Shannon Burns

10-14-2014
U.S. History
Grade 9
Warren Consolidated School District--Cousino High School
The Spanish American War
6.2.1 Growth of U.S. Global Power Locate on a map the territories (Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Philippines, Hawaii, Panama Canal Zone) acquired by the United States during its
emergence as an imperial power between 1890 and 1914, and analyze the role the
Spanish American War.
In this lesson, the main events that occurred throughout the Spanish-American War will be
focused on. This lesson provides students the opportunity to learn, in depth, about one main
event that happened during the war while also learning about the other main events from their
peers. This content shows students how conflict between people, in this case nations and
colonies, can escalate to war. This lesson is theoretically sound because it provides the students
an opportunity to learn about all major events that happened during the Spanish-American War.
By performing and synthesizing their own research on one specific area, then learning about
other events through the research of their peers, students are given the opportunity to obtain a
well-rounded understanding of the Spanish-American War.
Goal: Students will have a basic understanding of what happened directly before, during, and
directly after the Spanish-American War.
Objective: Students will be able to identify the three main parties involved and one major event
that happened during the war.
The teacher will be looking for effort, accuracy, and creativity from the students. Their articles
should precisely reflect the event that each group is studying and the era from which their articles
are supposed to have been written.
Materials
-Half sheets of paper
-Projector
-Timeline
-Political cartoon
-Writing utensils
-Paper
-Computers
-Directions/rubric
Procedure
Day 1:
-As students walk into class, they will take a blank half sheet of paper from the table near the
door and sit in their seats.

-A political cartoon pertaining to the Spanish-American War will be displayed on the projector
(A1).
-Students will be given five to ten minutes to write about what they see and their interpretation.
-A class discussion will follow, lasting about 10-15 minutes.
-Teacher will then show students a short video clip that introduces them to the material (A2).
-Now that the start of the war has been established, students will be given a Spanish-American
War timeline featuring the main events of the war (A3).
-Teacher will spend about 20 minutes going over the timeline while students take notes, and will
answer any questions that the students may have.
-Students will pair off, and each will choose/be assigned to a specific event featured on the
timeline.
-Teacher will explain that students are to write a 1-2 page article on their event as if it were from
a newspaper during that time and pass out the directions for the assignment (A4).
-Each pair will spend the rest of the time brainstorming for the next days class and asking any
necessary questions.
Day 2:
-Students will be given the entire hour to work in the computer lab researching their event and
typing their articles.
-Teacher will circle the classroom, making sure all pairs are on the right track and giving help
and answering questions when needed.
Day 3:
-Students will present their articles, in chronological order, to the class.
Assessment/Evaluation
On day one, the teacher will assess student learning and understanding by asking the class
questions about the content throughout the discussions. On day two, the teacher will make
rounds around the computer lab and work with each pair for a given amount of time, all the
while making sure they are obtaining the correct and necessary information and having a solid
understanding of it. On day three, students articles and presentations will be graded according
to the rubric (A4).
Technology
-The use of the projector in the classroom is essential. The projector allows for the teacher to
display any photos or videos that are necessary for instruction.
-The political cartoon provides an excellent warm up to get students thinking about the content
we will be covering for the next three days.
-The video provides a simple, yet solid, introduction to the material and gives students context to
refer to while working on their articles.
-The computer lab is essential for this lesson as well. Students need to have a place to do their
research that is not just from their textbooks.
Accommodations/Adaptations
-There are not any standout safety issues for this lesson.
-The teacher will make sure students pair themselves up in pairs they will be successful in.

-If students are consistently off-task or not getting their work done in a timely manner, they will
be split up and be directed to write their article independently.
-For students with special needs, the teacher will provide resources for them to use in order to
write their articles. Any other necessary modifications will be made according to the students
504 plan.

Resources
A1

A2
http://historicalthinkingmatters.org/spanishamericanwar/
A3
http://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/U.S.%20in%20the%20Philippines%20Timeline_
0.pdf
A4
See next page.

Spanish-American War Report/Presentation

This is a 35 point assessment grade
Name (Typer):_________________________ Name (Presenter):________________________
Name (Researcher) [if you have a 3rd]:_________________________

1.

Your Event

________________________________________________

2.

Your Newspaper Title

________________________________________________
(use a title that will make people want to read but it has to apply to your event)

3.

Who was involved?

______________________________________________________

What happened?

______________________________________________________

Where did it happen? ______________________________________________________

Why did it happen?

______________________________________________________

When did it happen? ______________________________________________________

4.

List 5 facts

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

5.

Write a 250-500 word article from the point of view of a journalist in the late 1800s.
Include all 5 facts and your who/what/where/why/when in your article. Be sure to
include 2 photos about the event.

6.

Present the event to the class. The person who types the article CANNOT be the one
presenting.

Spanish-American War Report/Presentation Rubric

Staple instruction sheet, report, and rubric together.

Subject

Points
Possible

5 facts about your event

Who/what/where/when/
why

Article Title

Written in perspective of
late 18th/early 19th
century newspaper
writer

Length
250-500 words
Double spaced
12 point font
Times New Roman

2 Photos

Proper grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation

Presentation

TOTAL

35

Points
Awarded

Comments