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Gallery Walk Activity on U.S. Imperialism, 1860-1920

American imperialism from 1860 to 1920 unfolds through a warm-up analogy, a background reading students color-code for locations, motives and methods, and gallery exhibits of political cartoons and primary sources with questions.
Grades
Grades 9–12, High School
File type
Multiple File Types
Editable
Yes

Updated Oct 19, 2026

Subject
Social Studies, History, History: USA
Topic
gallery walk, Imperialism
Resource types
Activities
Editable
Yes

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Immerse your students in a captivating U.S. History lesson with this 40-page Gallery Walk activity on American Imperialism from 1860-1920. This unique, interactive lesson transforms your classroom into an engaging museum-like environment where students can explore nine exhibits featuring primary and secondary sources, political cartoons, and excerpts related to the era of imperialism.

As they delve into each exhibit, students are encouraged to analyze the content by answering comprehension questions and logging their findings on a graphic organizer. To deepen their understanding further, students will read and annotate an insightful article about U.S. Imperialism.

Topics within this comprehensive package include: Purchase of Alaska; Annexation of Hawaii; Acquisition of Guam; Puerto Rico; Philippines & Cuba following the Spanish-American War; Open Door Policy; Matthew Perry’s trade endeavors with Japan, among others.

This all-inclusive packet provides necessary materials for traditional classrooms as well as Google-based learning environments: nine station exhibit materials; an imperialism article; student handouts/graphic organizers; easy-to-follow teacher directions to ensure smooth sailing throughout the entire process.

These resources perfectly align with Common Core Standards while delivering enjoyable learning experiences for young minds!

Brought to you by Learning is a Passion Store - leverage two decades of teaching experience across grades 6-12 in practical hands-on learning activities designed to fully engage today’s curious learners!

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Identify economic, ideological and military motives for U.S. imperialism
  • Analyze political cartoons for point of view
  • Describe where and how the United States expanded between 1860 and 1920

Teaching tips

  • The background reading asks students to highlight in three colors, one each for locations, motives and methods, so have three colors or a digital highlight tool ready.

Skills covered

  • Annotation — color-coding a reading by location, motive and method
  • Primary source analysis — answering questions on cartoons and a poem excerpt
  • Historical reasoning — linking expansion events to their motives

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Imperialism
  • Spanish-American War
  • Annexation of Hawaii
  • Open Door Policy
  • Big Stick Diplomacy

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