Units 1–3 Crosswalk — Industrial Revolution, Imperialism & WWI, Roaring 20s¶
Grade 10 · US History Units 1–3 + ELA 9-10 Span: 1870s–1930s · Industrialization · Progressive Era · Imperialism · WWI · Boom and Bust
Start here — one Demo, two standards
US.6_12.4–5 + R.9 + W.4 — Read The Jungle. Analyze Sinclair's argument about labor conditions (R.9 Skinny). Write your own reform argument (W.4 Skinny). That's US.6_12.4 content + two ELA standards in one Demo. Use the US.4 Unit 1 Skinny to find your argument move.
Project Ideas — Units 1–3¶
1. "When a system produces suffering at scale, who's responsible?"¶
Essential question: When industrialization creates widespread poverty and dangerous conditions, is anyone to blame — or is it just the system? USH Standard: US.6_12.4–5 + Unit 1 ELA Standard: R.9 + W.4 Source anchor: The Jungle (Sinclair) Suggested Demo Mode: Extended Writing Possible deliverables: Argument essay · Investigative journalism piece (written in Sinclair's tradition) · Podcast The argument: Sinclair wrote The Jungle as an argument for reform. Students analyze his argumentative strategy (R.9 — who is his audience? what does he want them to do? what evidence does he use?) and write their own argument about whether systemic harm requires systemic solutions or individual accountability. W.4 + US.6_12.4.
2. "What justified American imperialism — and does that justification hold up?"¶
Essential question: When a powerful country takes control of a weaker one "for its own good," how do we evaluate that claim? USH Standard: US.6_12.4 + Unit 2 ELA Standard: R.9 + W.4 Source anchors: Kipling — "White Man's Burden" + H.T. Johnson — "Black Man's Burden" Suggested Demo Mode: Extended Writing or Verbal Conversation Possible deliverables: Comparative essay · Debate · Podcast The argument: Students read both poems as arguments (R.9), identify the claims, evidence, and intended audiences of each, then write their own argument (W.4) evaluating the "civilizing mission" claim. See also CrashCourse Ep 37 — Imperialism for historical context.
3. "Who entered WWI knowing what they were getting into?"¶
Essential question: If every country entered WWI expecting a short, winnable war, what does that tell us about how leaders make decisions? USH Standard: US.6_12.5 + Unit 2 ELA Standard: R.9 + W.4 or W.3 Source anchor: Dulce et Decorum Est + CrashCourse ep-38 (WWI) Suggested Demo Mode: Extended Writing or Multimedia Possible deliverables: Essay · Documentary · Annotated comparison The argument: Green's episode shows the strategic miscalculations; Owen's poem shows what the reality looked like. Students read both (R.9 for Owen's poetic argument, the episode for historical argument structure) and write either an explanatory piece (W.3) on what the leaders got wrong, or an argument (W.4) about who bears responsibility.
4. "Can a story change a law?"¶
Essential question: The Jungle led to the Pure Food and Drug Act. What does it take for a piece of writing to produce real policy change? USH Standard: US.6_12.4–5 + Unit 1 ELA Standard: R.9 + W.3 Suggested Demo Mode: Extended Writing or Multimedia Possible deliverables: Explanatory essay · Documentary · Research presentation The argument: Students research the connection between The Jungle and the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, analyzing Sinclair's argument strategy (R.9) and then explaining (W.3) what made his writing capable of producing legislative action. Bonus: they find a contemporary example of journalism or creative work that influenced policy — connecting to US.6_12.6.
Studio Packets Available¶
| Code | Essential Question | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| USH-01 | When an institution fails the people it's supposed to serve, what does it take to fix it? | US.6_12 Units 1–2, 6 |
Reading Library — Units 1–3 Texts¶
| Text | USH Standard | ELA Crosswalk | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upton Sinclair — The Jungle selections (1906) | US.6_12.4–5 + Unit 1 | R.9 — muckraker argument structure; W.4 — reform argument | Open |
| Kipling — "White Man's Burden" + H.T. Johnson (1899) | US.6_12.4 + Unit 2 | R.9 — compare imperial arguments; W.4 — rebuttal writing | Open |
| Wilfred Owen — "Dulce et Decorum Est" (1917) | US.6_12.5 + Unit 2 | R.9 — poetic argument; W.4 — anti-war position | Open |
| Moby Dick — Herman Melville (1851) | US.6_12.4 + US.6_12.1 + Unit 1 | R.8 — epic structure, symbolism; W.4 — obsession as American ideology | Open |
| Beloved — Toni Morrison (1987, set 1873) | US.6_12.4 + US.6_12.5 + Unit 1 | R.8 — non-linear narrative, trauma; W.4 — what slavery required of survivors | Open |
| The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) | US.6_12.4 + US.6_12.1 + Unit 3 | R.8 — symbolism, unreliable narrator; W.4 — American Dream argument | Open |
| Their Eyes Were Watching God — Zora Neale Hurston (1937) | US.6_12.4 + US.6_12.3 + Unit 3 | R.8 — voice and dialect as literary choice; W.3 — Black life in the Jim Crow South | Open |
Skinnies to Pull These Units¶
