US History · Week 11 · Industrialization, Immigration, and Reform
Social Darwinism or Social Gospel
Students compare Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel as explanations for poverty and success and examine their own beliefs about why some people struggle.
- Students will
- Students analyze the similarities and differences between Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel as explanations for poverty and success and examine how historical contexts shaped perspectives.
- SEL skill
- Notice which explanation of poverty might feel natural to a person and what could shape that view
- What it looks like
- Students practice self-awareness by noticing what shapes their own beliefs about why people succeed or struggle.
- Content focus
- Social Darwinism or Social Gospel
- Format
- Think write pair share
Self-awareness
Self-awareness means recognizing your own emotions, thoughts, values, and strengths and how they influence what you do. More self-awareness activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- 11.2.7: CA History Social Science Content Standard, Grade 11: United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century (standard 11.2, item 7)
- CA HSS Analysis Skill: HI2 Recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limits on determining cause and effect. (Historical Interpretation)
- C3 Framework (national): D2.His.5.9-12 Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people's perspectives.
- Literacy in history: RH.11-12.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Fits these textbook chapters
- History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals, Chapter 13: The Age of Innovation and Industry
- History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals, Chapter 16: Uncovering Problems at the Turn of the Century
- History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals, Chapter 17: The Progressives Respond
Textbook names are used only to help you find activities that fit what you teach. RoseThread Connect is not affiliated with these publishers.
More self-awareness activities for US History
- Becoming a Citizen Historian Self-awarenessStudents explore the Enlightenment ideas behind the nation's founding and name the questions about belonging and fairness they bring to the American story.
- Americanization and Identity Self-awarenessStudents examine the Americanization movement's pressure on immigrants to give up language and customs and reflect on the parts of their own identity they carry proudly.
- Fear and Civil Liberties Self-awarenessStudents analyze the Palmer Raids, the Ku Klux Klan, and immigration quotas alongside the responses of the ACLU, NAACP, and Anti Defamation League and learn to recognize fear driven thinking in themselves.
- Harlem Renaissance Voices Self-awarenessStudents read poems by Langston Hughes and work by Zora Neale Hurston and use writing to express an emotion and an identity of their own.
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RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.