PDFs should open in a separate window where they can be easily downloaded. You can make your own copy of any Google Docs or Google Slides materials to edit as you see fit, distribute to students, or convert into whatever other formats you prefer.
If it seems like there are a LOT of Crash Course outlines, keep in mind we had a pandemic recently and most of us had to throw together something that passed as “distance learning” on relatively short notice. Plus, who doesn’t love Crash Course?
These aren’t necessarily the “best” things I’ve ever done in class, but they are the easiest to share online with minimal explanation. If you figure out a way to gain massive wealth and long-overdue fame using any of these materials, please cut me in. Otherwise, I mostly just hope you find some of it useful.
While You Were Busy Fighting the Civil War (Full Presentation – Google Slides) – I usually break this one into smaller chunks in class…
Part One: Changing How Money Works (Presentation – Google Slides)
Part Two: Protecting American Businesses (Presentation – Google Slides)
Part Three: Promoting Westward Expansion (Presentation – Google Slides)
While You Were Fighting the Civil War (Student Notes – all) – PDF
Crash Course Black American History #19: Reconstruction (Student Outline) – PDF
Three Reconstruction Cartoons (Assignment) – PDF (Note: This assignment assumes students have a familiarity with the COATS method of analyzing political cartoons, which is covered here.)
Postbellum Expansion: Homesteaders & Sodbusters (Presentation w/ Qs – Google Slides)
Postbellum Expansion: The “Indian Wars” (Presentation w/ Qs – Google Slides)
“Have To” History – The Ghost Dance Movement(s) & Wounded Knee Massacre (Article Only – PDF)
The Ghost Dance & Wounded Knee (1890) (Different Article w/ Qs) – PDF
The Crédit Mobilier Scandal (Article w/ Qs) – PDF
Crash Course Black American History #22: Washington and DuBois (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course Black American History #22: Washington and DuBois (Student Outline) – PDF
Edward Bellamy’s “Looking Backward” (1888) Excerpts (Assignment)– PDF
Late 19th Century Populism (Presentation w/ Qs – Google Slides)
Populism, Part One (Presentation w/ Qs – Google Slides) **pretty much the same as above, but broken into two parts**
Populism, Part Two (Presentation w/ Qs – Google Slides) **pretty much the same as above, but broken into two parts**
“Have To” History – Barbed Wire (Article Only – PDF)
Primary Source: Andrew Carnegie’s “The Gospel of Wealth” – Google Doc
Primary Source: Andrew Carnegie’s “The Gospel of Wealth” – PDF
Primary Sources: Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” & WJB’s “Cross of Gold” – APARTY Assignment (Google Doc)
Primary Sources: Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” & WJB’s “Cross of Gold” – APARTY Assignment – PDF
Primary Source: WJB’s “Cross of Gold” Speech – 1896 (Excerpts) – William Jennings Bryan argues for bimetallism, the future of the Democratic Party, and the presidency
Primary Source: WJB’s “Cross of Gold” Speech – 1896 (longer) – William Jennings Bryan argues for bimetallism, the future of the Democratic Party, and the presidency
Intro to the Second Industrial Revolution (Google Slides)
Crash Course U.S. History #23: The Industrial Economy (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #23: The Industrial Economy (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #24: Westward Expansion (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #24: Westward Expansion (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #25: Growth, Cities, and Immigration (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #25: Growth, Cities, and Immigration (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #26: Gilded Age Politics (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #26: Gilded Age Politics (Student Outline) – PDF
Three Political Cartoons of the Gilded Age (COATS Assignment on Google Slides)
Three Political Cartoons from the 1890s (COATS Assignment on Google Slides)
Three Political Cartoons from the 1890s (COATS Assignment on Google Doc)
Three Political Cartoons from the 1890s (COATS Assignment on PDF)
White Man’s Burden (Intro – Google Slides)
Primary Source: White Man’s Burden (Assignment – Google Doc)
Primary Source: White Man’s Burden (Assignment – PDF)
Causes & Trigger of WWI (Presentation on Google Slides) – I might have stolen this from someone and modified it without remembering the source, so let me know if it’s yours.
WWI Stations Activity (Content – PDF)
WWI Stations Activity (Questions – PDF)
World War I – CTER & Questions (Assignment on Google Slides) – If you’re not familiar with CTER, you can read about it here.
The Progressive Era (Presentation – Google Slides)
Harlem Renaissance – Paintings & A Poem (Assignment on Google Slides)
Harlem Renaissance – Music & Dancing (Assignment on Google Slides)
Harlem Renaissance – Music & Dancing Expanded (Longer Assignment on Google Slides)
Crash Course Black American History #26: The Harlem Renaissance (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course Literature #215 – Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance (Student Outline) – PDF
CTER Recap of Late 19th Century / World War I – CTER Great Depression (Presentation & Assignment on Google Slides) – If you’re not familiar with CTER, you can read about it here.
