Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 16, Lesson 3

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 16, Lesson 3: The Populist Revolt (pp. 486-491)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Change Squeezed by economic hardships and unfair business practices, farmers formed the Populist Party to call for reform.

Help students to understand how an increased supply of a good can cause the price of that good to drop. Then apply this concept to farmers' crops and to the money supply so that students can understand the economic problems farmers faced in the late 1800s.

Review farmers' efforts to address their problems, explaining how the Populist Party grew out of smaller, more local reform efforts. Summarize the election of 1896 and the reasons why the Populist Party faded afterwards.

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

Have each student write a letter to the editor supporting either William Jennings Bryan or William McKinley in the election of 1896. Have students give specific reasons for their views, describing and commenting on Populist ideas.
Have small groups of students act out a meeting of the Grange, a farmers' alliance, or the Populist Party. They should create a chart using either words or pictures to identify their goals and the actions they will take to achieve those goals.

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