LibGuides: American History 2--HIST 2112 (OER): Teaching Resources (Updated Fall 2023)

Affordable Learning Georgia Grant - Round 22 (Fall 2023)

This page hosts the new materials created using an Affordable Learning Georgia Continuous Improvement Grant (round 22), which concluded in December 2023.

The terms of the grant proposal called for the creation of the following resources:

Central (Thematic) Organizing Questions - The revision will include news central questions for each week or module of materials that provide cohesive themes and overarching questions to guide the general direction of both learning and instruction.
Teaching & Learning Activities - we plan to develop a number of assignments and activities based on primary historical documents and short secondary sources such as academic journal articles. These assignments and activities include short answer document-based questions, group discussion questions and think, pair, share activities for face-to-face classes, discussion questions for online classes, and short writing assignments. These materials will be organized into online packets that are ready-made for eight-week classes.
Primary Source Packets - We will create primary source packets to accompany the teaching and learning activities described above.
New Test Bank - Revision & expansion of the multiple-choice questions currently used in the quizzes and exams of our four main survey classes. Our revision efforts along these lines will strive to test higher-order thinking instead of merely testing students’ abilities to recall basic historical facts. We will revise existing questions and write new multiple-choice questions such that we have questions that fit into categories such as Chronology, Historical Thinking, Data Analysis, and Source Application. This will create a broad pool of higher-quality questions that will sharpen the critical thinking skills and historical knowledge of our students and serve instructors of our survey courses well for years to come. There will be fewer "Google-able" questions based on rote memorization.

Resources are available below.

Central (Thematic) Organizing Questions for Modules

Module 1: Reconstruction & the New South (1865-1877)

The American Yawp Chapter 15
Central Question: How did the United States struggle to rebuild and redefine itself in the aftermath of the Civil War?

Module 2: The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era (1870-1920)

The American Yawp Chapters 16, 18, & 20
Central Question: How did industrialization and immigration shape America in the late 19th/early 20th centuries? What reforms arose to fix problems in government and society?

Module 3: Expansion & Imperialism (1890-1920)

The American Yawp Chapter 17 & 19
Central Question: How and why did the United States expand its territories and influence overseas? What were the consequences of American imperialism?

Module 4: World War I & the 1920s (1914-1929)

The American Yawp Chapters 21-22
Central Question: How did World War I transform American society and global standing? What cultural and social changes characterized the 1920s?

Module 5: The Great Depression & the New Deal (1929-1941)

The American Yawp Chapters 23
Central Question: What were the causes and consequences of the Great Depression? How did FDR's New Deal aim to alleviate the economic crisis?

Module 6: World War II & the Cold War (1941-1960)

The American Yawp Chapters 24-25
Central Question: How did WWII lead to America's rise as a global superpower? What shaped the clash between the US and the USSR during the Cold War?

Module 7: Civil Rights, Protest, and Change (1954 - 1980)

The American Yawp Chapters 26-28
Central Question: How did grassroots movements fight for civil rights and social change in postwar America? What successes and setbacks did they meet?

Module 8: Contemporary America (1968-Present)

The American Yawp Chapters 29-30
Central Question: What major political, economic, social, and cultural developments have shaped the US since the late 20th century? How has America's role in the world evolved?

Primary Source Packets

Teaching and Learning Activities

Module 1: Reconstruction Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to the concept of freedom during Reconstruction, as seen from a variety of perspectives.
Module 2: Gilded Age Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to Progressivism as a reaction to the challenges of industrialization and urbanization in late 19th- and early 20th-century American
Module 3: Expansion & Imperialism Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to American Empire at the turn of the century.
Module 4: The New Era Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to the 1920s as an age of dramatic change (and anxiety) in America.
Module 5: Great Depression & New Deal Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to the consequences of the Great Depression and New Deal.
Module 6: World War II & Cold War Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to the domestic and international impact of America's role as a superpower during the Cold War
Module 7: Civil Rights Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s & 1960s
Module 8: Contemporary America Learning Activities
Learning activities and discussion questions related to contemporary issues in the US (including civil rights and social justice movements)