From Roaring Twenties to Great Depression (Presentation – Google Slides)
From Roaring Twenties to Great Depression (Student Notes – Google Doc)
From Roaring Twenties to Great Depression (Student Notes – PDF)
“Have To” History – The Great Depression (1930s) (Article Only – PDF)
Crash Course U.S. History #33: The Great Depression (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #33: The Great Depression (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course Black American History #28: The Great Depression (Student Questions) – Google Doc
Crash Course Black American History #28: The Great Depression (Student Questions) – PDF
Great Depression Photos (Assignment on Google Slides)
Images of the Dust Bowl (Presentation w/ Questions) – Google Slides
Migrant Workers During the Dust Bowl (Presentation w/ Questions) – Google Slides
Crash Course U.S. History #34: The New Deal (Student Outline) – Google Slides
Crash Course U.S. History #34: The New Deal (Student Outline) – PDF
New Deal Agencies Promotional Flyers Assignment -Google Slides
New Deal Agencies Promotional Flyers Assignment– PDF
Causes & Triggers of World War II (Presentation w/ Questions – Google Slides)
WWII Stations Activity (Content – Google Doc) – typically these are posted around the room and students rotate in small groups with limited time to answer questions about each one
WWII Stations Activity (Content – PDF) – typically these are posted around the room and students rotate in small groups with limited time to answer questions about each one
WWII Stations Activity (Small Group Responses – Google Doc)
WWII Stations Activity (Small Group Responses – PDF)
World War II Propaganda (Assignment on Google Slides)
Zoot Suit Riots (Assignment on Google Slides)
Crash Course U.S. History #37: The Cold War (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #37: The Cold War (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #38: The Cold War In Asia (Student Questions) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #38: The Cold War In Asia (Student Questions) – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #39: Civil Rights and the 1950s (Student Questions) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #39: Civil Rights and the 1950s (Student Questions) – PDF
The 1950s, Part I: The Cold War (Presentation – Google Slides)
The 1950s, Part II: Suburbs & the Sun Belt (Presentation – Google Slides)
The 1950s, Part III: Prequel to the 1960s (Presentation – Google Slides)
The 1960s, Part I: The Evolving Civil Rights Movement (Presentation – Google Slides)
Crash Course Black American History #39: The Black Panther Party (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course Black American History #40: Women and the Black Power Movement (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course Black American History #40: Women and the Black Power Movement (Student Outline) – PDF
Crash Course Black American History #41: Marsha P. Johnson & the Stonewall Rebellion (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Brown vs. Board of Education Unscramble Activity (Google Slides)
Brown vs. Board of Education Unscramble Activity (Teacher Key – PDF or Google Doc)
Crash Course U.S. American History #40: The 1960s (Student Outline) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. American History #40: The 1960s (Student Outline) – PDF
Letter to Employees at Dallas Hospital After JFK Assassination (1963) – A hospital administrator praises the work of employees at the hospital where JFK and Gov. Connally were brought on Nov. 22nd, 1963.
Generic Supreme Court Cases Graphic Organizers – Google Slides
Generic Supreme Court Cases Graphic Organizers – PDF
How Cases Reach the Supreme Court (Presentation w/ Qs) – Google Slides)
10 Major Cases of the Warren Court, 1953-1969 (Graphic Organizer Assignment on Google Slides)
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) Brief Overview (Google Slides)
3 Supreme Court Cases About “Free Speech” for Students (Graphic Organizer Assignment on Google Slides)
Student Rights Slideshow Project (Assignment) – There’s an example of the sort of final product I’m looking for below. My instructions are overly detailed because of the students I have and too many years of wishing I’d specifically included Requirement X or Prohibition Y when assigning these sorts of things. (Google Docs Version)
Student Rights Slideshow Project (Assignment) – Same instructions in PDF form
Are Students Required To Swear Their Fealty to the Flag Each Day? – This was created as an example of the sort of student presentation I was looking for when I assigned them the “Student Rights Slideshow Project” above. (Presentation – Google Slides)
1960s Photo Assignment, Part I (Assignment on Google Slides)
1960s Photo Assignment, Part II (Assignment on Google Slides)
Music of the 1960s (Assignment on Google Slides)
Wisconsin v Yoder (1972) – Article w/ Qs – PDF
“Have To” History: United States v. Nixon (1974) w/ Qs – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #41: The Rise of Conservatism (Student Questions) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #41: The Rise of Conservatism (Student Questions) – PDF
Crash Course U.S. History #42: Ford, Carter, & Economic Malaise (Student Questions) – Google Doc
Crash Course U.S. History #42: Ford, Carter, & Economic Malaise (Student Questions) – PDF
Reagan Videos w/ Questions (Google Slides w/ Embedded Videos)