Description
Integrate literacy and social studies with U.S. History Quote of the Week!
U.S. History Quote of the Week (Part Two) has 18 quotes from 1877–1964, covering the Gilded Age and Industrialization, World War 1, the 1920s, the Great Depression, World War 2, the Cold War, and the Civil Rights Movement.
As students learn about U.S. history, they practice literacy skills like:
- making inferences
- researching & summarizing
- identifying the main idea, historical context, and author’s purpose
- and responding to prompts
U.S. History Quote of the Week is easy to use and requires little prep. From thorough instructions to answer keys, it’s all there.
Even better, I’ve made it engaging! Your students will enjoy dissecting and talking about the quotes.
Click here to try a sample lesson!
Why U.S. History Quote of the Week?
When I was teaching 5th grade, my school prioritized ELA over social studies.
I spent hours looking for activities that beautifully integrated literacy and history.
After coming up short, I decided to create my own!
I carefully selected historical quotes highlighting important themes and events in American history.
This led me to create my U.S. History Quote of the Week resource in 2016. In 2024, I completely revised and expanded it.
Here’s why I think you’ll love it:
U.S. History Quote of the Week is:
Easy to Implement
I want to make your workload more manageable. I’ve done the hard work of selecting the quotes, defining vocabulary words, making task cards, and writing thorough answer keys. As a result, QOTW is so easy to use that you could leave it with a substitute teacher.
A system for routinely practicing ELA skills
Many social studies teachers are asked to reinforce literacy standards whenever possible. U.S. History Quote of the Week is an effective way to practice reading and writing skills every week.
A system for covering U.S. History content
The carefully selected quotes chronologically take students through U.S. history. So, no matter what your curriculum covers, this resource fills in the gaps by giving students a big picture of American history.
Designed by a teacher for student success
Do your students need help understanding historical quotes and primary sources? U.S. History Quote of the Week breaks down the quote analysis into bite-sized tasks. The manageable tasks build on each other each day, and students are given the needed vocabulary definitions and historical context to make sense of the quotes.
How to Use
This resource is designed to be used over four days (M – Th).
Day 1: Infer (10 minutes)
Display the poster for the week’s quote. Read the quote aloud to the class.
Students study the quote. They use their background knowledge and context clues to answer the following questions:
- Author: Who wrote the quote? Who do you think this person was?
- Date: When was this quote written? What do you know about this time in history?
- Meaning: What do you think the author meant by this quote?
Day 2: Research & Summarize (20 minutes)
Print the four task cards. You could give each student a set of cards or tape several sets of cards around the room.
Students read the task cards for more context about the quote.
Next, they identify essential ideas from each task card and write them in bullet points on the worksheet.
Day 3: Main Idea, Context, & Purpose (10 minutes)
Students study the quote again and review the task cards from yesterday. Then, they use what they learned from the task cards to answer the following questions:
- Main Idea: What do you think the author meant by this quote?
- Historical Context: What was happening in history that may have influenced the author’s ideas?
- Purpose: What do you think the author’s purpose was?
Day 4: Respond (20 minutes)
Finally, students read the quote one more time. Then, they respond to one of the following writing prompts:
- How does this quote relate to your own life? How does this quote relate to the modern world?
- What historical events were happening when this quote was written? How does the historical context help you understand the quote?
- What is the author’s perspective? What other perspectives could there be about this topic?
- What are three questions you have about this topic? How could you find out more?
Where does the U.S. History Quote of the Week fit in your busy day?
This resource is versatile and is easy to modify for different teachers’ schedules.
U.S. History Quote of the Week can be used:
- as a bell-ringer/morning work
- as an early finisher/enrichment activity
- in literacy rotations/centers
- in jigsaw groups
- to introduce a new unit
- to wrap up a unit
- for test prep
- as group work
- & more!
Furthermore, the Quote of the Week posters can be printed and added to your walls as visuals for students.
Try a Sample Quote of the Week Lesson
I want you to be able to print and use a Quote of the Week lesson to determine if it’s a good fit for your students.
Click here to get a free sample lesson!
What’s included in U.S. History Quote of the Week Part 2?
18 U.S. History Quotes from the following time periods:
- 3 Gilded Age/Industrialization quotes
- 2 World War 1 quotes
- 3 1920s/Women’s suffrage quotes
- 2 Great Depression quotes
- 2 World War 2 quotes
- 2 Cold War Quotes
- 4 Civil Rights Movement quotes
4 student worksheets for each quote
- available as printables and Google slides
- 72 worksheets total
4 task cards for each quote
- available as printables and Google slides
- 72 task cards total
1 poster for each quote
- can be displayed on the computer or printed
- 18 posters total
Detailed answer keys for every worksheet
Thorough teacher instructions & ideas for extension activities
List of Literacy standards covered
Need more Quotes?
Check out all my U.S. History Quote of the Week resources:
Free Sample Quote of the Week Lesson
U.S. History Quote of the Week: Part 1 (1492–1871)
U.S. History Quote of the Week: Part 2 (1877–1964)
Money-saving Bundle: U.S. History Quote of the Week (Parts 1 and 2) – 10% off!
Where can I find more history units?
- Intro. to U.S. History (Why Study History?)
- Native American Regions
- Age of Exploration
- Thirteen Colonies
- Road to Revolution: Declaration of Independence
- Revolutionary War
- U.S. Constitution
- U.S. Presidential Election Simulation
- Early Republic
- Westward Expansion
- Civil War
- Reconstruction
- Gilded Age and Industrialization
- Economics Fair Simulation
- Intro. to Geography
Read answers to more FAQs here.
Important Customer Information
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