McKinley Educational Lesson Plans
 

Grade Level 9 & 10

Grade 9 Standards:

History:
Analyze the reasons that countries gained control of territory through imperialism and the impact on people living in the territory controlled.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities:
Analyze geographic changes brought about by human activity using appropriate maps and other geographic data.

English:
Write informational essays or reports including research that provides a clear and accurate perspective on the subject and support main ideas with facts.

Research: 
Identify appropriate sources and gather relevant information from multiple sources.

Grade 10 Standards:

History:
Trace the development of the U.S. as a world power with emphasis on:

1. The Spanish-American War
2. U.S. imperialism in the Far East, South Pacific, Caribbean, and Central America.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities:
Describe the ways in which government policy has been shaped and set by the influence of political parties, interest groups, lobbyists, the media and public opinion with emphasis on:

A.      Military policy

English:
Write informational essays or reports, including research that supports main ideas with facts, detailed examples and explanations from sources that provide a clear and accurate perspective on the subject. Document sources and include bibliographies.

Objective:  The student will give a brief overview of McKinley’s presidency focusing on the Spanish-American War and the effects of yellow journalism on the presidency.

1. Research the causes of the Spanish-American War, the sinking of the Maine war ship.
2. Define yellow journalism, and how the practice came about. Direct focus to Hearst publications and the sinking of the Maine.

http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/remember.html

3. Explain the effects this type of news reporting had on McKinley’s decisions as president and the effects it may have had on the Republican Party.
4. Compare what you have learned with news reporting of today. Does the press still have the influence it did one hundred years ago? Does it have a larger influence, and if so, what does that mean for the President?
5. Place all information learned and opinions developed into a two-page typed paper.

Grade Level 9-10

Additional Activity:
Analyzing Political Cartoons:

Refer to the following web sites for McKinley political cartoons:
http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/cartoons/1898/index_bart.html
http://elections.harpweek.com/default.asp
http://history.osu.edu/Projects/McKinley/SpanAmWar.cfm
http://history.osu.edu/Projects/McKinley/McKCartoons.cfm

In addition to a written report or after textbook reading of the Spanish American War:

1. Have the students pick out two political cartoons from McKinley’s presidency.
2. Have students analyze the cartoons based on the following questions:
   1. Are there any symbols?
   2. What labels do you see?
   3. Have any of the illustrations been exaggerated in their drawings?
   4. Are their any ironies?
   5. What do you think is the artist opinion or what message is the artist trying to convey?

These educational lesson plans are designed for Grades 3, 4, 9, and 10
 to aid teachers in instruction about President William McKinley
in conjunction with the McKinley Birthplace Home & Research Center.

Click on the links below for the appropriate grade level. 
 

Grade Level 3               Print Version

Grade Level 3               Print Version

Grade Level 4               Print Version

Grade Level 9 & 10       Print Version

Prepared by the Staff of McKinley Memorial Library.

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McKinley Memorial Library
40 N. Main St.
Niles, Ohio 44446
phone:  330-652-1704
fax:  330-652-5788
e-mail: mckinley@mcklib.org

08/14/06