United States History Unit 4

Big Idea:

Analyze major characteristics of World War I

Student Expectations:

Priority TEKS

USH.2(A) [Supporting] identify the major characteristics that define an historical era;

USH.2(B) [Readiness] identify the major eras in U.S. history from 1877 to the present and describe their defining characteristics;

USH.2(C) [Supporting] apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods; and

USH.2(D) [Supporting] explain the significance of the following years as turning points: 1898 (Spanish-American War), 1914-1918 (World War I), 1929 (the Great Depression begins), 1939-1945 (World War II), 1957 (Sputnik launch ignites U.S.-Soviet space race), 1968-1969 (Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and U.S. lands on the moon), 1991 (Cold War ends), 2001 (terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon), and 2008 (election of first black president, Barack Obama).

USH.4(A) [Readiness] explain why significant events, policies, and individuals such as the Spanish-American War, U.S. expansionism, Henry Cabot Lodge, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, Sanford B. Dole, and missionaries moved the United States into the position of a world power;

USH.4(C) [Readiness] identify the causes of World War I and reasons for U.S. entry;

USH.4(F) [Readiness] analyze major issues such as isolationism and neutrality raised by U.S. involvement in World War I, Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the Treaty of Versailles; and

USH.15(D) [Readiness] describe the economic effects of international military conflicts, including the Spanish-American War and World War I, on the United States; and

USH.19(B) [Readiness] explain constitutional issues raised by federal government policy changes during times of significant events, including World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the 1960s, and 9/11;

Focus TEKS

USH.4(D) [Supporting] understand the contributions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) led by General John J. Pershing;

USH.4(E) [Supporting] analyze the impact of significant technological innovations in World War I such as machine guns, airplanes, tanks, poison gas, and trench warfare that resulted in the stalemate on the Western Front;

USH.4(G) [Supporting]analyze significant events such as the Battle of Argonne Forest.

USH.26(F) [Supporting] discuss the importance of congressional Medal of Honor recipients, including individuals of all races and genders such as Vernon J. Baker, Alvin York, and Roy Benavidez.

USH.27(B) [Supporting] explain how specific needs result in scientific discoveries and technological innovations in agriculture, the military, and medicine, including vaccines;

Ongoing TEKS

USH.29(A) use a variety of both primary and secondary valid sources to acquire information and to analyze and answer historical questions

USH.29(B) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and- effect relationships, comparing and contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations, making predictions, drawing inferences, and drawing conclusions

USH.29(C) understand how historians interpret the past (historiography) and how their interpretations of history may change over time

USH.29(D) use the process of historical inquiry to research, interpret, and use multiple types of sources of evidence

USH.29(E) evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author, including points of view, frames of reference, and historical context;

USH.29(F) identify bias in written, oral, and visual material

USH.29(G) identify and support with historical evidence a point of view on a social studies issue or event

USH.29(H) use appropriate skills to analyze and interpret social studies information such as maps, graphs, presentations, speeches, lectures, and political cartoons

USH.30(A) create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information

USH.30(B) use correct social studies terminology to explain historical concepts

USH.30(C) use different forms of media to convey information, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using available computer software as appropriate

USH.31(A) create thematic maps, graphs, and charts representing various aspects of the United States

USH.31(B) pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns shown on maps, graphs, charts, and available databases

USH.32(A) use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution

USH.32(B) use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision

Student Learning Targets:

• I will differentiate between the causes of WWI through writing.
• I will analyze reasons for U.S. involvement and interest in WWI.
• I will identify the economic, political, and cultural changes in the U.S. and internationally.
• I will discuss the arguments for and against the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations.

Essential Questions:

• Why did World War I break out in Europe?
• Could the United States have avoided entering World War I? Explain.
• To what extent, did technological advances make World War I different from earlier wars?
• Why were the peace treaties ending World War I controversial?

Extra Information:

Adopted Textbook: The Americans: US History since 1877 Texas Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Holt McDougal

District Grading Policy

Texas Gateway Online Resource Center