American Imperialism: World Leader or Bully?

This downloadable worksheet combines several layers of Bloom's Taxonomy, including comprehension, analysis, and critical thinking as students review 10 US actions during the Age of Imperialism.

Included are the US purchase of Alaska, Spanish-American War, building of the Panama Canal, the annexation of Hawaii, and more. For each event, students must determine whether they feel the US was acting like a "world leader" promoting good or a "bully" acting in its own self-interest.

Whatever their decision, they must provide evidence to back up their claim. After completing the chart, students then determine whether America overall acted more like a World Leader or a World Bully and compose a short persuasive essay on their choice.

I did not include an answer key because each aspect of this is opinion-based and arguments could be made for either. However, if you would like a completed student sample, please let me know and I will supply one!

Click here to download this lesson for your student to use today!

World War II Keynote Presentation

Although I use my school/work computer for most lessons in the classroom, sometimes I want to create a more visually dynamic presentation for my students. This is when I use my Apple Macbook's Keynote software. Keynote has a lot of great features that Powerpoint lacks and one of the best is the ability to seamlessly embed videos into your presentations and edit them to your needs.

This World War II Keynote presentation is one of these lessons I created. It covers the major battles and events of the war and includes 8 short clips to help students better understand what happened. Slides include information in simple, easy to understand language for your students:

The videos include Churchill speaking, a Japanese suicide bomber, US newsreel footage and more. Maps show students exactly where each battle took place, and the videos and pictures bring them to life. My students are always all engaged throughout this entire lesson. I know your students will do the same. You can download this Keynote presentation here and use it today!

The Effects of the Industrial Revolution & Communism

Our latest interactive lesson for World History covers the lasting effects of the Industrial Revolution. I've always had an easy time teaching how it starts and the major inventions, but the effects of the revolution are what probably most important for students to learn because they changed so much about the world.

This lesson available for download features a visually striking powerpoint that covers the major effects of the Industrial Revolution. Rather than simply copying the notes, students must analyze whether each effect was positive or negative and list it in the correct category:

While some such as "improved education" are simple, others like "population increase" lead to excellent class discussions as students weigh the pros and cons. Each slide features a captivating visual representation of the category that will surely benefit your visual learners:

The second half of the powerpoint compares capitalism & communism as a response to the effects. Similarly, students place characteristics such as "redistribution of wealth" under the matching philosophy.

The lesson includes a graphic organizer on which students complete the notes as well as a culminating worksheet. The worksheet is based off of the notes and can be completes without any textbook. Both Word and PDF files of the worksheets are included for your convenience along with the powerpoint from here.

Hope you can find this lesson useful in your class!

Civil War Wanted Poster & Plaque

My classes are currently starting the Civil War and some students have had a difficult time seeing two "different Americas" and understanding point of view. To help this and cover some of the many abolitionists, generals, and politicians of the day we just completed this project. 

Students read about and analyzed various Civil War-era figures as either criminals or heroes based on how they are viewed by the North or South. The famous abolitionist John Brown for instance was said to possess a “transcendent moral greatness” by Henry David Thoreau. Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, however, called him “nothing more than a murderer, a robber, a thief, and a traitor.” Many of my students like people from history to be simplified as either "good guys" or "bad guys", but it's important for students to understand why someone can be seen as both. 

One one side of this worksheet, students create a commemorative plague to honor the great accomplishments of one of the assigned figures. They must name their award, come up with 3 reasons why he/she is being awarded, an appropriate date, and write down who is presenting the award. Here is one sample:

On the opposite side of their worksheet is a template for a wanted poster to capture him or her as a known criminal. This side must include a picture, last known location, reward, who the person is wanted by, and 3 crimes/reasons why they are wanted. Here are a completed versions on Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant:

  

On the students' list of possible choices, I included Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B Stuart, Robert E. Lee, Robert Gould Shaw, William T. Sherman, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Ulysses S. Grant. However, you could certainly add any number of Confederate or Union figures depending on your curriculum.

All of the resources needed for this project can be downloaded here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Civil-War-Wanted-Poster-Plaque.

Thanks & good luck!

World War II Service Plaques for Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen, Rosie the Riveter, & Nisei Soldiers

This downloadable creative, fun activity for World and American History classes has students reading short, one page stories of minority groups that helped during World War II. These include one page each on:

1. The Navajo Code Talkers
2. The Tuskegee Airmen
3. Rosie the Riveter
4. The American Nisei Soldiers

Here are some sample images of what the readings look like:

Each page is simple and engaging for middle and high school age students, and is based on state and Common Core Standards for history. Students then use the information they read to create commemorative plaques that honor that group for their service.

To differentiate for your classes, higher level students can read and complete all four. Lower-level readers can be placed in groups of 4, with each student reading a different story, completing a plaque, and then sharing his/her plaque with the others. English language learners or special education students can be placed in groups with all the same story to create a plaque together, and then present theirs to the rest of the class.

Here are some sample, completed plaques from a student:

 

As a final activity or for homework, there are 10 review questions in which students identify characteristics of each of the four minority groups.

This is a fun activity for students to learn about some of the groups whose amazing bravery and contributions helped American through World War II. Click here to download this activity for your classes and let us know what you think!

Cyber Monday Sale!

We're throwing a 20% off sale at our online teacher resource store in honor of "Cyber Monday". Every Students of History resource is 20% off for the rest of today. Please head over to our our store and check out our powerpoints, graphic organizers, worksheets, bundled  lesson plans, and more!