Picturing American Industrialization: The Chicago Stockyards
Overview
In this activity, students use visual literacy strategies to “read” primary source photographs of the meatpacking industry in the Chicago Stockyards and to organize and reflect on their findings. Intended for use within a larger unit of study about the rise of American industrialization, the activity is designed to accommodate different levels of student comprehension and ability.
Objectives
After completing this learning activity, students will be able to:
- perform a basic primary source analysis
- generate questions about the Chicago Stockyards and the meatpacking industry for further investigation
- make historical and personal connections with the content
Time Required
Two class periods
Recommended Grade Range
6-8
Topic/s
Cities, Towns; Technology, Industry
Subject/ Sub-Subject
Social Studies
Standards
McREL 4th Edition Standards and Benchmarks
Historical Understanding
Standard 2. Understands the historical perspective
United States History
Standard 16. Understands how the rise of corporations, heavy industry, and mechanized farming transformed American society
Language Arts
Standard 4. (Writing) Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Standard 7. (Reading) Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
Standard 8. (Listening and Speaking) Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
Standard 9. (Viewing) Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
Credits
Xiuwen Wu, Associate Professor, Special Education, Diversity in Learning and Teaching Department, National-Louis University, Skokie, Illinois.
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