The U.S.-Mexican War

Students look at a print entitled “Mexican News,” and write a headline for a newspaper. Then they watch a video about the causes of the U.S.-Mexican War and take notes in a graphic organizer. Next they analyze the outcomes of the war for both the United States and Mexico. Finally they compare maps of the United States in 1848 and 1850 to examine the change in Texas borders, and they draw an outline of Texas today.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.

Here are the teacher pack items for The U.S.-Mexican War:

Experience Summary
Printable overview of the learning experience with student activities and teaching options.
Attributions

Overview

In this experience, students look at a print entitled Mexican News, and write a headline for a newspaper. Then they watch a video about the causes of the U.S.-Mexican War and take notes in a graphic organizer. Next they analyze the outcomes of the war for both the United States and Mexico. Finally they compare maps of the United States in 1848 and 1850 to examine the change in Texas borders, and they draw an outline of Texas today.

If you have access to leveled readers about the U.S.-Mexican War, assign them to the students in parallel to this experience.

Estimated duration: 35-45 minutes

Vocabulary words:

tension
engraving
claim
accurate
motive

Objectives

Identify the issues that led to the U.S.-Mexican War.
Describe the outcomes of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

Engage

Mexico did not recognize Texas as an independent country, and it was angry when the United States annexed Texas. Many people in Mexico feared that the United States wanted to take more Mexican land. Because of this, tensions between the two countries grew.

Objectives

Identify the issues that led to the U.S.-Mexican War.
Describe the outcomes of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

print of a group of men on a porch reading the newspaper together

Mexican News, painted by R.C. Woodville

In the above engraving based on a painting from about 1853, a group of people at the American Hotel read a newspaper with news about the U.S.-Mexican War.

Write a headline for the newspaper.

Give students a few moments to read each other’s headlines.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Early Texas Statehood and the Civil War Unit.