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Activity
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Around the World in 72 Days

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS site follows undercover journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922) on her 72-day journey in 1889 around the world.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: John Wanamaker

For Students 9th - 10th
Wanamaker's legendary department stores were palaces of consumption that turned shopping into an event for ordinary people.
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Website
Other

Blackboard @ Sfsu: Vaudeville in Ohio

For Students 9th - 10th
Gives a great description of small town U.S.A. entertainment: traveling vaudeville shows.
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Professional Doc
The College Board

College Board: Ap u.s History Ubranization [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By 1900, America had become an urban nation in its dominant tone, in its economy and work, and in its culture and aspiration as well as its demography. Gradually-and then seemingly suddenly-cities emerged as the focal points of the...
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Primary
University of Michigan

Making of America: The Lost City!

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the University of Michigan provides the full text of "The Lost City!" published a bare year after the Chicago fire; includes illustrations and accounts of the fire.
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Primary
Other

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Downtown: Nickelodeon

For Students 9th - 10th
Along with a black and white picture of a nickelodeon, find a great description of the first one, located in Pittsburgh, and a history of the motion picture. From an article published in 1919.
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Website
Authors Calendar

Author's Calendar: Joseph Pulitzer

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Joseph Pulitzer, 1847-1911, and explanation of his connection to the Pulitzer Prize.
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Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Abbott Handerson Thayer

For Students 9th - 10th
The Smithsonian American Art Museum offers this introduction to American artist Abbott Handerson Thayer, who is known for his idealized and other-worldly depictions of women, angels, and nature. Read a brief biography of the artist, then...
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Handout
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Sarah Winnemucca

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Women's Hall of Fame offers a biography of the extraordinary life of Sarah Winnemucca of the Paiute Indians.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: New Attitutdes Toward Wealth

For Students 5th - 8th
The accumulation of wealth went beyond inheritance in the late 19th century. Read about three different ideas for the ordinary person to become wealthy.
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Handout
Other

Unstrung History of American Guitar: The Guitar and the Birth of American Music

For Students 9th - 10th
The guitar in America began as an instrument used in popular music in the city and then branched out to minstrel shows, ragtime, and even jazz. Read about the history of this ubiquitous instrument and how it took on its American character.
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Primary
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum

Cprr History Museum: Chinese American Contribution to Transcontinental

For Students 9th - 10th
In April of 1999, Representative John T. Doolittle delivered a speech before the United States House of Representatives commemorating the contribution of Chinese-Americans to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. This site...
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Website
Other

Minnesota Historical Society: James J. Hill House: James J. Hill

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of railroad magnate, James J. Hill. Learn about the life and legacy of this railroad executive who was a pivotal force in the transformation of the Northwest, earning the name "The Empire Builder."
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Yearning to Breathe Free: Muckrakers and Activism [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that leads learners through an examination of the role of muckrakers in the development of investigative journalism. Young scholars work to identify...
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Website
University of Arizona

The Promise of Gold Mountain: Southern Pacific Railroad Workers

For Students 9th - 10th
The lesser-known story of the Chinese building of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Arizona.
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Handout
Towson University

Towson University: Eaach: Colored Farmers Alliance

For Students 9th - 10th
An encyclopedia entry for the Colored Farmers' Alliance, founded in Texas in 1886. Discusses the history of this alliance in depth.
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Handout
Curated OER

National Park Service: Reading 2: The Glen Echo Amusement Park

For Students 9th - 10th
A history of Glen Echo Amusement Park in particular and trolley parks in general. Includes comprehension questions.
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Text Sets

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a collection of 35 Grade-Leveled text sets (4-11). They are great for social studies teachers or for building background knowledge in reading class, CommonLit's text sets cover a range of historical, cultural, and political...
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Activity
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Alexander J. Cartwright

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read about the man who invented the modern-day sport of baseball, Alexander Joy Cartwright. This article talks about the history and development of the sport and gives example the rules in other "versions" of baseball.
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Handout
The White House

The White House: Presidents: Benjamin Harrison

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a short biography of Benjamin Harrison, one of the Republican presidents during the Gilded Age. A black and white photo is provided.
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Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: Chinese Immigrants and Mexican Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the conflict with Mexican American and Chinese groups as white settlers pushed westward in the nineteenth century. Explains what brought so many Chinese immigrants to America and the roadblocks and discrimination that they had...
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Handout
Georgetown University

Georgetown University: William Dean Howells (1837 1920)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a commentary on the writing style and works of William Dean Howells.
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Website
Other

Zane Grey Biography

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a brief overview of the life of author Zane Grey.
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Website
Other

Fiboro Bridges Brooklyn Bridge

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the quality of the bike and pedestrian paths across the Brooklyn Bridge. Also gives articles updating recent improvements to the bridge approaches.

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