United States History

Turning the century

Students will create a museum display illustrating life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Lisa Stamey.

Tobacco bag stringing: Secondary activity five

In this activity for grades 7–12, students will evaluate primary source photographs from the tobacco bag stringing collection and some of Lewis Hine's photographs from the George Eastman House collection.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 and 11–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Picturing America at the turn of the twentieth century

Students link together the literature and the history of the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Questions guide students as they study visual documents. Students also read the teacher's choice of two widely anthologized short stories and an excerpt from a best-selling novel of the period. Two exercises will raise student awareness of the impact that visual images have on their lives: one that is based on internet advertising and a second that results in a student-produced scrapbook.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Scott Culclasure.

Cotton mills from differing perspectives: Critically analyzing primary documents

In this lesson, students will read two primary source documents: a 1909 pamphlet exposing the use of child labor in the cotton mills of North Carolina, and a weekly newsletter published by the mill companies. Students will also listen to oral history excerpts from mill workers to gain a third perspective. In a critical analysis, students will identify the audiences for both documents, speculate on the motivations of their authors, and examine the historical importance of each document.

Format: lesson plan

By Dayna Durbin Gleaves.

Resources on the web

Human migration within and into the United States

In this Xpeditions lesson, students analyze 1980 and 1990 demographic data from the U.S. They determine net migration for the southern, northeastern, western, and midwestern regions of the United States and analyze the impact of migration shifts in these regions. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic