The course contains six narrative units written by authorities in the field: Geography, Alaska's Cultures, Russia's Colony, America's Territory, Governing Alaska, and Modern Alaska. Collectively, these units present the story of Alaska's history, geography, and cultures. They are presented chronologically. Concepts from the units on Alaska's geography and cultures, while presented as separate units, are woven throughout and linked to the other units. In recognition of their place as the First Alaskans and as the largest minority group in the state, the cultural studies portion of the course deals primarily with Alaska Natives.

Each unit is prefaced by a listing of the topics in that unit. The historian authors of the units identified these topics as the important subject matter with which students should be familiar. Historians also identified links to relevant primary resources (photos and documents), biographies, and to other pertinent information. A reference bibliography accompanies selected units.