Description
What our Spanish-American War lesson plan includes
Lesson Objective and Overview: Spanish-American War explores the reasons for this war. They will discover the main events and significant people of the war. They will also learn what resulted from the war and understand the impact it had on the countries involved. This lesson is for students in 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the orange box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.
Options for Lesson
The “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page outlines some additional activities and variations that you can use when presenting this lesson to your students. To provide students with a bit of historical and geographical context, another option for the lesson is to assign each student a map of a modern country to research, to compare to the 1898 map, and to present what they discover to the class (Spain, Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, Cuba). Students will learn how countries controlled several colonies and territories outside their continental boundaries.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page includes a paragraph with additional guidelines and things to think about as you begin to plan your lesson. This page also includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
The Spanish-American War lesson plan includes three content pages. Over a hundred years ago, the United States got into a war one summer that only lasted a few months but changed the world forever! Imagine brave soldiers charging up a steep hill, mighty battleships clashing on the ocean, and a future president charging into danger with a sword. Sounds like a movie, right? But it really happened! In 1898, the United States went to war with Spain.
How It All Started
In the late 1800s, Spain still controlled several places, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. In Cuba, many people were tired of being ruled by Spain. They wanted to be free, to gain their independence and govern themselves. The United States was paying close attention because Cuba is only about 90 miles south of Florida. Many Americans felt empathy for the Cuban people who were fighting for their freedom. Americans were empathetic because the US had fought for its own independence from Great Britain just a little more than a hundred years earlier.
Unlike in modern times, many American citizens lived in Cuba. Large American businesses had farms, factories, and other interests in Cuba, particularly the sugar industry. Cuba had large sugar cane farms, the main components of sugar production at that time. There were several thriving American businesses in Cuba that exported the product. Beyond sugar, Cuba’s proximity to the United States made it a militarily strategic location. The US government took notice as the Cuban people protested against Spain and organized to declare independence.
To protect Americans living in Cuba, the US sent a big battleship called the USS Maine to Havana Harbor. But then something shocking happened. On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded suddenly, killing 266 American sailors. Nobody knew for sure who or what caused the explosion.
Mysterious Cause of the Explosion
The explosion that sank the Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898 has been the subject of intense debate for over a century. Some believed the boiler heating the steam engines overheated. However, the first investigation concluded that a boiler explosion was unlikely because it was too far from the blast site, and the boilers were recovered intact. The 1898 Naval Court of Inquiry concluded that a mine caused the explosion. In the 1970s, Admiral Hyman Rickover conducted another investigation. Rickover concluded that a coal bunker fire adjacent to the ship’s magazine, where ammunition was stored, was the most probable cause. Regardless of the reason, the effect was that American soldiers were sent to Cuba to fight in a war that may have begun by an accidental explosion.
Given the volatile situation resulting from the political upheaval of the Cuban protests, many Americans believed Spain was responsible for sinking the Maine. People were very angry, and newspapers helped stir up those emotions by publishing dramatic stories and slogans against Spain. One slogan—”Remember the Maine!”—worked really well to rally the public to the cause. The pressure grew, and on April 25, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain.
The Battles Begin
The war occurred in two main areas: the Caribbean Sea near Cuba and Puerto Rico and across the world in the Pacific Ocean, especially the Philippines. The US Navy was ready for action. Commodore George Dewey led American ships in the Pacific into Manila Bay in the Philippines. His fleet surprised the Spanish navy early in the morning. It destroyed all their ships without losing a single American sailor. Can you imagine that? Dewey became a hero back home almost overnight.
Meanwhile, in Cuba, the land battles were heating up. One of the most famous fights was the Battle of San Juan Hill. This is where the Rough Riders became legendary. The Rough Riders were a group of brave volunteers from all sorts of places—cowboys from the West, college athletes, miners, and even Native Americans. They were led by Theodore Roosevelt, who would later become the 26th president of the United States.
Even though they were called the Rough Riders, they didn’t ride horses during the charge up San Juan Hill. The army couldn’t get their horses to Cuba in time. Instead, they charged on foot, climbing the steep hill under heavy fire. Roosevelt led them bravely, waving his sword and encouraging his men. Thanks to their courage, the Americans captured the hill. The victory helped push the Spanish forces back and made Roosevelt famous.
At sea, the US Navy also trapped and destroyed the Spanish fleet near Santiago, Cuba. Spain’s navy was old and slow, while the American ships were faster and stronger. Without their ships, the Spanish soldiers couldn’t get supplies or escape. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria spread quickly in the hot, tropical climate, and many soldiers became very sick.
The War Comes to an End
By August 1898, it was clear Spain couldn’t win. The two countries agreed to stop fighting, and the war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. The United States gained control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Cuba became independent, though the US kept a close eye on it. The war only lasted about four months, but it had many costs. The military reported that 2,446 Americans died during the Spanish-American War.
A small portion of those deaths, about 385, were killed in combat. The majority resulted from diseases like yellow fever and typhoid. On the Spanish side, historians estimate over 10,000 soldiers died, mostly from sickness. The war showed the world that the United States was now a strong country with a powerful navy and new territories.
Why This War Still Matters
The Spanish-American War may have been short, and possibly caused by a complete accident. Nonetheless, it was a turning point for the United States. It revealed that America was ready to take on a bigger role in world events. The Rough Riders’ bravery, the USS Maine’s mystery, and the swift naval victories of the US are still studied today. Historians continue to learn from this war to understand how it shaped the modern world.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Spanish-American War lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.
WAR EVENT PRESENTATION ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
The activity worksheet requires students to imagine they are a reporter in the year 1898. Their job is to create a short news article about a critical event from the Spanish-American War. They can create a blog, video, newspaper, or audio news program. They will follow the directions on the worksheet to complete the activity.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR REVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet requires students to answer a series of 10 questions. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them often for the answers. In addition, each question provides which reading tool the question corresponds to, such as text feature, vocabulary, or comprehension.
DESCRIPTION MATCH HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
For the homework assignment, students will match descriptions to the corresponding events or activities. There are 10 matches total to make.
Worksheet Answer Keys
This lesson plan includes answer keys for the practice worksheet and the homework assignment. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