WH Skinnies That Cross Over (Era 3–4 content overlaps with USH Units 1–3)¶
| Standard | Skinny | Relevance to Units 1–3 |
|---|---|---|
| WH.6_12.4 Era 3 | Social & Economic Era 3 | Industrialization, labor, social transformation |
| WH.6_12.5 Era 3 | Causes & Effects Era 3 | Imperialism causes and effects |
| WH.6_12.5 Era 4 | Causes & Effects Era 4 | WWI causes — directly applicable to Unit 2 |
USH Skinnies — Units 1–3¶
| Standard | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| US.1 Science & Tech | Skinny | Skinny | Skinny |
| US.2 Ideas & Beliefs | Skinny | Skinny | Skinny |
| US.3 Political Systems | Skinny | Skinny | Skinny |
| US.4 Social & Economic | Skinny | Skinny | Skinny |
| US.5 Causes & Effects | Skinny | Skinny | Skinny |
| US.6 Past to Present | Skinny | Skinny | Skinny |
ELA Skinnies — Strongest Pulls for Units 1–3¶
| Standard | Skinny | When to Pull |
|---|---|---|
| R.9 | Informational & Argumentative | Muckraker journalism, Kipling, political speeches |
| W.4 | Argument Writing | Reform arguments, labor rights, anti-imperialism |
| W.3 | Explanatory Writing | Explaining industrialization effects or WWI causes |
| R.2 | Comprehension & Inference | Complex historical texts and journalism |
| IR.1–5 | Research Bundle | Every Studio |
CrashCourse US History Episodes — Units 1–3¶
| Episode | Topic | Standard | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ep 06 | The Industrial Revolution | US.6_12.4–5 + Unit 1 | Watch guide |
| Ep 07 | The Progressive Era & Immigration | US.6_12.4 + Unit 1 | Watch guide |
| Ep 08 | America and WWI | US.6_12.5 + Unit 2 | Watch guide |
| Ep 09 | The Great Depression | US.6_12.4–5 + Unit 3 | Watch guide |
CrashCourse World History Context — Units 1–3¶
These WH episodes cover the same global time period and add useful international context:
| Episode | Topic | Relevance | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ep 37 | Imperialism | American imperialism context; Kipling + H.T. Johnson | Watch guide |
| Ep 38 | World War I | WWI causes and effects — Unit 2 directly | Watch guide |
CrashCourse Literature — Units 1–3¶
| Work | Focus | Standard | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moby Dick | 19th-century whaling industry, American obsession, the cost of ambition | US.6_12.4 + US.6_12.1 + R.8 | Episode guide |
| Beloved | Reconstruction era, slavery's psychological legacy, what freedom required | US.6_12.4 + US.6_12.5 + R.8 | Episode guide |
| The Great Gatsby | The American Dream, 1920s class and wealth, the lie beneath the prosperity | US.6_12.4 + R.8 | Episode guide |
| Their Eyes Were Watching God | Black life in 1930s Jim Crow South, Harlem Renaissance, voice as resistance | US.6_12.4 + R.8 | Episode guide |
Standards Active These Units¶
| Subject | Standard | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| US History | Unit 1 | Industrial Revolution, labor, immigration, Progressive Era |
| US History | Unit 2 | American imperialism, Spanish-American War, WWI |
| US History | Unit 3 | 1920s boom, Harlem Renaissance, Great Depression |
| ELA — Reading | R.9 | Muckraker journalism, political speeches, propaganda analysis |
| ELA — Reading | R.2 | Comprehension in complex historical and journalistic texts |
| ELA — Writing | W.4 | Argument writing — labor rights, imperialism, reform |
| ELA — Writing | W.3 | Explanatory writing — how industrialization changed American life |
Strongest crosswalk pairing Units 1–3: US.6_12.4–5 + R.9 + W.4 — The muckraker tradition (Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, Jacob Riis) is investigative argument. These texts are both primary sources and W.4 mentor texts simultaneously. A student can analyze Sinclair's argument structure (R.9) and write their own reform argument (W.4) while demonstrating US.6_12.4 content knowledge about labor conditions.
Why This Is Relevant Today?¶
Units 1–3 cover the decades when the United States industrialized, built a global empire, fought its first world war, and then watched the economy collapse — and every pattern from that era is recognizable today. The debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about how to achieve civil rights never ended; it's still happening. The question of whether the United States should use military force to spread its values abroad — debated during the Spanish-American War and WWI — is asked about every conflict since. The Great Depression revealed that an unregulated economy can fail everyone at once, and the argument about what the government owes people when it does is the argument behind every debate about the social safety net. The muckrakers — Sinclair, Tarbell, Riis — invented the model of investigative journalism that is still the main check on corporate and government power. If you care about labor rights, press freedom, economic inequality, or when the U.S. should go to war, this is the era where those arguments started. See USH-01: When the System Fails and USH-03: When the Floor Falls Out.
Units 1–3 Crosswalk — SDA Commons Wiki · South High School See also: Unit 1 · Unit 2 · Unit 3 · Units 4–6 Crosswalk