Chase Bushman

Lesson plan – Progressive Era

Topic: Progressive Journalism

Introduction: Students will be asked to bring in a current newspaper article that discusses
someone holding a political office either at a local or federal level. Students will be put into
groups of three or four to discuss their articles. While in these groups, students will be required
to present two positive and two negative critiques of the political figure found in the article.

ISBE Standards: 16.D.5

Learner Objectives:
• Students will be able to distinguish between positive and negative opinions in the media.
• Students will be able to understand the concept of ‘muckrakers’
• Students will be able to interpret the critiques presented in the Steffens and Lipmann
articles (primary sources)
• Students will be able to apply the Woods model to the “Evaluating Expectations” cases

Materials:
• Newspaper articles (students bring in)
• Steffans and Lipmann articles
• Woods Model worksheet
• Chalkboard

Procedure:
1. Provide students with Steffans and Lipmann articles while they are still in their intro groups
and have them read the pieces as a group.
2. Define the term ‘muckrakers’ and have the students provide examples of how these authors
qualify as ‘muckrakers.’
3. Hand out the Woods model worksheet and have the students fill it out individually using the
“Evaluating Expecations” cases
4. Have the students verbally give their answers to the class and put them on the board
5. Discuss with students about how they came to formulate their personal opinions and ask if
they would consider their opinion to be a case of ‘muckraking’

Assessment:
Students will fill out the Woods model worksheet. By formulating their own opinion on the
cases, they will show that they applied the Woods model as well as understood the concept of
‘muckrakers.’

Assessment Tools:
The in-class participation and the completed Woods model worksheet will serve as tools for
measuring the students’ comprehension of the material.
 Chase Bushman

Plans for Diversity:

I will bring in a couple newspapers for students who do not have access to a newspaper
subscription or the internet

Closing:
I will recap what the definition of ‘muckraker’ is by explaining how they acted as ‘muckrakers’
during their in-class activity. Then I will give them a preview of what will be going on during
our next class meeting.