Homeschool Lesson Plan: History 1900-1910
Read: Our Century, 1900-1910 by Janice Greene.
About the book: Our Century, 1900-1910 by Janice Greene was originally published in 1993. There are more recent versions available as well as additional chapters, each covering a different decade. You can purchase it online, where prices range from $4.50 to $30.00, or you can get it your local library.
Assign Essay: Have your children write an essay (according to grade and level) contrasting life as it was during 1900-1910 and now. They should include how they would feel and live if they were a child during this decade:
Create: game cards based on facts in the book. Here are some questions you can use:
Q. What kind of jobs suddenly became popular in 1900?
A. Factory jobs
Q. Who were the lowest paid workers in 1900? created?
A. Children
Q. What was the most popular outfit for boys and girls and the early 1900’s?
A. Sailor Costumes
Q. What happened during the summer of 1900 in China?
A. (the boxer rebellion) The Chinese Empress declared war on all foreigners with the help of a rebel group called the boxers. Instead of getting rid of foreigners, many people died, and they had more power than before.
Q. What country controlled �¼ of the world until 1901 when the ruler died?
A. England, until, Queen Victoria died.
Q. What countries went to war in 1904?
A. Japan and Russia
Q. What US president was assassinated in 1901 in Buffalo NY?
A. William McKinley
Q. Who became President after William McKinley’s Death?
A. Theodore Roosevelt
Q. When was the first successful plane flight?
A. December 17, 1903
Q. When was the great San Francisco Earthquake?
A. April 18, 1906
Q. How long did it take to rebuild San Francisco after the Great earthquake?
A. Three years.
Q. What president elected in 1909 didn’t want his job?
A. President William Howard Taft was pushed into politics by his father.
Q. What was President Taft the first to establish?
A. He established the first Federal budget.
Q. How many people immigrated to the US between 1900 and 1910?
A. Nine million.
Q. What year did Admiral Robert Peary place an American Flag on the North Pole?
A. April 6, 1909
Q. How did Henry Ford mass produce the Model T automobile quickly and inexpensively?
A. He formed a production line where each person made a small part of the car.
Q. Name the four most important scientist of this century 1900-1910
A. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud
Q. When was the first successful modern Olympics game?
A. 1908
Q. What were the most popular sports in 1900-1910?
A. Baseball (first world series in 1903) and Boxing (Jack Johnson was the first black man to win the heavyweight boxing crown)
Q. Why was Mary Mallon imprisoned in 1907?
A. Because she was a carrier of Typhoid Fever. She was released when she promised to never handle other people’s food again.
Q. Who were the most influential artists in 1900-1901?
A. Upton Sinclair (writer), Rudyard Kipling (poet), Isadora Duncan (writer) Pablo Picasso (painter).
Q. Who were the most famous people in 1900-1910?
A. The Wright Brothers (who created airplanes) Helen Keller (Blind and Deaf College student who had written her life’s story), John Pierpont Morgan (banker) and Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon who was known as a carrier of Typhoid Fever)
Play: A Board game using a chutes and ladders or trouble or a game you make up yourself. Ask a question, and if the child gets it right, they can roll the dice and move their piece.
