U.S. Steel Gary Works Photograph Collection, 1906-1971

Lesson 2: The Making of Steel

Middle school : Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4

Lesson plan developed by Laurie Welken.

There are many photographs in this collection that show the furnaces, coke ovens and mills used to create steel. To increase students' appreciation of the amazing photos they will need to better understand how steel is made. Through this lesson students will get a begin to understand the process and gain an appreciation of the enormity of the facility and the influence it had on the building of the city to run the steel plant.

Standards alignment

Guiding questions

Learning objectives

After completing this lesson, students will be able to:

Preparation

Become familiar with the steel making process. Some possible resources include:

Lesson plan

Extending the lesson

Have students make a presentation about the steel making process. Let students use their imagination and come up with their own presentation ideas. They may choose to present it with a poster board, build a model, use a PowerPoint presentation, or put on a skit to show the process of steel making. Give extra points for creativity.