The Progressive Era

Populists and Progressives from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era

Planning this mini-unit

The Progressive Era is the third mini-unit of Unit 6: The Gilded Age. This mini-unit is taught after “American Society in the Gilded Age” (second mini-unit in Unit 6: The Gilded Age) and before “American Imperialism” (first mini-unit of Unit 7: Imperialism and World War I). Click HERE to get a copy of my pacing guide.

Pacing

Teachers should plan three to five days to teach this unit on a traditional schedule with one-hour class periods. However, for those on a block schedule with 1 1/2 hour classes, teachers should plan for 2-3 days. An effective way to structure this unit includes:

Openers

Populist Party Platform
Reforms in Education
Roosevelt Trust Busting
Progressive Reforms
Women’s Suffrage

This FREE resource includes 5 openers to use in order to supplement this unit. Begin each class with an opener question. Opener questions can be found on this webpage as an image (see “opener questions” at the bottom of this webpage) or free on TpT (

see link). Give students 3-5 minutes to complete the opener question and allow 5-10 minutes for class discussion. Instead of openers, teachers may use this as an end of class check for understanding.

Lessons

After the opener, begin the Google Slides lesson. Students can take notes on paper using the note-taking guide provided with the Google Slides lesson, or they may take notes digitally with the electronic version (also included with the Google Slides).

1. TEACHER TIP: I post a PDF version of the Google Slides to Google Classroom so that students can review their notes if they are absent. To do this, click “File, Download, PDF” on the Google Slide.
2. TEACHER TIP: Some teachers post Google Slides in their Google Classroom and digital note-taking guides for students to complete as homework.
3. TEACHER TIP: When pressed for time, I will edit the note-taking guides to include answers for some boxes or delete boxes and slides entirely. Teachers should feel free to modify the lesson to meet their students’ needs and individual learning targets.
After teaching a concept, take a break from the lecture and show a quick review video to reinforce the concepts. Suggested videos to enhance the lesson are on this webpage.
Mix up your unit by having the students complete the PROP (Point, Reason to lie or distort, Other sources, Public/private) analysis. For a free resource that reviews PROP, click HERE.
1. TEACHER TIP: Group students together to complete this activity. This strategy sparks conversation and encourages critical analysis. Discussed as a class.
Review additional suggested activities found on this webpage:
Print the Prove It activity included in the Google Slides lesson at the end of the unit. Students read statements and determine if they are true or false. If the statement is false, they correct it. This lesson encourages students to review their note-taking guides.

key terms to know

People to Know

Henry Ford
John Scopes
Ernest Hemingway
Langston Hughes
Marcus Garvey
Sacco and Vanzetti
A. Mitchell Palmer
Amelia Earhart
Charles Lindbergh
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover

Key Terms

Isolationism
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Emergency Quota Act of 1921
Emergency Quota Act of 1924
The KKK
Back to Africa Movement
Universal Negro Improvement Association
NAACP
18th Amendment (Volstead Act)
19th Amendment
Harlem Renaissance
The Lost Generation
The Ohio Gang

Events

Teapot Dome Scandal
Washington Naval Conference
Scopes Monkey Trial
The Red Scare/The Palmer Raids
1919 Chicago Race Riot

1. Compare and contrast the platforms of the Populist and Progressive political parties.

2. Analyze the effectiveness of muckrakers in advancing change during the Gilded Age.

3. Analyze the effects of industrialization on living and working conditions, as cited in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle.

4. Analyze the effects of urban political machines and responses to them by immigrants and middle-class reformers.

5. Compare and contrast the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Harding Taft in advancing progressive legislation.

6. Outline the purposes of the following government reforms during the Gilded Age: Direct primary, initiative, referendum, and recall.

7. What amendments were added to the Constitution during the Gilded Age? What was the overall purpose of those amendments, and what rights were guaranteed?

Google Slides & Note Taking Guides

Click image for link to source

First page of PRINT note taking guide

37 Slides (editable) with graphic organizer note-taking guide and summative assessment worksheet. This Google Slides reviews the rise of Populists and Progressives during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.

This Google Slides:

Editable
Has checks for understanding/thinking questions throughout the Google Slides
Interesting and varied graphic design
A variety of different sources to catch your students’ attention and engage them with the content: maps, charts, primary sources, quotes, newspapers, etc.
Major Concepts Reviewed:
1. Populists
2. William Jennings Bryan
3. Progressives
4. Muckrackers
5. Jacob Riis and “How the Other Half Lives”
6. Tenements and Population Density
7. Ida Tarbell
8. Upton Sinclair and “The Jungle”
9. Lincoln Steffens
10. Progressive Legislation: Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act
11. Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
12. Progressive Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
13. The Square Deal
14. Direct Primary, Recalls, Referendums, Initiatives
15. Progressive Amendments: 16, 17, 18, 19
16. Alice Paul and the Women’s Suffrage Movement

Note-Taking Guide with a Teacher’s Key:

Works with Google Classroom (students can type in a document, or handwrite)
Includes ideas on how to use this in your lesson
Great for IEP, 504, EL students or students who need modifications
Helps students be accountable for information during lecture
Comes with print and digital notetaking guides.

Post-Notes Analysis Worksheet with a Teacher’s Key:

Works with Google Classroom (students can type in a document or handwrite)
Includes ideas on how to use this in your lesson
Has a True/False checking for understanding
Includes a document that connects to information from the slides.
Comes with print and digital post-notes analysis guides.
Students are asked to ” Prove It,” “Analyze It” “Personalize It” and “Explore Limitations.”

Helpful Videos for Your Students

Unit Activities

Click on the images below to access these suggested resources

Women’s Suffrage and the Nineteenth Amendment

Bill of Rights Institute

Carrie Chapman Catt: the Woman of the Hour and Purpose

Bill of Rights Institute

Grover Cleveland and the Texas Seed Bill

Bill of Rights Institute