This resource unit for 5th graders includes three case studies and a sub-unit on the West as a region. Three sequent occupance case studies which are suggestive, rather than prescriptive, comprise the first part of the unit. Teachers may decide to select only one for an in-depth study or may decide to design a case study modeled after this resource unit. In the study on Phoenix, the importance of irrigation, the development of new techniques, and inventions that resulted in a changing situation are presented. A case study on Los Angeles illustrates the use of land by various cultures, the development of a port city and railroad routes, change as a result of specific developmental factors, climatic influences, and today's urban problems. Sub-unit three, a study of Seattle, follows the same kind of pattern as in other case studies. Following the case studies, pupils look at the West as a whole, including the Great Plains area, identifying the difference among subregions of the West as well as characteristics which set the West apart as a larger region from other regions of the country. The teacher's guide ED 062 226 provides program descriptions, course objectives, teaching strategies, and an explanation of format. Other related documents are ED 061 134, ED 062 227, and SO 002 732 through SO 002 741. (Several pages may be illegible.) (Author/SJM)