Curated OER
Prairie Settlement
Middle schoolers make a decision for site selection for a farm during the 1840s in the Midwest. They build research and writing skills by recording the information used for analysis in a chart and as diary entries.
Curated OER
Mapping the Changes
Students research an aspect of life of their choosing of a western state either before the Civil War, after the war or today. They are to write about the aspect they choose and make illustrations.
Curated OER
Environment: Mock Trial
Students role-play a trial regarding the taking of family property for a new water purification plant. Among the roles are the judge, attorneys, witnesses, plaintiff, mayor, and jury members. Once both sides present their case, the...
Curated OER
City Bound
Fifth graders identify the reasons for people migrating to cities after the Civil War. Using population data, they discover why populations in cities rose while rural populations fell during 1860 to 1900. They discuss the impact a...
Curated OER
Who Will Get the Last Drop?
Students discuss the importance of California's water system. In this earth science lesson plan, student play the role of different stakeholders. They present a 2-3 minute argument on their group's perspective about their need for water.
Curated OER
Nineteenth Century Family Portraits
Students compare two nineteenth century family portraits using historical data, statistics, and historical context. Students analyze their own family pictures adjusting the criteria to the current decade. Lastly students study the...
The College Board
Driven to the City: Urbanization and Industrialization in the 19th Century
Scholarly article discussing the trend towards urbanization in the United States and other industrialized countries in the nineteenth century.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Making of African American Identity: The Promised Land?
A short story and a painting illustrating African American perceptions of Northern cities. Rudolph Fisher's short story "The City of Refuge" and William H. Johnson's painting Moon over Harlem offer insight into life within the black...
University of Maryland
Umbc Center for History Education: Reshaping American Society
Using this history lab, learners will examine the impact immigration had on urbanization and the reform movements of the time, as well as the addressing the backlash to immigration by understanding nativism.
Other
Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration in the Gilded Age
A study guide for an American History course that explores trends and issues from the Gilded Age. The guide has many links to key resources and primary source materials, as well as questions for further study or discussion.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Urban Models in the Real World
By using Google Earth and city road maps, students will compare the layout of their city to one of the three North American urban models and see which one is the best fit.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Urbanization 1870 1900: Great Migration and New European Immigration
What caused the influx of African Americans and European immigrants into urban centers in the late 19th century? Learn about some of the discriminatory and anti-immigrant laws that were enacted to restrict their rights. Includes a chart...
PBS
Pbs: "Kill the Indian and Save the Man": Native American Representation
Learn about the impact of US government policies of assimilation, relocation, and urbanization on Native American identity and culture in this series of videos from the American Masters film Words from a Bear: N. Scott Momaday. Years...
The Newberry Library
Newberry Library: The Struggle for Civil Rights in the Urban North
Learning resource using primary sources in which students study de facto segregation in the North following the Civil War and examine how African-Americans responded to segregation and racism compared to the South.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Perspectives: Ida B. Wells
Read about the efforts of Ida B. Wells to combat lynchings of African Americans that were still occurring mainly in the South during the first part of the 20th century.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Industrial Growth
By 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected president, 16 percent of the population lived in urban areas and a third of the nation's income came from manufacturing. Funds were flowing into large-scale industrial development and into...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: Native American Culture of the Southeast
The dominant Mississippian culture of the Southeast signaled agricultural success and urban development for a variety of Native American groups.
Bowling Green State University
United States History: Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration
These are study notes for key points when learning about the industrialization of America during the Gilded Age. Looks at causes and consequences of the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, the impact of rapid urbanization, and the...
Other
Dept. Of Housing and Urban Dev. (Hud): Native Americans
A resource page for Native Americans in reference to land and/or homebuyers. Site is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Lexington [Pdf]
"Lexington" is a one page, historical fiction, reading passage about soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War. A soldier describes the feeling of being an American. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: Native Americans: Potawatomi[pdf]
"Native American Life--Potawatomi Profile" is a one page, non-fiction, first person reading/thinking passage about the Potawatomi Native American tribe. It includes information about what they did during each of the seasons of the year.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 15: The Changing American Landscape
The rise of American cities between 1865 and 1900 was spawned by the industrial revolution. Technological advancements in industry and transportation fathered the enormous growth of large cities across the United States. This led to the...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Before Chicago [Pdf]
"Before Chicago" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about Native Americans who lived in what is now Chicago. It describes what life was like for them and tells how Chicago got its name. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]
"Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet" is a one page, biographical passage about Gwendolyn Brooks, an African-American poet from Chicago. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...