The document provides additional lesson plan ideas for teaching about the American Civil War. Some ideas include having students analyze Civil War era photographs and music to understand the emotions of the time. Other ideas involve exploring local cemeteries for Civil War soldier graves, recreating Civil War field drills and camp activities like building lean-tos or measuring water depth, and creating timelines or word webs to review major events and vocabulary from the Civil War era.
Students explore and describe Emmanuel Leutze's painting, "George Washington Crossing the Delaware," and research the artist, the Revolutionary war at the time depicted, and the work itself. They then write and perform a one-act play dramatizing the events and action leading up to the crossing.
Amanda Wardlow-Cosey (SEI/500) Professional Development Presentationawardlow30
(SEI/500) Academic Vocabulary Assessments: Professional Development Presentation for best practices in assessing vocabulary for English Language Learners. -Amanda Wardlow-Cosey
Field trips are a way to break from the confines of the classroom and engage in real life experiences. Students will learn more than you think when they are able to interact with the material and maybe even get their hands a little dirty. Field trips are a great way to promote learning and get students excited for the rest of the school year.
Curriculum Project: Sample Planning Charts
School of Education, Liberty University
Author Note
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
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LegendA ArtCI Community involvement activity (collaboration)CIV CivicsCC Collaboration with colleagues CE Character educationCL Cultural literacy and diversityCM CommunicationCT Critical thinkingD Dramatic ArtsDA Differentiation/diversity/accommodation E EnglishEC EconomicsEVAL Evaluation (assessment)GA Group activityGEO GeographyL LiteracyLI ListeningLS Life skillsHE HealthHI HistoryHS Home/school connection (collaboration)HW HomeworkM MathMA Manipulative activityMU MusicOL Oral language/presentations (public speaking)PE Physical education/movementPS Problem solving R ReadingS ScienceT TechnologyW Writing
SAMPLE PLANNING CHARTS 1
SAMPLE PLANNING CHARTS 2
Day 16
Character Trait: Commitment
VA SOL Writing 3.8, 3.9; Reading 3.4 f, g
Cursive handwriting; write with purpose; expand vocabulary
VA SOL MATH 3.2
Fractions, mixed numbers
VA SOL SCIENCE 3.4
Animal adaptations:
Physical
VA SOL HISTORY 3.1
Ancient Greece
Introduction and Vocabulary
Fine Arts, Health, and
PE / Movement Connections
ENG/HI: Class will compile a list of unknown content vocabulary/topics about Ancient Greece. (SEE HISTORY)
ENG/T/R/GA/W/CM: The teacher will explain to students that nonfiction writing is used provide information about a topic to readers. Students will divide into groups and the teacher will assign an equal number of content words/topics to each group. Students will use their iPads and classroom library to look up information and to create definitions/short answers with the most important facts about the word/topic in their own words (not a word for word definition, but a created definition or short answer). The group will work together to create a working short answer about each word. Then the students will divide the words evenly amongst themselves. Each student will write the definition/short answer the group came up with in their best cursive handwriting, with correct spelling.
EVAL: Teacher will collect and review definitions for topic understanding and correct spelling.
M/CT: The teacher will introduce improper fractions. She will write several proper and improper fractions on the board. She will ask the students if they can tell what is different about each of these fractions (desired answer examples: the top is bigger than the bottom, the numerator is bigger, the denominator is smaller, the numbers are the same on top and bottom). When it is obvious all the students see what makes the improper fractions different from proper fractions the teacher will then use the smartboard to show the students how to convert the improper fractions into mixed numbers using models.
MA/M/GA: Students will separate into pairs. They will use ...
Students explore and describe Emmanuel Leutze's painting, "George Washington Crossing the Delaware," and research the artist, the Revolutionary war at the time depicted, and the work itself. They then write and perform a one-act play dramatizing the events and action leading up to the crossing.
Amanda Wardlow-Cosey (SEI/500) Professional Development Presentationawardlow30
(SEI/500) Academic Vocabulary Assessments: Professional Development Presentation for best practices in assessing vocabulary for English Language Learners. -Amanda Wardlow-Cosey
Field trips are a way to break from the confines of the classroom and engage in real life experiences. Students will learn more than you think when they are able to interact with the material and maybe even get their hands a little dirty. Field trips are a great way to promote learning and get students excited for the rest of the school year.
Curriculum Project: Sample Planning Charts
School of Education, Liberty University
Author Note
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Email:
LegendA ArtCI Community involvement activity (collaboration)CIV CivicsCC Collaboration with colleagues CE Character educationCL Cultural literacy and diversityCM CommunicationCT Critical thinkingD Dramatic ArtsDA Differentiation/diversity/accommodation E EnglishEC EconomicsEVAL Evaluation (assessment)GA Group activityGEO GeographyL LiteracyLI ListeningLS Life skillsHE HealthHI HistoryHS Home/school connection (collaboration)HW HomeworkM MathMA Manipulative activityMU MusicOL Oral language/presentations (public speaking)PE Physical education/movementPS Problem solving R ReadingS ScienceT TechnologyW Writing
SAMPLE PLANNING CHARTS 1
SAMPLE PLANNING CHARTS 2
Day 16
Character Trait: Commitment
VA SOL Writing 3.8, 3.9; Reading 3.4 f, g
Cursive handwriting; write with purpose; expand vocabulary
VA SOL MATH 3.2
Fractions, mixed numbers
VA SOL SCIENCE 3.4
Animal adaptations:
Physical
VA SOL HISTORY 3.1
Ancient Greece
Introduction and Vocabulary
Fine Arts, Health, and
PE / Movement Connections
ENG/HI: Class will compile a list of unknown content vocabulary/topics about Ancient Greece. (SEE HISTORY)
ENG/T/R/GA/W/CM: The teacher will explain to students that nonfiction writing is used provide information about a topic to readers. Students will divide into groups and the teacher will assign an equal number of content words/topics to each group. Students will use their iPads and classroom library to look up information and to create definitions/short answers with the most important facts about the word/topic in their own words (not a word for word definition, but a created definition or short answer). The group will work together to create a working short answer about each word. Then the students will divide the words evenly amongst themselves. Each student will write the definition/short answer the group came up with in their best cursive handwriting, with correct spelling.
