US History · 11th Grade

Active learning ideas

Industrial Growth & New Technologies

Active learning helps students grasp the tensions between economic progress and civil rights during the Plessy Era. Debates, investigations, and discussions make abstract concepts like the 'Talented Tenth' or the Niagara Movement tangible and memorable. These strategies also build critical thinking by requiring students to weigh competing ideas and historical evidence.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Eco.3.9-12
• C3: D2.His.1.9-12

• 30–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Formal Debate
• 60 min · Whole Class

Formal Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois

Students take on the roles of supporters of both leaders. They debate whether 'industrial education' and economic self-help (Washington) or 'higher education' and political agitation (Du Bois) is the better strategy for the time.

Analyze how new technologies like electricity and the Bessemer process fueled industrial growth.

Facilitation Tip

During the Structured Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois, assign roles explicitly to ensure students engage with both perspectives, not just their assigned stance.

What to look for

Provide students with a short list of inventions from the late 19th century (e.g., incandescent light bulb, typewriter, steam engine). Ask them to select two and write one sentence for each explaining how it impacted business operations.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Niagara Movement

Small groups research the founding of the Niagara Movement and its evolution into the NAACP. They must identify the specific goals of the organization and how they differed from the 'accommodationist' approach.

Explain the impact of inventions such as the telephone and typewriter on American business and society.

Facilitation Tip

For Collaborative Investigation: The Niagara Movement, provide a clear protocol for source analysis to prevent students from glossing over key documents.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Was the industrial growth of the Gilded Age more beneficial or detrimental to the average American worker?' Facilitate a class discussion where students must support their arguments with specific examples of technological impact and business practices.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The 'Talented Tenth'

Students read Du Bois's essay on the 'Talented Tenth.' They work in pairs to discuss his idea that a small group of educated Black leaders would lead the race to equality, and the potential pros and cons of this elitist approach.

Evaluate the role of technological advancements in shaping the Gilded Age economy.

Facilitation Tip

In the Think-Pair-Share: The 'Talented Tenth,' circulate during pair discussions to redirect off-topic conversations and push students to cite specific evidence.

What to look for

Ask students to identify one major industrialist from the Gilded Age and one specific company they controlled. Then, have them write two sentences describing a technological innovation associated with that industrialist or company and its effect.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should emphasize the interplay between economic survival and civil rights, avoiding a binary view of Washington and Du Bois as opponents. Research shows that framing this as a strategic debate—rather than a personal rivalry—helps students understand the nuances. Use primary sources to ground discussions, and avoid oversimplifying Black resistance as a single movement.

Students will demonstrate understanding by articulating the differences between Washington and Du Bois, tracing the origins of the NAACP, and explaining how Black resistance strategies evolved. They will use evidence from speeches, primary documents, and organizational histories to support their reasoning.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Structured Debate: Washington vs. Du Bois, some students may assume Booker T. Washington did not care about civil rights.

  Use the debate prep materials to guide students in analyzing Washington’s 'Atlanta Compromise' speech alongside his private funding of legal challenges to segregation. Have them prepare rebuttals that acknowledge this duality.

• During Collaborative Investigation: The Niagara Movement, students might think the NAACP was the first organization to fight for Black rights.

  Provide a 'genealogy of resistance' graphic organizer listing organizations like the Afro-American Council and the Niagara Movement. During the investigation, have students map how these groups built on one another’s work.

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Methods used in this brief

• Formal Debate
• Inquiry Circle
• Think-Pair-Share