The Civil War
Unit 2
Lesson One: Introduction to Unit
Students work in small groups to complete a K-W-L chart about the Civil War. They also complete a pre-assessment on the unit contents. In order to draw students into the nature of the conflict, students will also listen to stories of young boys who fought during the war.
Lesson Two: Economic Causes of the Civil War
Students read about the perspectives of people living around 1860 as related to economic issues. Each student is assigned a role and learns more about that person in order to share economic concerns with others having different roles. Students analyze maps from the respective roles to infer the role economic issues played in causing the American Civil War.
Lesson Three: Demographic Causes of the Civil War
Students analyze demographic data from the 1860 U.S. Census to make inferences about population patterns as factors in causing the Civil War.
Lesson Four: The Case of Dred Scott and His Quest for Freedom
Students trace Dred Scott's travels on a map to understand the issues behind Scott's quest for freedom and then discuss implications related to the Civil War. They also examine the constitutional issues surrounding the case and the legal impact of the Dred Scott Supreme Court ruling.
Lesson Five: Legal Causes of the Civil War
Students participate in a jigsaw group in which members each have been assigned a different Civil War era artifact related to legal causes of the war. Students examine their artifacts and prepare to inform a small group about the issues and biases it represents.
Lesson Six: Cultural/Philosophical Causes of the Civil War
Students read diaries and excerpts from speeches in an attempt to figure out what different perspectives existed in the United States on the role of Federal Government and what should be done about slavery.
Lesson Seven: Events Leading to War
Students read about and discuss the impact of Brown's Rebellion, Bleeding Kansas, and Lincoln's Election.
Lesson Eight: Should the South Secede from the Union?
Students participate in a Structured Academic Controversy to explore the issue of secession, reading documents to prepare to assume both sides of the secession argument.
Lesson Nine: Political Events that Shaped the War
Students complete mapping and discussion activities to understand critical political events and places related to Lincoln's election, the secession, the formation of the Confederacy, and the major leaders inthe North and South.
Lesson Ten: Fighting the Battle
Students analyze the major battles and military strategies that occurred during the beginning of the war. They examine political cartoons and artistic renderings of the battles to understand how different sources provide various perspectives on the activities of war.
Lesson Eleven: The Emancipation Proclamation
Students review a historian's account of the Emancipation Proclamation and compare the writing to the actual Emancipation Proclamation document, considering the distinction between primary and secondary sources. Next they read and analyze two letters to President Lincoln, one from a black soldier and one from the mother of a soldier. Students discuss these in relation to the Emancipation Proclamation.
Lesson Twelve: The Gettysburg Address
Students examine the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg and prepare for and participate in a Socratic Seminar on the Gettysburg Address.
Lesson Thirteen: The War Concludes: Why did the North Win?
Students follow the progress of war using maps and operations reports to analyze the initial success of the South and the events that led to the North's win. The strategies and styles of Grant and Sherman are examined.
Lesson Fourteen: North & South: The Effects of the Civil War
Students study the effects of the War on the North and the South, analyzing the change in demographics, the impact on freed slaves, and political and social post-war issues.
Lesson Fifteen: The Civil War in Review
Students select examples of music, art, drama, and literature related to the Civil War and discuss reasons why historians, artisans, novelists, dramatists, and hobbyists still find the Civil War a very interesting topic to explore. Students complete a post-assessment.
