transcript with real documentation and support behind it.
Ready to Begin?
Join us for an engaging romp through the history of Alaska with The Nomadic Professor! This isn’t mere textbook history—it’s a bold, multimedia experience that challenges students to explore the past from multiple angles in order to reach their own conclusions on Alaska’s place in the American story.
Questions? Contact us anytime at [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
What credits does TheHistory of Alaska offer?
The History of Alaska: America’s Last Frontier has been designed to fulfill the requirements of the Alaska Studies (H3110) and Alaska Studies Honors (H3110H) requirements for high school graduation. It is a one-semester course for students in grades 9-12, covering a complete history of Alaska from pre-Columbian peoples to the present.
Can my student earn high school credit?
The History of Alaska fulfills the hours and content requirements for the credits listed above. Students, instructors, supervisors, and/or parents should organize coursework into a portfolio that can be used to justify the credits and grades claimed on final high school transcripts. The Nomadic Professor does not provide the high school transcript unless the course is taken through one of our partners, such as Aim Academy Online, or Bridgeway Academy. Last, each Nomadic Course comes with an Instructor’s Guide with further details about how to document hours and content for transcript credit.
The History of Alaska: America’s Last Frontier presents a complete history of Alaska from pre-Columbian peoples to Russian exploration and settlement, from Spanish and British claims to “Seward’s Folly,” from gold rushes to Japanese invasion, from earthquakes to oil pipelines. The Nomadic Professor is, of course, on-location, delivering mini-lectures all over the state, from Dutch Harbor down in the Aleutians, all the way up to Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope, and a dozen locations between. All of the stellar supplemental materials our users have come to expect from other Nomadic courses are also part of the course, including guided notes, quizzes with feedback, flashcards, “Structure” terms, document lessons, and help videos. Full course content is outlined below!
Unit 1: The Na-Dene and the Eskimo-Aleut (Video: “What happened in Alaska before European contact?”)
Unit 2: The European Arrival (Videos: “Why not a Spanish Alaska?” and “Why not a Russian Alaska?”)
Unit 3: Fur! (Video: “Hudson’s Bay Company in Alaska”)
Unit 4: A New American Frontier (Video: “What was Seward’s Folly?”)
Unit 5: Gold! (Video: “How did gold change Alaska?”)
Unit 6: Alaska Territory (Video: “The first large-scale exploration of Alaska was conducted by…a telegraph company?”)
Unit 7: Alaska and World War II (Video: “Did the Japanese invade…Alaska?”)
Unit 8: State of Alaska (Video: “The Cold War…in Alaska?”)
Unit 9: Oil! (Video: “How did oil change Alaska?”)
Unit 10: Alaska in the 21st Century (Video: “A free and independent…Alaska?”)
When should my student take The History of Alaska?
The History of Alaska: America’s Last Frontier has been designed to fulfill the requirements of the Alaska Studies (H3110) and Alaska Studies Honors (H3110H) requirements for high school graduation. It is a one-semester course for students in grades 9-12
Who grades the student work?
There are consistent graded elements in each Nomadic Course. Daily quizzes are automatically graded and recorded in the student gradebook. Other graded assignments must be assessed by a qualified supervisor, parent, or instructor, who will manually enter scores into the gradebook.
To assist with grading student work, all graded assignments include (1) an answer key, and (2) an easy-to-use checklist rubric. In most cases student work can be graded in a few minutes a day, or in short sessions at the end of each week. The gradebook is pre-weighted, and will immediately reflect changes as new scores are entered.
In some cases students can be trained to assess their own work, perhaps overseen by a supervisor, but this should be decided case-by-case.
Further grading guidance is included within the course as part of the course Instructor’s Guide.
How much time will the courses take?
Sessions are designed to be completed in 30-90 minutes, depending on the reader and what parts of the course they utilize.
The History of Alaska has been designed to fulfill the hours requirements of a one semester, ½ credit Social Studies course, when taken in full. The course will require approximately 65 hours of work to complete.
Further calendar and planning guidance is included within the course as part of the course Instructor’s Guide.
