Procedures

• WARM-UP:

  Have the students answer the following questions at the beginning of the class.

  • What is a colony?

  • How can countries acquire colonies?

• INTRODUCTION:

  As a class, review the Spanish territorial claims prior to 1898. On a world map, have them locate the following places. Discuss why the United States might find these places important in 1898.

  • Cuba
  • Guam
  • Puerto Rico
  • Philippines

• CONTENT/VIDEO CLIPS:

  Pass out the following note-taking handout.

  HANDOUT: Spanish-American War Handout (Google Doc)

  Have the students view the videos either as a class or individually and record notes on the causes, the major events and the lasting significance of the war.

  Alternately, this assignment can be adapted by using the Spanish-American War Video Question Handout (Google Doc) instead of the note-taking chart.

  After viewing each of the videos, review the chart/answers with the class and address any misconceptions.

• VIDEO CLIP: The Causes of the Spanish American War (3:02)

• VIDEO CLIP: The Impact of the Civil War on the Spanish-American War (3:21)

• VIDEO CLIP: Spanish-American War and its Legacy (2:27)

• VIDEO CLIP: Early Film and the Spanish-American War (2:22)

• VIDEO CLIP: The Battle of Manila (2:51)

• VIDEO CLIP: Foreign Policy and the Spanish-American War (2:19)

• VIDEO CLIP: Puerto Rico and The Spanish-American War (1:42)

• VIDEO CLIP: The Legacy of the Spanish-American War and World War II (1:00)

• CONCLUSION:

  As a class view the following clip:

  VIDEO CLIP: The Aftermath of the Spanish-American War (3:11)

  Have the students discuss the meaning of Professor Young's statement as a class. Individually, have them answer the following writing prompt:

  Did the United States' entry into the Spanish-American War and its subsequent imperialism conflict with its principles as a nation? Use examples from the clips to support your stance.

• EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  Compare and Contrast- Pick a current foreign engagement and discuss the similarities and differences between the Spanish-American War that that current engagement.

  What If- What if the U.S. had not gone to war with Spain in 1898. Image the history of the world if the United States had not gone to world with Spain. What would be the same? What might have been different? Write down your history.

  Yellow Journalism Meme- Using pictures from the Spanish-American War, create memes representing what Yellow Journalism would look like during the lead-up to the Spanish-American War.