About This Lesson
This lesson is based on the National Register
of Historic Places registration file for "Keys' Desert
Queen Ranch" (with photographs), and other source material about the
ranch. Keys Ranch was
written by Jody Lyle, former Park Ranger at Joshua
Tree National Park. The lesson was edited by Fay
Metcalf, education consultant, and the Teaching
with Historic Places staff. TwHP is sponsored, in part, by the Cultural Resources Training Initiative and Parks as Classrooms programs of the National Park Service. This lesson is one in a series that brings the important stories of historic places into the classrooms across the country.
Where it fits into the curriculum
Topics: The lesson could be used in U.S. history,
social studies, and geography courses in units on
western expansion and settlement, or desert environments. It also could be used in an American
Literature course in a unit on the writings of Ralph
Waldo Emerson, particularly his concept of self-reliance. The lesson will help students understand
why desert regions were among the last areas
settled under the Homestead Act and how settlers
in these places survived in a remote environment.
Time period: 1910s-1960s.
Relevant United States History Standards for Grades 5-12
Relevant Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
Find your state's social studies and history standards for grades Pre-K-12
Objectives for students
1) To examine the lifestyle of a family who chose
to homestead in the California desert.
2) To describe how the Keys family both adapted
to and shaped their desert environment.
3) To consider Ralph Waldo Emerson's
description of self-reliance and describe
how it relates to the life of Bill Keys.
4) To discover the history of settlement in their
own region and determine how settlers'
experiences may have compared to the
experiences of Bill Keys.
Materials for students
The materials listed below either can be used directly on the computer or can be printed out, photocopied, and distributed to students. The maps and images appear twice: in a low-resolution version with associated questions and alone in a larger, high-quality version.
1) two maps of Southwest deserts and Joshua Tree National Park;
2) three readings about settling in a desert and self-reliance;
3) four photos and one drawing of Keys Ranch and the surrounding deserts.
Visiting the site
Keys Ranch is located within the boundaries
of Joshua Tree National Park. Administered by the
National Park Service, Joshua Tree is located 140
miles east of Los Angeles. It can be entered from
Interstate 10 or State Highway 62. For more
information, contact the Superintendent, Joshua
Tree National Park, 74485 National Park Drive,
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277, or visit the park's