Lesson Plan Dawes to Burke to McGirt: Tribal Sovereignty, 1887–2020 Geography 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this three-lesson unit.
Lesson Plan Rise of the Populists and William Jennings Bryan 9, 10, 11, 12 Historical Background As the United States evolved into an industrial powerhouse in the decades following the Civil War, the growing strength of the railroads and the banks particularly, coupled with the impact of mechanization on...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Official photograph from the "Golden Spike" Ceremony, 1869 Economics, Geography, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ This iconic photograph records the celebration marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad lines at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, when Leland Stanford, co-founder of the Central Pacific Railroad,...
Lesson Plan George Pullman: His Impact on the Railroad Industry, Labor, and American Life in the Nineteenth Century Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12 Background George Mortimer Pullman was an influential industrialist of the nineteenth century and the founder of the Pullman Palace Car Company. His innovations brought comfort and luxury to railroad travel in the 1800s with the...
Lesson Plan Survival in the American Wilderness: Fiction v. Nonfiction 7, 8 Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based units. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance....
Lesson Plan Rural America: The Westward Movement Geography 7, 8 Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Haymarket Affair, 1886 Economics, Government and Civics The Haymarket Affair is considered a watershed moment for American labor history, at a time when fears about the loyalties and activities of immigrants, anarchists, and laborers became linked in the minds of many Americans. On May 3,...
Lesson Plan The Transcontinental Railroad in Images and Poetry Art, Literature, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 4, 5, 6 Unit Objectives Students will analyze a variety of primary sources related to the completion of the transcontinental railroad. investigate celebratory images and a poem to discover some of the key outcomes that arose from the ability...
Lesson Plan Railroads: The "Engine" to Promote National Unity and Economic Growth Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Objectives Students will examine, explain, and evaluate a variety of literary and visual primary sources that describe and depict the development and impact of railroads on sectional relationships, national unity, and economic growth...
Spotlight on: Primary Source On the emigrant trail, 1862 Geography Samuel Russell, his mother, and his sisters emigrated to the Mormon settlement at Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1861. The next spring, Russell joined a “down-and-back” wagon train to escort new pioneers to the settlement. These caravans...