Summary
This lesson has students consider different perspectives in the Civil War. Students will participate in a role-playing activity to become familiar with the different motives and points of view of various key figures in the Civil War, then analyze these key figures in greater depth during a discussion. Students will also read and annotate a variety of primary source materials from the Civil War, then share the knowledge they acquired from the readings with their classmates. After learning about various perspectives, students will use a template to create a Two-Voice Poem that emphasizes the views of marginalized or traditionally underrepresented historical groups. At the end of the lesson, students will reconsider why people fight for different causes based on their perspectives. This lesson includes optional modifications for distance learning.
Essential Question(s)
Why do people fight? What is worth fighting for?
Snapshot
Engage
Students participate in a Historical Mingle activity in which they assume the roles of key figures in the Civil War and discuss different historical points of view.
Explore
Students discuss their roles from the Historical Mingle and complete a graphic organizer summarizing each role's significance.
Explain
Students read and Why-Light primary source documents from the Civil War era then share their knowledge with each other in a Jigsaw activity.
Extend
Students write Two-Voice Poems using a template with a focus on traditionally underrepresented historical groups.
Evaluate
Students respond to the essential questions in an Exit Ticket.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Historical Mingle Activity Cards (attached; one or two sets per class)
Historical Mingle Graphic Organizer handout (attached; one per student)
Civil War Primary Source Packet handout (attached; one set per 22 students; staple)
Jigsaw Graphic Organizer handout (attached; one per student)
Two-Voice Poem Template handout (attached; one per student)
Two-Voice Poem Rubric handout (attached; one per student; optional)
Highlighters
Notebook paper
Pens or pencils
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Introduce the title using slide 2, then transition to slide 3 and introduce the lesson’s essential questions, “Why do people fight? What is worth fighting for?” Ask students to think about these questions in relation to the U.S. Civil War over the course of the lesson. Encourage them to consider how these questions apply to the roles and motivations of various key figures in the conflict. Display slide 4 and introduce the lesson objectives and your expectations for the lesson.
Display slide 5 and introduce the Historical Mingle instructional strategy. Give each student a random Historical Mingle Activity Card. Have each student carefully read the description on their card and examine the image (if they have one on their card), and have them consider how they should assume the role of their characters. Allow 2–3 minutes for students to study their roles.
Show slide 6 and elaborate on the instructions for the activity. Tell students that they should “meet” other characters, introduce themselves as their assigned characters, and discuss their roles in the Civil War.
Display slide 7 and introduce a list of questions students can ask of each other’s characters. Encourage students to ask any other questions they may think of.
Have students stand up from their seats and mingle around the room until they meet a partner. Begin the 2-minute timer on the slide and allow students time to ask questions of their partners. When time is up, have them walk around until they find a new partner. Allow another 2 minutes for them to question their new partners. Repeat this process until students have mingled with three or four partners.
Explore
25 Minute(s)
Distribute one copy of the attached Historical Mingle Graphic Organizer handout to each student. Display slide 8 and introduce the guidelines for the discussion. Tell students that when they see the characters they played on the upcoming slides, they should respond to the given questions.
Show slide 9 and introduce the photo of Abraham Lincoln and the questions. Invite students who played Abraham Lincoln to respond to the questions. Encourage class discussion, and have students complete their graphic organizers using their classmates’ responses.
Repeat this process with each historical figure on slides 10–19.
After all of the roles have been discussed, move to slide 20. Ask students to analyze their graphic organizers and identify any trends they notice. Have them use the guiding questions on the slide to make note of any connections they find and identify reasons as to why each character would fight for one side or the other.
Display slide 21. Invite students to share their thoughts about each historical figures’ significance and motivation. Consider using the space provided on the slide, or similar whiteboard space, to take note of important student observations and ideas.
Explain
25 Minute(s)
Organize students into groups of two and give each pair one reading from the attached Civil War Primary Source Packet and one highlighter.
Explain to students that most of their assigned readings are primary sources or pieces based on primary sources. Tell students that primary source documents are first-person historical or eyewitness accounts, or things like pamphlets, speeches, posters, and other historical records that are original to a particular time or event. Explain that each document represents an account from the Civil War era.
Display slide 22 and introduce the Why-Lighting instructional strategy. Tell students that as they read, they should highlight important facts in their assigned documents, make notes in the document margins, and write a brief explanation of why they chose to highlight those particular facts. Encourage each student to focus on whether the author of their document was pro-Union or pro-Confederacy and why. Allow ample time for students to read and annotate their documents.
After students finish their annotations, assign students to two groups, a Group A and a Group B. Ensure that each group includes only one representative of each reading. Your class may only have two large groups, or additional groups depending on your class size.
Move to slide 23 and give each student one copy of the attached Jigsaw Graphic Organizer handout. Introduce the Jigsaw instructional strategy to the class. Explain that students should become the expert on their assigned reading then share their acquired knowledge to their classmates. This activity helps students share responsibility for each other’s learning while developing group communication and close-reading skills.
Have students in both Group A and Group B teach their assigned group what they learned about their readings. Start with students who read Reading #1 and have students take turns numerically. Have other group members fill out their graphic organizers with notes as each reading is discussed.
Extend
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 23 and introduce the Two-Voice Poem instructional strategy. Give each student one copy of the Two-Voice Poem Template handout. Tell students that they should use this template to create poems that convey the perspectives of two different groups during the Civil War.
Have students choose one group that is not traditionally represented in discussions about the Civil War for their poems. This group could include women, immigrants, African Americans (free or enslaved), or Native Americans.
Encourage students to refer to their Jigsaw Graphic Organizers to find inspiration for the content of their Two-Voice Poems.
Evaluate
30 Minute(s)
Show slide 24 and have students take out a piece of paper. Have students complete an Exit Ticket by responding to the following questions on the slide:
Why do people fight?
What is worth fighting for?
Collect student responses as they leave the classroom. Use these responses to assess what students know and what you still need to review regarding this topic.
Resources
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