Home > Curriculum >
High School > Social Studies
>
Eleventh Grade Practical Modern American History
TITLE:
Eleventh Grade Practical Modern American History
TEXTBOOK:
American Adventure: Coming of Age, Ira Peck and Steven Deyle; Scholastic Inc;
1991
American Adventure: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow; Ira Peck and Steven Deyle;
Scholastic Inc; 1991
DESCRIPTION:
This is a full-year course created for students with special needs which is a
continuation of the sequence of American History commenced in grade 8. Starting
with the time span following the Civil War, the course will emphasize
traditions, ideals, values and beliefs of Americans since 1900. Some inquiry
will be made of the growing complexity of international and domestic issues and
stressing their impact upon current economic, political and social life in the
United States.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify contributions of immigrant groups and individuals as well as United
States domestic policies toward immigration. (12.3.7)
2. Identify and describe reforms on the national, state, and local levels of
society, as created under the Progressive Presidents. (12.3.8)
3. Describe the causes and effects of the rise of industry, identifying factors
such as labor, monopolies, and muckraking literature. (12.3.8)
4. Describe the causes of World War I. (12.3.9)
5. Identify and describe the United States’ role in World War I. (12.3.9)
6. Describe the home front of the United States during World War I. (12.3.9)
7. Describe reasons why the United States developed the policy of isolationism
following World War I and the effects this policy had. (12.3.10)
8. Describe the economic situation of the United States in the 1920s. (12.3.11)
9. Describe and explain the causes of the Great Depression, as well as the
success/failure of the solutions presented by Presidents Herbert Hoover and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (12.3.10)
10. Identify the causes of World War II. (12.3.12)
11. Identify military turning points in World War II. (12.3.12)
12. Describe the United States’ home front during World War II, including Pearl
Harbor, Japanese-American internment and the Manhattan Project. (12.3.12)
13. Describe the United States’ role as a superpower post-World War II.
(12.3.12)
14. Describe the origins and effects of the Cold War on America. (12.3.12)
15. Describe the domestic issues, such as McCarthyism, in the post-World War II
era. (12.3.12)
16. Describe the military conflicts, in Korea and Vietnam. (12.3.12)
17. Evaluate the impact of civil rights, identifying major civil rights
movements. (12.3.13)
18. Identify and describe domestic policy issues in contemporary American
society. (12.3.14)
19. Explain and describe key decisions of contemporary presidents, including
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton (12.3.14)
WRITING ACTIVITIES:
1. Students will be given the opportunity to write a reflection paper on a
simulated activity of the causes of World War I.
2. Students will be given the opportunity to write a comparison paper on the
1920s, focusing on whether the 1920s was more “Roaring” or “Boring.”
3. Students will be given the opportunity to write a letter series back “home”,
comparing life under Hoover’s presidency and then again after FDR’s New Deal
programs have been implemented.
4. Students will be given the opportunity to interview someone living during
World War II, either from the home front or the military perspective.
5. Students will be given the opportunity to write a decisive essay on whether
the atomic bombs should or should not have been dropped in Japan.
6. Students will be given the opportunity to write a critical issues essay over
the Vietnam War.
MULTICULTURE ACTIVITES:
1. Students will examine contributions of different cultures and ethnic groups
throughout the 20th century.
2. Students will examine the discrimination various cultures and ethnic groups
endured in the 20th century, including the United States domestic policies.
3. Students will examine the ever-changing diversity of America and analyze how
those changes have affected life in America.
