Curriculum
Growth and Expansion Unit Docs
Unit Guide, Unit Storyboard, Lesson Calendar; Brief Answers for Teachers
Growth and Expansion Lesson One
Unit Launch; Changes between 1789 and 1849 (Q1)
Students read the unit setting and outcome, and learn about the different visions for growth of the United States.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Two
Cotton Becomes the Southern King (Q1)
Students learn the story of the expansion of cotton across the South, and check their understanding by writing “Because – But – So” sentences.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Three
Industrialization in the Northeast, Part One (Q1 / Q2)
Students learn the story of the creation of the factory town of Lowell, Massachusetts, and interpret a critic of the factory system.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Four
Industrialization in the Northeast, Part Two (Q2 / Q1)
Students interpret a Lowell Mill Girl’s response to Brownson, then learn about the arrival of immigrant workers to the factory towns.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Five
Settling the Northwest Territories (Q1)
Students learn the story of the settling of the Northwest, and illustrate it with a drawing.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Six
Why did New York and Chicago come to dominate trade in their regions? (Q3)
Students create a hypothesis to explain New York’s dominance of trade on the East Coast, then test their hypothesis by applying it to Chicago.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Seven
Formative Assessment
Students are assessed on their understanding of the unit so far.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Eight
Texas, Mexico, and "Manifest Destiny" (Q2)
Students interpret a famous article calling for the annexation of Texas as the fulfillment of America’s “Manifest Destiny.”
Growth and Expansion Lesson Nine
The Mexican-American War (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Mexican-American War, and tell it back in a 4-Sentence Story.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Ten
Polk's Defense of the War (Q2)
Students interpret Polk’s 1847 message to Congress, in which he defends the Mexican-American War.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Eleven
MA Resolutions; Was the Mexican-American War Justified? (Q2, Q4)
Students interpret Massachusetts’ Resolution against the Mexican American War, and make their own judgments about whether they think the war was justified or not.
Growth and Expansion Lesson Twelve
The California Gold Rush and Unit Conclusion (Q1)
Students learn the story of the California Gold Rush and tell it back in a 4-Sentence Storyboard.