As part of our study of turn of the 20th century U.S. foreign policies, students created storybooks on the "U.S. Rise to Power." The assignment was scaffolded with a graphic organizer to help students to define key terms to include in their narrative and asked that they evaluate the essential question: has the United States been a bully of a leader in the world? They were also asked to write the story in simple enough language for a younger person to understand and to write the version they would want their siblings or their own children children to learn. As in previous years, my own eight year old nephew Octavio is thrilled to help me with the grading - Story time! 

Below please find and example of the graphic organizer students used to structure their storybook projects:

Please see the instructions and rubric for the assignment below and enjoy the galley of student work below that. Three particularly creative examples can be viewed by selecting the "U.S. Rise to Power Example" on the left. 

NSCC.VI. Power, Authority, and Governance.

(c). Analyze and explain ideas and mechanisms to meet needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, establish order and security, and balance competing conceptions of a just society.


NCSS.VII. Production, Distribution, and Consumption.

(c). Consider costs and benefits to society of allocating goods and services through private and public sectors.


(d). Describe relationships among various economic institutions that comprise economic systems such as households, business firms, banks, government agencies, labor unions, and corporations.