4th Quarter Projects 8th Grade 2014
Reconstruction
Reconstruction was the period after the Civil War when the southern states were
reunited with the northern states. The time period is approximately 1865- 1877.
These years marked a turning point in the development of the US. As the nation
was reunified, many of our political, social and economic patterns changed.
Although the nominal status of African-Americans was redefined, there was little
done to provide for long-term advances.
1. Make an epic poem about Lincoln’s assassination.
2. Make an illustrated time line of the Reconstruction era from 1865- 1877.
3. Make an illustrated dictionary of 20 terms from the Reconstruction Era.
4. Write a chapter of a children’s textbook explaining the meanings of the 13,
14 and 15th amendments.
5. Write a funeral eulogy for Abraham Lincoln.
Life Across the United States
The late 19th century was a time of change. New inventions changed rural life and
influenced the growth of cities. Labor-saving devices affected both the way
people lived and the roles they played in their families and at work.
1. Make a diorama of any scene from city life during the late 19th century.
2. Make a diorama of a modern home of 1899.
3. Make covers for sheet music of ten top songs of the 1890’s.
4. Write a poem (250 words or so) about the transcontinental railroad.
5. Create an itinerary for a trip on the transcontinental railroad.
6. Make a poster of before and after scenes for any labor-saving device of the
late 19th century.
7. Draw and label all the parts of a modern kitchen in 1899.
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution created vast political, social, and economic changes in
this country. It led to the development of mass production, corporate expansion
and the need for labor unions.
1. Construct a home-made model of the Model T Ford.
2. Create a newspaper account of a famous strike such as the Pullman strike or
the Homestead strike.
3. Create a chart illustrating how a monopoly, trust, or holding company works.
4. Create a poster or chart showing the accomplishments of Teddy Roosevelt in
terms of Square Deal for labor, Trust-busting, Land conservation.
Immigration
The US is a country of immigrants. The richness of our culture reflects the great
variety of people who have come here to settle.
1. Make a family tree showing where your ancestors came from. If possible,
include why they came, when they came and any other interesting facts you
may know.
2. Pretend you are an immigrant coming to America. Write a poem describing
your trip to America and your new life in the US.
3. Make a poster of flags showing the different countries immigrants came
from.
4. Create a map or model of Ellis Island.
5. Create an illustrated cookbook of foods that immigrants brought to America.
The US Becomes a World Power
As the US entered world affairs, it had to deal with many new problems and
decisions. Starting as a country whose philosophical ties were to isolationism, it
slowly became involved in foreign wars and colonialism.
1. Make a diorama of the sinking of the Maine or of the Lusitania.
2. Make a poster of heroes of the Panama Canal. Be sure to include William
Gorgas, Theodore Roosevelt, George Goethals, and David Gaillard.
3. Make models of the new weapons used in WWI
4. Make your own model of a WWI fighter plane.
5. Create a map showing all places in Europe where Americans fought during
WWI.
6. Make a timeline that shows the growth of the US participation in world
affairs between 1890 and WWI.
The Twenties
A time of contrast, the twenties ran the gamut of experience form flappers to the
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and from the gangsters of Chicago to the
resurgence of fundamentalism in the Bible Belt. As great change such as women’s
suffrage began, we also had the Scopes Trial and the reappearance of the KKK. It
was a decade in which Americans let their hair down, so to speak, and did their
very best to forget the horrors of WWI and all the complication that come with
world entanglements.
1. Make a scrapbook of fads of the twenties. Yu may include original drawings,
magazine pictures and selected photocopies from books. All illustrations
must be explained.
2. Make a model of the Spirit of Saint Louis.
3. Make a map, globe, or mobile illustrating Lindbergh’s flight from New York
to Paris.
4. Make a poster of clothing fashions of the twenties.
5. Create a biography about a famous sports hero, movie star of the silent
screen or a jazz artist. (poster with report).
6. Create a booklet describing the events of the twenties. Include the Scopes
Trial, Sacco and Vanzetti, Sports Events, suffragette movement, Teapot
Dome Scandal, Presidency of Warren Harding, Presidency of Calvin Coolidge.
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a time of poverty and misery for many people in this
country. Most textbooks offer some insight into the causes and solutions to the
depression but do not tell enough about the lives of the people.
1. Construct a Hooverville.
2. Make a collage showing activities of the depression. Include everything you
can find that had an effect on people’s lives, scuh as entertainment, leisure
activities, breadlines, freight car hopping and so forth.
3. Create an illustrated dictionary of terms from the depression. (at least 20).
Use terms such as breadline, dust bowl, Okie, soup kitchen.
4. Write a poem using terms from the Great Depression. (at least 150 words).
5. Research the Bonus Army incident. Create a newspaper article describing
the events. Be sure to have a headline and the facts: who, what, where, how
and why.
Any other project that you may wish to do must be approved by me. Project will
count 4 times so be sure to make your project worth it.
Projects are due _______________________________________-