Progressive EraAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

1908

Lesson plan.

William Howard Taft vs William Jennings Bryan — William Howard Taft, handpicked by Theodore Roosevelt as his successor, easily defeated William Jennings Bryan in his third and final presidential run. Roosevelt personally campaigned for Taft and essentially guaranteed his election. Bryan's progressive positions had moved closer to Roosevelt's, but he could not overcome the Republican advantage in a prosperous era. Taft's more conservative governing style would eventually alienate Roosevelt and lead to their epic 1912 split.

In 1908, William Howard Taft (Republican) won the U.S. presidency. William Howard Taft took 321 of the 483 electoral votes to William Jennings Bryan's 162. William Howard Taft led the national popular vote with 51.57%. The race falls within the Progressive Era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Continuation of Roosevelt's progressive policies among the major themes.

What is in each packet

Cover

Cycle metadata + band eyebrow

Lesson plan

Instructor — timing, materials, standards

Reading

Sized to grade band (K-2: ~250 words → AP: ~650)

Background

Curated cycles — 5-7 vocab terms + primary-source excerpt

Student worksheet

K-2: 3 questions → AP: 8, mixed format

Answer key

Instructor — rationale on every item

Discussion prompts

3 prompts tied to era

DBQ (AP only)

Long-essay + 5-point rubric + second source

Download by grade band

K-2
Story
4 pp
20 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
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3-5
Reading
5 pp
35 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
6-8
Reading
6 pp
50 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
9-12
Source
8 pp
75 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
AP
DBQ
12 pp
105 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.

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Read further

Curated picks

The Bully Pulpit

Doris Kearns Goodwin

TR, Taft, and the muckraking press.

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