Description of lesson/activity
1. identify and locate the new territories added to the United States between 1800 and 1853.
2. identify when, why, and how the new territories were added to the United States between 1800 and 1853.
3. gather and record information in an organized form such as a map and a chart.
4. explain the ideology of Manifest Destiny.
1. As the nation developed politically it also was growing geographically. This activity focuses on the addition of new territories between 1800 and 1853.
2. The teacher should introduce the ideology of Manifest Destiny through readings, paintings, or political cartoons of the 1830s and 1840s.
3. The teacher should distribute the "Territories Added: Student Worksheet." Students will use their textbook or other available resources to research when, why, and how new territories were added to the United States between 1800 and 1853. The activity is designed to be completed individually or in small groups.
4. Evaluation of this research is up to the teacher.
5. Students should then fill in the two accompanying maps, "Territories Added: 1790-1840" (Resource 2a) and "Territories Added: 1840-1860." (Resource 4a). Directions for completing the maps are also included. The teacher should use these maps to show that territories added to the United States did not remain frozen in time; as populations in the west grew, new states were formed. These maps graphically illustrate the westward expansion of the United States. An "Assessment Criteria" has been included for grading each of these maps.
6. As a culminating class discussion, the teacher should emphasize the following:
Resource 1: Territories Added: Student Worksheet
Resource 2: "Territories Added: 1790-1840": Map Directions
Resource 2a "Territories Added: 1790-1840": Map
Resource 3: Assessment Criteria: "Territories Added: 1790-1840" Map
Resource 4: "Territories Added: 1840-1860": Map Directions
Resource 4a: "Territories Added: 1840-1860": Map
Resource 5: Assessment Criteria: "Territories Added: 1840-1860" Map