Lesson: Creating a Historical Context for United States’ Emergence as a World Power

Source: Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit

Created by: Alexis Johnson-Sziy, Catasauqua High School

Subjects: American History, World Cultures

Grade Levels: 9-12

View or download this Lesson Plan.

Overview: Students will work in small groups to gather background information (through print and online sources) related to United States’ expansionism as it occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in a specific country or region. Paying close attention to what happened in Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America will be particularly productive. As each group develops its research, they should utilize World Heritage sites where possible, such as http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/502 which describes the 16th century Spanish city of Vigan in the Philippines, or http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/790 which documents the city of Panama Viejo in Panama. Such World Heritage sites provide critical context for later American expansionism, giving students a basis for asking and answering questions about the impact of the succession of expansionist efforts, especially on the native populations. There are many additional sites that students will find, using this link: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ Each group will use its information to create an infomercial that summarizes United States’ expansionism in that particular area, addresses multicultural perspectives and indigenous peoples’ responses, as well as the historical context for US activities.

Objectives: Students will be able to identify and analyze the different perspectives associated with American and European expansionism in specific locations. These locations include but are not limited to Alaska, China, Cuba, Guam, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

The Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit

This lesson is one of 29 lessons (K-12, all subjects) in the Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit. The goal of the Tool Kit is to help educators and their students develop a transnational analysis in their classrooms by using complex themes of world heritage as a framework to understand global regions across disciplines. These themes include shared architectural, cultural, economic, environmental, political, recreational, religious, and social heritage features.  Real teachers created these lessons and based their work on “best practices” that reflect student collaboration and the broad goals of young people in ways that support care and understanding of others who may be very different in background and history.