The Mexican American War PDF - Denver Public Schools

The Mexican-American War
PRELIMINARY LESSON PREPARATION
Make copies of the vocabulary worksheet (or copy the words onto a transparency or a paper
chart so students can write them down). Copy current United States and Mexico maps and a
map of the area before the war onto overhead transparencies. Make copies of the map
requirements for students to use while they are completing their maps. A classroom roller-type
map of the Mexican territory prior to 1836 is important to have for this lesson as well.
ACTIVITIES
Introduce the Mexican-American War by reading aloud the brief introduction included in this
section. Emphasize the importance of knowing the geography involved in the unit because of
the vast amount of land that changed sides. Pass out the geography vocabulary worksheet (or
put the words on the overhead or on butcher paper for students to copy). Place students in
groups of three or four students (depending on the size of class). Using the classroom social
studies text, dictionaries, atlases, or other resources, the groups will come up with a definition
for each word. Allow students approximately 20 to 25 minutes to complete the activity. Next,
they will illustrate the vocabulary terms on butcher paper. Allow the students time to be
creative. Each group will present their illustrations to the class for fun. When these activities are
completed, use the Teacher’s Copy of the vocabulary worksheet and give the students the
actual definitions for the words. Students will copy them down.
The second part of this lesson involves maps of the territories involved in the war. On the
overhead, show the current political maps of Mexico and the United States as well as the
territories in 1846. Then, hand out copies of the maps, instructing the students to use classroom
resources to label them. The students must include every state, state capital, major body of
water, and geographic feature included on the lists in this lesson. The third map should be
color-coded to distinguish the different areas and the land lost and won in the war. The teacher
may want to make copies of the requirements and pass them out to the students.
Geography/Vocabulary Race: Have one student from each team go to the chalkboard. The
teacher reads a definition. The first person to write the vocabulary word, spelled correctly,
receives a point for his or her team. The teacher can also use the map transparencies to chose an
area of a state and the first student to correctly identify the state and spell it correctly on the
chalkboard receives a point for his or her team. Following two or three rounds, the team with
the most points can be declared the winners (see next page for possible rubric point structure).
VOCABULARY
The words on the Vocabulary Worksheet should be used for this unit. However, the teacher can
use discretion in adding or removing words.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS
Butcher or construction paper
Colored pencils
Rulers
Class social studies text
Classroom atlases
Classroom maps of Mexico and the United States
Maps of the United States, Mexico, and the territories of Mexico and the United States in 1846
Transparencies of maps of United States, Mexico, and territories of Mexico and the
United States in 1846
Copies (or transparencies) of three map requirement lists to be included in class map activities
El Alma de la Raza Series. © 2000 Denver Public Schools 6