United States History: 1877 to the Present

Skills

USII.1

The student will develop skills for historical and geographical analysis, including the ability to

a) identify and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of events and life in United States history to 1877;
b) make connections between the past and the present;
c) sequence events in United States history from pre-Columbian times to 1877;
d) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives;
e) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing;
f) analyze and interpret maps to explain relationships among landforms, water features, climatic characteristics, and historical events;
g) distinguish between parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude;
h) interpret patriotic slogans and excerpts from notable speeches and documents.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Explain the sequence of events task to the students. They will be collecting graphics from the Internet and using their knowledge of important events from their study of U.S. history 1877 to the present to construct a chronological time line using a spreadsheet. The events will be entered into the spreadsheet. The events will be formatted to make a pleasant reading experience. The graphics will be added as an enhancement and motivation for the student.
Have the students use the Internet to find and download appropriate graphics to enhance their time lines. Have them make note of the names of the files they download.
Have the students enter the dates and descriptions of events. Have them leave room at the top for the title, name, date, etc. Have them use their spreadsheet formatting skills to enhance the readability of the final product with color, font, and highlighting choices. (For example, they could color all the events in the 1900s in blue.) The graphics should probably be added last. You may need to review how to add graphics that are not a part of the program's clip art feature.
Printing is optional but probably desirable for evaluation and sharing.
Complete an additional sequence activity if time allows.
- Have students select any specific number of dates/events from American history in the 1800s and 1900s.
- Make a rough draft of their dates/events with an appropriate symbol for each event.
- Arrange each date/event with appropriate symbol on a time line with four dates/events above the time line and four dates/events below the time line (i.e. if using eight dates/events) or simply divide a paper into equal parts and put dates/events into each part in correct sequence.
- Color in dates/events and symbol.
- Have the students discuss and explain their time line.

WEB SITES

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/
Library of Congress American Memory Project

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
Designed and developed to support the teaching of American History in K-12 schools and colleges. Supported by the Department of History and the College of Education at the University of Houston.

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/
A portal for American history offering high-quality educational material for teachers, students, historians, and the public. Maintained by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

http://www.cr.nps.gov
Links to the Past from the National Park Service is rich in American history and culture, which The National Park Service is responsible for preserving and protecting. This Web site contains vast amounts of information on these important topics.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/fw.html
Library of Congress Learning Page: Framework for Using Primary Sources with Students

http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/hist/ushist/internet/
Internet Resources for U>S. History from the University of Delaware Library

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the largest library in the world and the nation's library

http://edsitement.neh.gov/tab_lesson.asp?subjectArea=3
"EDSITEment" is a Web site for humanities education developed by the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal government agency, in partnership with WorldCom Foundation, the Council of the Great City Schools, and the National Trust for the Humanities for the benefit of parents, students, and teachers.

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