This website is rich in educational content for a wide variety of ages. To that end, each article contains questions for further reflection. These questions appear both in the left column near the top of the article, and at the bottom of the article text.
The content is particularly relevant to the social studies curriculum in grades 8-12. To facilitate the website’s use, its creators have generated ideas that tie into the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework for Grades 8-12, as formulated in 2018.
Grade 8
8T4.2 Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens (e.g., voting, serving as a juror, paying taxes, serving in the military, running for and holding elected office) as compared to non-citizens.
8T4.5 Describe how a democracy provides opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process through elections, political parties, and interest groups.
8T4.12 Examine the role of political protest in a democracy.
Discussion Questions
- How do the activities in the “corridor of revolutions” change our ideas of what counted as a right or a privilege?
- What rights are still being fought for? How?
- Once a right is won, do we have any responsibilities for keeping it up?
Activities:
- Make a protest sign for a movement discussed in the “corridor,” or for a modern one that you are passionate about.
- Write a letter to a member of Congress about a right that is important to you.
8T5.2 Explain the historical context and significance of changes in the Constitution, including key amendments. Examples of amendments include the: a. 14th Amendment (1868): citizenship rights, equal protection of laws b. 19th Amendment (1920): women’s right to vote in federal and state elections c. 26th Amendment (1971): lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 in federal elections
8T5.6 Research, analyze, and report orally or in writing on one area (a, b, or c, below) in which Supreme Court decisions have made significant changes over time in citizens’ lives.
Discussion Questions:
- What is so powerful about the ability to vote?
- Is there anyone else who should be able to vote, but can’t under our laws?
Activity:
- Research a Supreme Court case that focused on voting rights.
United States History I
USIT1.1 Analyze the economic, intellectual, and cultural forces that contributed to the American Revolution.
USIT1.3 Explain Britain’s policies in the North American colonies (e.g., the Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townsend Duties, the Tea Act, and the Intolerable Acts) and compare the perspectives of the British Parliament, British colonists, and Native Peoples in North America on these policies.
USIT1.4 Describe Patriots’ responses to increased British taxation (e.g., the slogan, “no taxation without representation,” the actions of the Stamp Act Congress, the Sons of Liberty, the Boston Tea Party, the Suffolk Resolves) and the role of Massachusetts people (e.g., Samuel Adams, Crispus Attucks, John Hancock, James Otis, Paul Revere, John and Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Judith Sargent Murray, Phillis Wheatley, Peter Salem, Prince Estabrook).
USIT1.5 Explain the main argument of the Declaration of Independence, the rationale for seeking independence, and its key ideas on equality, liberty, natural rights, and the rule of law.
Discussion Ideas
- How do the activists use the ideas of the American Revolution in other movements in the “corridor”? Do they use them accurately?
- Does the Revolution mean something different now than it did then? Why?
Activity
- Find examples of people using the ideas of the revolution or the founding generation to justify what they believe today. Are they rare or common?
USIT4.1 Describe important religious and social trends that shaped America in the 18th and 19th centuries (e.g., the First and Second Great Awakenings; the increase in the number of Protestant denominations; the concept of “Republican Motherhood;” hostility to Catholic immigration and the rise of the Native American Party, also known as the “Know-Nothing” Party).
USIT4.2 Using primary sources, research the reform movements in the United States in the early to mid-19th century, concentrating on one of the following [list below in full Framework document] and considering its connections to other aspects of reform.
Discussion ideas:
- What motivated people to become reformers?
- Some people were able to make reform activity a focus of their lives and others weren’t. What were the differences between the two groups?
Activity:
- Research times that a movement split into different groups. Why did they split – ideas, methods, interpersonal conflicts? Did they ever reunite, and if so, how did that happen?
