Grade Level/Unit: Grade Eight: United States History and Geography:
Growth and Conflict: The Rise of Industrial America

H/SS Content Standards:

8.12 Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial Revolution, in terms of:

1.patterns of agricultural and industrial development as they relate to climate, natural resource use, markets, and trade, including their location on a map

 

2.the reasons for the development of federal Indian policy and the Plains wars with American Indians and their relationship to agricultural development and industrialization

 

3.how states and the federal government encouraged business expansion through tariffs, banking, land grants, and subsidies

 

4.entrepreneurs, industrialists, and bankers in politics, commerce, and industry (e.g., Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Leland Stanford)

 

5.the location and effects of urbanization, renewed immigration, and industrialization (e.g., effects on social fabric of cities, wealth and economic opportunity, and the conservation movement)

 

6.child labor, working conditions, laissez-faire policies toward big business and the leaders of (e.g., Samuel Gompers) and the rise of the labor movement, including collective bargaining, strikes, and protests over labor conditions

 

7.the new sources of large-scale immigration and the contribution of immigrants to the building of cities and the economy; the ways in which new social and economic patterns encouraged assimilation of newcomers into the mainstream amidst growing cultural diversity; and the new wave of nativism

 

8.the characteristics and impact of Grangerism and Populism

 

9.the significant inventors and their inventions (e.g., biographies of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Orville and Wilbur Wright) and the incentives that prompted the quality of life (e.g., inventions in transportation, communication, agriculture, industry, education, medicine)

Historical and Social Science Analysis Skills 6-8

Research, Evidence and Point of View

 

5. students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, author's perspectives)

 

Historical Interpetation

 

1. students explain the central issues and problems of the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place

Purpose of Lesson:
This activity is designed to help students gain an understanding of the history of the turn of the century in America. Students will develop an understanding of the various people and viewpoints that helped shape America. This lesson focuses on the different figures of the time and the different beliefs that often created conflict both socially and politically.

Length of Lesson:
This activity was designed for one hour per day for one week. This activity is highly adaptable in length depending on how in depth you would like the research to be.

Teacher Materials:
Students will use a variety materials and resources including:

• Internet Access
• paper, pencil and markers
• tables decorated for a fancy tea
• bring actual tea and cookies to help the students "get into" their roles
• 4X5 cards with the table topics should be placed in the center of each table
• have students draw the names of the historical figures out of a hat - in order to be sure that there is a name for each student in the class, add aides or companions to the figures until you have enough roles for each student in the class to participate

Interdisciplinary Connections:

• English/Language Arts: Students could write formal persuasive speeches. Reading any novel by Charles Dickens would also be highly appropriate.
  Science: Students could research and recreate some of the inventions of the time, such as the telephone, gramophone, and the light bulb.
  Visual/Performing Arts: Students could learn the elements of a formal tea as well as creating accurate turn of the century costumes. Students could research and practice the manners and common social practices of the turn of the century. Students could study influential artists of the time like Winslow Homer and Erte.

Adaptations to Special Needs:
The easiest way to adapt this lesson to students with various needs is to allow students to research the figures using Compton's on-line encyclopedia. The information is much more concise and easier to understand.

Background Information and Additional Teacher Resources: Refer to the Extension Activities and the Resources section of the student activity for further resources.

Credits:

• Author: Dede Bartels, edited for online use by Linda Ricchuiti
  Crittenden Middle School
  Whisman, San Diego, CA