EVAL: Teacher will collect and review definitions for topic understanding and correct spelling.
M/CT: The teacher will introduce improper fractions. She will write several proper and improper fractions on the board. She will ask the students if they can tell what is different about each of these fractions (desired answer examples: the top is bigger than the bottom, the numerator is bigger, the denominator is smaller, the numbers are the same on top and bottom). When it is obvious all the students see what makes the improper fractions different from proper fractions the teacher will then use the smartboard to show the students how to convert the improper fractions into mixed numbers using models.
MA/M/GA: Students will separate into pairs. They will use ...
2. CIVIL WAR MUSIC- Students research and select music/songs of the Civil War era. They are to analyze the music, lyrics, and other information they can gather about it. Then they are to interpret how the song or music can express emotion. They can share this with the class by oral presentation, written summary, etc.
3. FIELD WORK/ CEMETARY EXPLORATION- Students can determine if there are Civil War soldiers buried in your area at local cemeteries. They may need to work in cooperation with local libraries or archives to complete research. The students can then seek out the burial sites, take pictures or make a chalk marking of the stones to share with the class in an oral presentation on their hometown heroes.
4. QUILT PICTURES- Students can work in conjunction with their math classes to create tessellations that create quilt patterns. They can then create their own quilt square which may be collectively added to a classroom version.
5. DRUMMER BOYS AND GIRLS- Students may be able to create Civil War Drum replicas in your class or in conjunction with an art or music class. Containers such as Oatmeal canisters, coffee tins, peanut cans, or even small vegetable cans can make great drums. Discuss with the students what it might be like to be a young person serving with the military by playing musical instruments. What would it have been like? You may also want to instruct students that long rolling beats meant to march into battle. There were also other signals to rally and retreat. You may want to teach them individualized beats and see if the students can interpret them correctly.
6. VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP- There are many websites that are accessible via the internet to connect with scenes from the Civil War. Take your students on a virtual fieldtrip by using Google Earth to show what the areas look like today and compare them to Civil War era photos. Take a journey through the photo galleries that are available through the Library of Congress or University Libraries such as Bentley Historical Museum at the University of Michigan.
7. DRILL EXERCISES- Students who are kinesthetic learners may have some fun with this one. Line up your class in rows of six. Have them call of numbers one and two, alternatively. Call out “right face” . At this time, all those who are number two’s should take a diagonal step forward and face right. The students are now in rows of four for marching. As students practice marching, you make halt them and call them into line. The number two’s reverse their original action, falling back into rank.
8. PLAYING THE BONES- Soldiers without musical instruments would save the remains from the day’s meal, clean the bones, and tap them together to help create a beat. This was commonly done with rib bones and can be duplicated in the classroom. If animal bones do not agree with you, this can also be done with spoons, pencils representing bones, etc.
9. MEASURING WATER DEPTH- When soldiers on the march came across rivers and other bodies of water they needed to cross, they would attempt to measure the depth of the water. You can recreate this with your students. Have the students tie string around a rock or heavy object that will sink to the bottom of a body of water. Then tie a knot every foot from there. Gently toss the rock in the water and measure the wet part of the string for approximate depth.
10. BUILDING A LEAN-TO- Troops on the move didn’t always have time or the equipment to set up camp. Instead, the soldiers would have to improvise using branches and blankets to create a lean-to. Have students gather branches and compete to build an adequate, sturdy, and big enough lean-to to fit themselves or them and a partner.
11. MAKING HARDTACK- Hardtack was a common food eaten by the soldiers. It was a cracker like food that was very hard to eat. Often soldiers would have to soak the hardtack in water to soften it enough to eat it. However, the hardtack would last much longer in camp conditions than breads and other floury foods. Recipes can be found online. Essentially 2 cups of flour and a half cup of water mixed, kneaded together, flattened, and baked at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
12. BANDAGING BRUISES- Students may learn how to put arm injuries in slings or how to bandage-wrap extremities damaged during battle. All that is needed for this activity is a bandana or equivalent sized piece of cloth. This is strictly for reenactment purposes. Students should know that first aid training should be completed before treating such actual wounds.
13. CIVIL WAR TIMELINES- Have students research the significant dates and events of the Civil War Era. Students can create a timeline using symbols and illustrations that briefly describe the timeline.
14. WORD WEB ACTIVITIES- Students can create word webs perfect for a unit review. Begin the word web with the major vocabulary terms of the Civil War. Students will be required to have a certain number of secondary web words, tertiary web words, etc. The purpose of this activity is to refresh students on their vocabulary and how certain words and phrases relate to one another.