Teacher Developed Activity, T-DA!
Gary Bain
Activity Name: John D. Rockefeller and the 7 Men of Steel
Seminar: Building America
Grade Ban: 10-12
For use with lessons about: Gilded Age, Economics
Time Needed: 3 40 minute periods
1 day assigned for a field trip to the James J. Hill house in St. Paul
Materials :
 K-W-L handout (or have students create in notebooks – know, want to learn, learned)
 DVD Minnesota Ore Operations –United States Steel
http://minnesotahumanities.org/Resources/videos.aspx
 Documents from the Humanities Center website
http://minnesotahumanities.org/Resources/people.aspx#meritt
Overview:
This activity is designed to have students read and interpret primary and secondary readings
and come to a conclusion regarding the business dealings of John D. Rockefeller and the
Merritt brothers. This will also serve as a brief history on the importance of the Iron Range in
our Nation’s period of industrialization.
Essential question: Did John D. Rockefeller take advantage of the Merritt brother
during the Panic of 1893, or did the Merritt brothers miss a huge opportunity offered to
them by Rockefeller?
Outcomes :
 Students will be able to read and interpret primary and secondary source documents
 Students will grasp a better understanding of the importance of the Iron Range during the
industrialization period of the United States
 Students will be able to see the far reaching capitalist arms of John D. Rockefeller and
determine through research and debate if he deserves the title of Captain of Industry or
Robber Baron
Activity steps:
Day 1
1. Hand out K-W-L sheets and ask students to write down everything they know about
the Iron Range
2. Lead a discussion of how and why the Iron Range may have played such a huge role in
the industrialization of the United States
________________________
Minnesota Humanities Center
www.minnesotahumanities.org
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Day 2
1. Do students know any modern day capitalists (define capitalism)
2. Ask students about their prior knowledge of John D. Rockefeller.
3. Explain vertical and horizontal integration.
4. Divide class into groups and hand out documents; they will read them in class and
break into jigsaw groups to share their readings.
5. Divide the class and have them prepare for debate on day 3 to answer the question:
Was Rockefeller justified in calling in the loan to the Merritt brothers and thus taking
over the mining operations?
Day 3
1. Begin with the debate. After about 25-30 minutes wrap up the debate and ask if they
are ready to come to a conclusion and why.
2. Put all of their pros and cons on the smartboard/whiteboard. Students will fill out the
last section of the K-W-L chart
Day 4
1. This activity can conclude with a trip (real or virtual) to James J. Hill’s mansion in St.
Paul to see first hand the opulence in which the Gilded Age industrialists lived.
Tour Info
Photos on flickr
Rubric/Assessment tool: Student will write an essay answering the question posed at the
beginning of the lesson. Did John D. Rockefeller take advantage of the Merritt brother during
the Panic of 1893, or did the Merritt brothers miss a huge opportunity offered to them by
Rockefeller?
Essay includes
 Thesis statement
 A minimum of 3 paragraphs explaining their rationale and upon which documents
their decision is based
 Conclusion paragraph
________________________
Minnesota Humanities Center
www.minnesotahumanities.org
2
KWL Handout
Purpose: This thinking strategy is used with text and provides the framework for constructing
meaning. The KWL consists of three parts: 1) prior to learning, identify what readers KNOW
about a topic; 2) prior to learning, determine what readers WANT to find out about the topic, and
3) after the learning experience, note what readers LEARNED about the topic.
KWL Chart
Question:
What We Know
What We Want to Know
What We Learned
________________________
Minnesota Humanities Center
www.minnesotahumanities.org
3