ALEX Classroom Resource

  

American Expansion

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 American Expansion

URL:

 http://www.c3teachers.org/inquiries/american-expansion/

Content Source:

 Other
College Career & Civic Life (C3)
Type: Learning Activity

Overview:

In this learning activity, students investigate the positive and negative results of United States expansion abroad. The focus is on the United States' involvement in the Spanish American War. Resources included are a newspaper front page from 1898, an article from the Los Angeles Herald from 1898 depicting starvation in Cuba, a cartoon criticizing imperialism from 1902, and a map of American expansion.

Content Standard(s):
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 5
United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
13 ) Describe social and economic influences on United States' expansion prior to World War I.

•  Explaining how the development of transcontinental railroads helped the United States achieve its Manifest Destiny
•  Locating on a map states, capitals, and important geographic features west of the Mississippi River
•  Explaining how the United States acquired Alaska and Hawaii
•  Identifying major groups and individuals involved with the Westward Expansion, including farmers, ranchers, Jewish merchants, Mormons, and Hispanics
•  Analyzing the impact of closing the frontier on American Indians' way of life
•  Explaining how the Spanish-American War led to the emergence of the United States as a world power
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography, History, Civics and Government
Course Title: United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify and describe social, political, and economic influences on the United States prior to World War I.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • social influences
  • economic influences
  • expansion
  • transcontinental railroads
  • Manifest Destiny
  • geographic features
  • acquired
  • Westward Expansion
  • ranchers
  • Mormons
  • Hispanics
  • frontier
  • emergence
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Social and economic influences on United States' expansion prior to World War I.
  • How the development of transcontinental railroads contributed to the expansion of the United States and related to the concept of Manifest Destiny.
  • Details related to how the United States acquired Alaska and Hawaii.
  • Major groups and individuals involved with the Westward Expansion, including farmers, ranchers, Jewish merchants, Mormons, and Hispanics.
  • The impact of closing the frontier on American Indians' way of life.
  • The Spanish-American War led to the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Locate states and capitals on a physical and political map.
  • Describe and explain social and economic influences on the United States expansion.
  • Explain and evaluate the concept of Manifest Destiny.
  • Describe and explain how the development of the transcontinental railroads helped the United States achieve its Manifest Destiny.
  • Identify and analyze the impact of Manifest Destiny on a variety of cultural groups.
  • Explain and analyze how the Spanish-American War led to the United States becoming a world power.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There were social, political, and economic influences on United States prior to World War I.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.5.13a- Identify natural resources and geographic features of the American West, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, and Colorado River; illustrate the completion of the territorial United States on a map; recognize farmers and ranchers as major groups involved in westward expansion; explain the impact of westward expansion on American Indians.
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 11
United States History II: The Industrial Revolution to the Present
3 ) Explain the United States' changing role in the early twentieth century as a world power. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing causes of the Spanish-American War, including yellow journalism, the sinking of the Battleship USS Maine, and economic interests in Cuba
•  Identifying the role of the Rough Riders on the iconic status of President Theodore Roosevelt
•  Describing consequences of the Spanish-American War, including the Treaty of Paris of 1898, insurgency in the Philippines, and territorial expansion in the Pacific and Caribbean
•  Analyzing the involvement of the United States in the Hawaiian Islands for economic and imperialistic interests
•  Appraising Alabama's contributions to the United States between Reconstruction and World War I, including those of William Crawford Gorgas, Joseph Wheeler, and John Tyler Morgan (Alabama)
•  Evaluating the role of the Open Door policy and the Roosevelt Corollary on America's expanding economic and geographic interests
•  Comparing the executive leadership represented by William Howard Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, Theodore Roosevelt's Big Stick Diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson's Moral Diplomacy
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography, History, Civics and Government
Course Title: United States History II: The Industrial Revolution to the Present
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze changes in the global role of the United States during the early 20th Century and explain the causes of these changes and the resulting consequences for the nation.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Spanish-American War
  • imperialism
  • annexation
  • global role
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The internal and external factors that resulted in changes in America's role as a world power during the early 20th Century. Factors that lead to the Spanish-American War and the consequences of the war.
  • Theodore Roosevelt's involvement in the Spanish-American War and its role in his popularity and involvement in politics.
  • Social, political, and economic causes for the United State's involvement in the Hawaiian Islands.
  • The contributions of Alabama and Alabamians to the United States between Reconstruction and World War I.
  • Consequences of political policies, such as the Open Door policy and the Roosevelt Corollary on American economic and geographic interests.
  • Policies and leadership of American presidents during the early 20th Century.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Describe the internal and external factors that result in changes in the development of a specific country during a specific time period and the consequences of these changes.
  • Evacuate factors that lead to war and the consequences of the war.
  • Discuss the effects of popularity on political power.
  • Analyze the social, political, and economic causes for the United State's involvement in other countries and regions.
  • Appraise the contributions of Alabama and Alabamians to the United States during specific historical periods.
  • Evaluate the consequences of political policies, such as the Open Door policy and the Roosevelt Corollary on American economic and geographic interests.
  • Compare the policies and leadership of influential political, economic, and social leaders.
  • Analyze primary and secondary sources.
  • Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There were many causes and consequences of the changes in the United States' role as it became a global power during the early 20th Century.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.11.3- Identify the causes, major events, and key figures of the Spanish American War; understand the United States transition to becoming a world power following the Spanish-American War.
SS.AAS.11.3a - Define diplomacy, foreign policy, domestic policy, and imperialism.
Tags: expansion, imperialism, SpanishAmerican War
License Type: Custom Permission Type
See Terms: http://www.c3teachers.org/about-c3-teachers/
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
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  This resource provided by:  
Author: Ginger Boyd
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