Unit 2: The Civil War
The Civil War
Objectives:
The objective of this lesson is to get students to do their own learning about a particular time during the Civil War. A lot happened during this time so it would be unfair to ask them to research the entire time period. Students will look at a time period during the war and describe economic, physical, political, and social changes that occur during that time period. At the end of their research, they will present their research to the class in the form of a newspaper and a powerpoint (or some other visual aid). The newspaper will be used to combine the other projects of the groups so each student has a lot of information on that given year thoroughly researched by a group. At the end of the unit, the students will have a well-rounded and in-depth knowledge of the Civil War. They will use the combination of newspapers to study for the test.
Grade Level:
11th Grade United States History Regents
Materials Needed, Description and Timing:
The students will need something to write and a notebook. We will be going to the computer lab or library where the groups will research their topic. A computer would be necessary for any outside research that is done. The unit is planned for 7-8 days. The teacher will make different groups than the previous assignment. Each group will extensively research their topic and describe a time period from a perspective assigned by the teacher. Students will be placed into groups of 2-4. Each group will research a year within the war stating the important events battles, technological innovations, etc that occurred. One group will be assigned the north year; another will be assigned the south. These groups will give the perspectives of their respective side based on what happened that year. Rather than give an overall report of what happened, they are expected to go in depth and find actual reports, maps, diary entries, letters etc as well as secondary sources that describe the year through the eyes of either a southerner or northerner. They will then create a newspaper for that year as a project which will be combined with the other groups. I want them to be creative. The best title will be voted on.
List of approved websites:
www.sweetsearch.com
This is the only website that I am suggesting you use. The students are to do their own research and validate it using critical thinking and comprehension. If there are questions about a website, they should ask the teacher. You may use Google but be aware of the possibility of the search results not being reliable or biased.
Time Periods:
Guiding Question: During the Civil War, there were many important dates, battles, events, advancements in technology and medicine. How did these changes/events impact and affect those in the south or north. Describe the perspectives of either a northerner or a southerner during the following time periods as assigned by the teacher. Also describe the events themselves.
North: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865
South: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865
Class Management:
- Settle class down and explain the assignment.
- they will be split into 10 groups (approx 2-3) students per group. Each group will have a topic to research for three days, create a presentation on the fourth and will create a writing assignment, like a newspaper, formally describing all the information they put into their presentation on day 5 (and at home after the research is done on day 3) and present on the 6th and 7th day.
- Make sure they know they need to find primary documents (maps, letters, diary entries, written orders, battle summations, eye witness accounts etc) about the time period they are assigned. They need to find all information that is relevant to their time period from the perspective they are assigned making sure to look into technological, medical, military and other advances or changes that impacts their lives and the war. They should also have a few people that are important to that time period.
- They will be given 3 days for research. Plenty of time with at least one group member.
- If the whole class says they need more time, the teacher should give them one more day
- Bring them to the computer lab/library.
- Let them work.
- walk around, giving help to those who need it. Guide them, don’t give them the answer.
Day 2-3: Students will look up important dates, people, battles and changes that occurred in the country during the year they are assigned looking for the perspective they were assigned as well. These perspectives will help describe the thoughts that went through the minds of the people involved in the war from their respective side.
Day 4-5: Create Presentations/Work on Newspaper
Day 6-7: Present Vote on best newspaper title
Instructions for the Newspapers
- The paper should be no longer than 5 pages typed, double spaced but that does not mean it could not be 1 page long.
- Within the “newspaper” should be sections ie: battles, technology, important events, important people, medicine (if applicable)
- Each section should be a short synopsis of the described title.
- If there are multiple battles there should be multiple synopsis, the same for the other sections.
Instructions for the Presentation
It should be very similar to that of the causes but longer. Probably 10-15 minutes.
Evaluation of Students
During this lesson, the students will be evaluated based on 4 criteria. The criteria categories are, the presentation, the newspaper, classroom research and use of time, and group evaluation. It is an known fact that certain kids take control of group projects while others allow people to do most of the work. By having students in the group grade each other, people who do more work are rewarded while those who do less work receive fewer points. This way, a student that coasts off another will not receive the same grade. Every student is allotted 5 points. So a two person group has 10 group points to be given out. However no person can have the same number of points, thus recognizing the difference in work completed.
The teacher will award classroom participation points based off of how well the group works during their research time in the computer lab. If they spend their time doing non-class work, then they will receive fewer points. The groups will be given rubrics for the presentation and the newspaper assignments in order to know how they will be graded and how to get the best grade. At the end of this project, students will also be evaluated based upon a test. The test will determine how well the students learned using the two projects, as it will focus on the causes and the events and changes of of the Civil War.
Expected Cognitive Outcome
Students will gain intellectual skills, cognitive skills, attitude and verbal information during this lesson. At the end of this group project, the students should have better communicating, research and analytical skills. The students are expected to read for comprehension while using critical thinking when doing their research to find useful readings on their topic as well as ones without bias. Students will learn about the different events that unfolded during the Civil War, including battles, important events, people and other changes that occurred throughout the country during the war the effects these events had on different people throughout the country. The Civil War was one of the darkest hours in American history and it is imperative for students to know what happened during this time period while examining different perspectives of it. By working in groups, students build communication skills as well as the ability to use each other to gain information and knowledge.