VISUALIZING THE POLK PRESIDENCY

A teacher’s toolkit for bringing art, infographics, and maps into the history classroom. Turn history into something students analyze, build, and create.

Download the Classroom Guidebook for detailed instructions for each lesson.

POSTER PUZZLE

Analyze a painting—one piece at a time. Observe.

OVERVIEW:

In this activity, students willl analyze John Gast’s painting American Progress, one piece at a time. Each group studies a single piece, makes close observations, then watches the full image snap into place.

GOOGLE GEMINI GEM:

Build your own poster puzzle from any image with our custom Google Gemini Gem. You’ll be cutting your first puzzle in minutes.

VISUAL STORY

A one-take video of how the U.S. got its shape. Sequence.

OVERVIEW:

In this activity, students create a one-take video that explains how the United States got its shape—and just how much of that map was drawn on Polk’s watch. Using cut-out United Shapes, word cards, and a narrator, each group choreographs a westward expansion narrative into a single continuous shot.

BASEBALL CARD

Distill a presidency onto a trading card. Synthesize.

OVERVIEW:

Students research James K. Polk and distill him down into a single trading card—portrait on the front, stats on the back.