National Endowment for the Humanities
The Spanish–American War
The Spanish-American War propelled the United States to the world stage and helped create the modern super power. Using web-based primary sources and a WebQuest format, young scholars consider the causes and outcomes for the war. Working...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 3 Day Lesson
Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...
US House of Representatives
Hispanic Americans in Congress During the Age of U.S. Colonialism and Global Expansion, 1898–1945
To be Puerto Rican, in the words of one politician, is to be "foreign in a domestic sense." Young historians consider the American role in colonialism and its impacts on Hispanic Americans through the first part of the twentieth century...
Curated OER
Yellow Journalism and the Spanish American War
Seventh graders investigate the meaning and impact of "yellow journalism." They determine how it affects people and how it played out in the USS Maine incident during the Spanish American War by reading articles and watching a PowerPoint...
Curated OER
The U. S. at War
Students examine reasons for going to war. In this foreign policy lesson, students analyze the reasons the U.S. entered the the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the...
National First Ladies' Library
Martha Goes To War!
High schoolers investigate how women went to war and the contributions that they have made in history. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to create a class presentation and answer some...
Curated OER
Segregated Soldiers
Fifth graders explore the role of African American troops in World War I. In this World War I lesson, 5th graders analyze a collection of letters from an African American soldier. Students create memorials to the men who fought in the...
Curated OER
American Literature and the Civil War
Middle schoolers prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes fourteen lessons from the American Literature, The Civil War and Its Aftermath: 1845-1880 series, each covering a different reading selection....
Curated OER
Role of Slavery in Early Arkansas Settlements
Students investigate slavery in the development of pre-Civil War Arkansas. They study the influence of the French, Spanish, and American settlers on the establishment of slavery and create a timeline of events associated with events.
Curated OER
Ybor City Historic District
Learners analyze the role cigar making played in Ybor City. They examine how cigars are made and the different societies who helped immigrants keep their identify. They compare and contrast their own community to Ybor City.
Curated OER
Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny
Fourth graders examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush. They analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny.
Curated OER
Late 19th Century U.S. Foreign Policy
Eleventh graders discover that many of the issues the United States faces today elicit the same type of political, philosophical and moral debate that has divided the country in the past.