U. S. History: Progressive Era Group Project: Home

CREATE AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION!

9 Powerpoint Presentation Tips for Students (from Lifewire, a leading technology information site)

Focus Question: How did the Gilded Age lead to the Progressive Era? 

Working in groups of 3-4 students, you will create a 7-10 minute presentation on one of the topics below. You will be expected to create a powerpoint slideshow that will accompany your presentation, and may include pictures, political cartoons, graphs, and videos. You are to research your topic from the Gilded Age, and make the connection as to how it led to the reform that took place during the Progressive Era. You will be expected to use a variety of resources, including secondary and primary resources.

Each member of the group is responsible for researching and speaking during your presentation. It is advised that you divide up the work in your group, and meet outside of class to go over your presentations. Think about organizing your presentation as you would an essay; there needs to be a thesis and assertions. Going by this format will also make it easier to divvy up the work amongst your peers.

You may use notecards during your presentation, as you will not be expected to memorize all the material you research. But it will be expected that you have a sound understanding of the content that you are presenting. There will be a Q&A session at the end of each presentation, so having a firm understanding of your topic will go a long way. 

Presentation Requirements:

• Powerpoint Presentation of no more than 10 slides
• A thesis statement that you note at the start of your presentation
• Background Information: Examine your topic during the Gilded Age
• Analysis: How did the Progressive Era try to remedy the issues presented by your topic? 
• Conclusion: Successes? Failures? Future accomplishments? 
• Works Cited List (1 per group)
• You must use at least:
  • 2 Reference Sources (Encyclopedias)
  • 2 Secondary Sources (Books / eBooks)
  • 2 Primary Sources 

Presentation Topics:

• Industrialization & The Robber Barons
  • Should industrialists (like Rockefeller and Carnegie) be viewed as robber barons or captains of industry? Why did progressives believe that strong government action was the way to tackle economic problems of industrialization? 
• Labor Movements
  • How was industrialization a catalyst for labor reform and who benefited from the labor reform?  
• Political Corruption
  • How and why did politics sink so low during the Gilded Age? Did greater democracy address the issues of corruption at a local, state, and national level?
• Immigration and Growth of the Cities
  • How did urbanization and immigration expose the racial, ethnic, and religious divide as well as the “class conflict” in America?
• Women
  • How were women so critical to the stirrings of reform in the Gilded Age and the successes of the progressive movement?

*You will be expected to answer the question that goes along with your topic, and then make the connection to the focus question.

Important Notes:

• You should rely heavily on pictures, graphs, and other images to drive your presentation
• Font should be a minimum of size 30
• You will write a 300 word reflection synthesizing all of the projects.
  • The best reflections will draw broad conclusions that include specifics from each area above