Inventions of the Industrial Revolution Infomercial Group Project

This new fantastic cooperative learning project on major inventions and inventors of the Industrial Revolution will have your students engaged, having fun, and learning!

Included is a directions page on how to present a 1 minute infomercial to the class along with 7 one-page readings on different inventions of the industrial period. In groups students read about their assigned inventor/invention and plan their "infomercial".

As each group presents, other students fill out the included graphic organizer on the 7 inventions and inventors. An answer key for this is included along with a rubric for the infomercial presentation.

My students love this project and always come up with some hilarious pitches for these inventions that they remember the rest of the year! When I used it earlier this year, the students got so into it, we ended up needing a second class period to present all the "infomercials" because the students went into such great detail! It was an amazing couple of class periods!

You can download this lesson for your classes by clicking here!

Thanks for looking!

World War II Resource Bundle

This is a wonderful, all-encompassing 36-page bundle of resources to teach about World War II. It includes all the printables, readings, and worksheets you would need to teach your students about the war.

It includes ALL of the following individual resources:

1. Document Worksheet on the American Homefront During World War II

2. Analyzing President Truman's Diary Entry on the Atomic Bomb

3. Analyzing Adolf Hitler's Speeches Worksheet

4. Japanese Internment Camps Primary Source Reading & Worksheet 

5. Charles Lindbergh's speech on US isolationism and World War II

6. World War II Plaques Project (Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen, Women, & Nisei)

PLUS:

7. Seven one-page readings on important battles of World War II (Pearl Harbor, Midway, El Alamein, D-Day, Stalingrad, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa) and an assignment to create an illustrated timeline of the war based off the readings.

8. A complete 44 question test on World War II.

All 8 of those items above are included for one low price. You are getting all the homework and in-class activities you would need to teach a unit on World War II. All of these items for sale individually would be about $13 and still not include all of the resources you are getting here!

Click here to download these resources for your classes!

Causes and Characteristics of the Great Depression Worksheet

One of the skills I find my students need help with is the ability to effectively classify information from history.  I had taken this for granted in my early years teaching, but now make sure that I work on this skill every so often.

For our Great Depression unit, I use this graphic organizer worksheet, which lists 15 different aspects of the Great Depression and New Deal.

Students must classify each into one of 4 boxes at the top: Causes of the Great Depression, Characteristics of the Great Depression, Characteristics of the New Deal, and Long Term Effects of the Depression. This is fantastic for your students to think about cause and effect as well as the difference between the New Deal and the Depression.

This worksheet is really effective for my students at helping them to classify essential information. This file can be downloaded for your classes here. An answer key is included for your convenience. Thank you for looking!

Spanish American War Timeline Using Primary Sources

Our newest lesson covers the "splendid little war" known as the Spanish American War. Although brief, this war is essential for students to understand how America transitioned into becoming a world power.

In this lesson, students analyze 10 primary sources from the Spanish American War, including cartoons, newspapers, lithographs, maps, and pictures all related to each aspect of the war.

Students then match these documents to questions along a timeline. The documents begin with a cartoon related to America protecting Cuba and move through the explosion on the USS Maine, the Teller & Platt Amendments, Rough Riders, Yellow Journalism, Buffalo Soldiers, Philippine-American War, and more. 

Each task is of varying difficulty and caters to visual and kinesthetic learners in having them finishing sketches to reinforce concepts. An answer key is included and can be seen below. You can download this lesson for your classroom by clicking here. A free preview of all the documents in the lessons is available as well.

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!

Turning Paper Boxes into Picket Signs - Strikes & Labor Lesson Plan

In this creative cooperative learning activity, students create picket signs from old paper boxes that tell the story of some of the most famous labor clashes in American History.

Included are 7 one-page stories on each of the following: The Homestead Strike, Haymarket Affair,Pullman Strike, Ludlow Massacre, Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Flint Sit-Down Strike, and Memorial Day Massacre.

In groups, students then complete the reading and create a picket sign that tells the story of that strike and present them to the class:

  

As groups present, a Venn Diagram helps students organize similarities and differences between the different strikes:

Lastly, students complete a set of comprehension questions. A rubric for the presentation is included as well as an page describing the procedures in detail and pictures of completed examples.

This can be downloaded from this link and is a very fun activity that your student will remember and enjoy!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Major-American-Strikes-Labor-Issues-Picket-Signs-Lesson