Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 17, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 17, Lesson 2: Progressive Reform (pp. 507-512)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Change Progressive reforms moved from the cities to the states to the federal government.

Make a 4-column chart to identify and describe major Progressive reforms. Label the columns "State-level Reforms," "Reforms under Roosevelt," "Reforms under Taft," and "Reforms under Wilson." Work with students to list and describe as fully as possible the reforms that belong in each column. Then ask students which category they think is the most significant and why.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Ask students to write a paragraph comparing Robert La Follette, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson as reformers. Students should rank the three men as "most," "middle," and "least" Progressive, and then give specific examples of policies that support their rankings.
Have students give examples of aspects of their lives which are regulated or affected by one or more of the Progressive reforms discussed in this lesson. They can do this through a class discussion or they can look for articles or images in newspapers or magazines that show examples.

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