Teacher Resources

In this activity, students use strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases that describe political, social or economic aspects of the Progressive Era. This self-paced module is aligned to Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Literacy in Social Studies/ History Frameworks.

This module contains several interactive features. Watch the Learn How to Use this Module tutorial to familiarize yourself with these features.

Please review the Accessibility page for all of your students.

Module Information

  • Grade band: 9 - 10
  • Readability level: Lexile Level 1250
  • Focus Standard: RH.9-10.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies.
  • Topic: Strategies for determining the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases and the Progressive Era
  • Completion Time: 10 – 20 minutes
  • Vocabulary: Visit the Glossary page or click on words highlighted within the module for a narrated definition.


Teaching Resources for this Module

Student practice worksheets for using context clues are available for k-12 at

Context Clues Worksheet Opens a new window

Student Resources for this Module

In this module, students are provided with links to external websites. The sites have been chosen for their content and grade-level appropriateness. Efforts are made to minimize linking to websites that contain advertisements or comments, but some of these websites may contain these features. Teachers should preview all websites before introducing the activities to students and adhere to their school system's policy for Internet use. In addition, multimedia on these externally linked sites may not be accessible to all users, such as those individuals requiring a screen reader or using a tablet.

The following websites are linked to from this module:

To learn more about context clues, visit the following links:

Flocabulary, Context Clues Opens a new window

Cuesta College, Context Clues Opens a new window

To learn more about word parts, visit the following links:

Reading Rockets, Root Words, Roots and Affixes Opens a new window

Your Dictionary (for context clues) Opens a new window

Module Bibliography

Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey. Thirteenth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009.

Danzer, Gerald A. The Americans: Reconstruction through the 20th Century. Annotated Teacher's ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2000.

Using This Site

This lesson is built for use on classroom computers and tablets. If you have access to a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, you may complete the lesson in your classroom. Otherwise, you will need to schedule time to use your school's computer lab. For technical specifications, see below.

Some activities on this site may include videos and narration, so you may want to have headphones available for students working at individual stations. For best results in viewing the videos and interactives, you should have a high-speed, stable Internet connection.

This lesson may contain PDFs for students to complete. They can print the PDFs and fill them out by hand, or download the files and fill them out on the computer. Most or all portions can be filled out online. Please check with your Instructional Technology Specialist for instructions on downloading the PDF. (Note that to complete the PDFs on the computer, you will need a viewer, such as Adobe Reader, that supports forms.)

Technology

This site is an Internet-based activity, and it was built to run on the following computer operating systems and browsers:

  • Windows 7 or Newer: IE 8, 9, 10, 11; Current version of Chrome; Current version of Firefox
  • Mac OS 10.7 or Newer: Current version of Safari
  • iPad2/iOS6 or Newer: Current version of Safari
  • Android 4.0 or Newer: Current version of Android browser
  • Chromebook: Current version of Chrome

Users running Internet Explorer 8 will not be able to use the highlighter tool. Instead, teachers should consider partnering students for a brief discussion.

Visit the Accessibility page for detailed information on the site's accessibility features.