Progressive Era Journal

This worksheet engages students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 with primary source analysis, historical empathy, perspective-based writing, evidence use, and civic reasoning through Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism speech (1910). After reading a short excerpt, learners select a historical viewpoint-such as a worker, reformer, immigrant, business owner, or factory parent-and write a reflective journal entry reacting to Roosevelt’s ideas about regulating big business and expanding government responsibility.

Instructional Objectives

• Primary Source Analysis (Grades 6-8) – Interpret ideas from Roosevelt’s New Nationalism speech using historical context
• Perspective Writing – Write from a specific social viewpoint to demonstrate historical empathy
• Evidence-Based Reasoning – Support opinions with details from the primary source text
• Civic Understanding – Evaluate ideas of economic fairness, regulation, and government responsibility

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with middle school social studies and ELA standards
• Choice-Based Perspectives – Encourages engagement by allowing students to select a viewpoint
• Structured Writing Support – Guides students toward a complete, focused paragraph
• Cross-Curricular Learning – Integrates history, civics, and writing skills
• Flexible Use – Suitable for classwork, discussion prep, assessments, or homeschool lessons

This Progressive Era Journal worksheet helps students explore complex debates about economic power and government action through thoughtful reflection and writing. By responding to a primary source from a real historical perspective, learners strengthen comprehension, empathy, and evidence-based argument skills. It’s a meaningful, no-prep resource for classrooms and homeschool settings focused on deep understanding of Progressive Era social tensions and reform ideas.

This worksheet is part of our Progressive Era and Reform Movements Worksheets collection.