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Lesson Plan
PBS

The Media and the War: The Penny Press, Walt Whitman and the War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Mexican-American war marked a significant moment in United States history, as well as in the history of American media. The mid-nineteenth century saw the introduction of the Penny Press, which provided many American citizens with...
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Website
PBS

Latino Americans: Timeline of Important Dates

For Students 4th - 12th Standards
From 1500-2000, an interactive timeline details important events related to Latino Americans. Next, to each date are small, yet informative blurbs—some of which include videos. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating a Memorial

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine events that lead to the building of war memorials. They analyze the reasons why people build them and go to them. They create their own ideas for a memorial for the Mexican War.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is the Media Part of the Story?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discuss the role of the media in public opinion. They use the internet to research when the media has had an impact on war. They write an essay about their research and any conclusions they have made.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Extranjeros and Expansion

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A three-part lesson gives light to the Unites States expansion from the view of Texans, New Mexicans, and Californians. Through videos and written activities, scholars work collaboratively to research specific individuals and their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Legacy of War -- The Gold Rush and the Foreign Miner's Tax

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the results of the Mexican War from both countries. They analyze the impact of a war for the losing side. They also compare the politics of the time of the Mexican war with those of today.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny and the Commercial Conquest of the United States

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the role of commerce in the United States to help fulfill Manifest Destiny. They write commercials that could have been used by the Mexicans or Americans during the Mexican War.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny and the Power of Perspective

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the concept of Manifest Destiny and the United States. They analyze the Mexican War from the perspective of the Mexicans and the Indians. They write an essay about these different perspectives.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Soldados: Soldiers' Stories

For Teachers All
This lesson will help students practice conducting an oral history interview, increase knowledge about what it is like to be a soldier, gain knowledge about the Vietnam War and gain knowledge about the Chicano experience in the U.S.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration to America

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine reasons for immigration to the United States in the 19th century. They role play as immigrants asked to write accounts of their immigrant experiences.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Samuel Colt

For Students 9th - 10th
One-page profile of influential innovator, Samuel Colt, whose vision and ideas created the revolving pistol that was later used in the Mexican American War and the Texas Revolution.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: American g.i. Forum: Hector P. Garcia

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of the website associated with the PBS series called "The Border." This article discusses the role of Hector Garcia in the Hispanic civil rights movement after World War II.
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Article
Texas Public Broadcasting

Texas Pbs: Texas Our Texas: Early Statehood 1845 1861

For Students 9th - 10th
Examines the circumstances surrounding Texas's entry into the Union in 1845 as a slave state. It was an uneasy union, with ongoing controversy around the issue of slavery. This lasted through the Mexican-American War and helped to...
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Website
PBS

U.s. Mexican War: Biographies

For Students 9th - 10th
As part of the larger site on the Mexican War, here are several biographies of the players, both American and Mexican, of those involved in the politics and fighting.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: New Perspectives on the West

For Students 9th - 10th
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
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Website
PBS

Pbs: The American Experience in the 1900s

For Students 9th - 10th
This site presents a general picture of what life was like in the United States at the turn of the century. Content includes compelling images, information, and documents about American life.