Individual Lesson View
Civil War Battles
From: EDSITEment!
Grade Level: HS, (College)
Remote Ready: With Modifications
Time: 2-3 Class Periods for All Activities
Length of Reading: Pages
Civil War:
A "Terrible Swift Sword"
Lesson 2: The Battles of the
Civil War
2 Activities. In the first activity students make travel brochures about Gettysburg or Vicksburg after learning about those battles via a film clip and online secondary source. In Activity 2, students write diary entries as either soldiers or civilians after learning about Sherman's March to the Sea via a film clip and primary sources.
Activity 1: The Turning Points: Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Students watch an 8 min clip from Ken Burns Civil War. Students are then divided into groups and assigned either Vicksburg or Gettysburg. Students make travel brochures for each battleground that explain why the battle was a turning point using provided research links and answering the provided questions. Students do a gallery walk and discuss the outcomes.
Activity 2: Total War. Students watch a 2 min History Channel clip on Sherman's March to Savannah and discuss Total War. The class is divided into either Northern soldiers or Southern civilians. Students read primary sources from soldiers or civilians who experienced the war. Be sure to click on the link that says: "on pages 1-5 of the PDF Document for this activity 'Total War.'" Clicking on the individual excerpts will take you to full books, not excerpts. Students write a diary entry from the perspective of their assigned group. Volunteers read their entries and the class discusses total war.
You'll find Lesson 1 of A "Terrible Swift Sword" above or to the left of this lesson. Lesson 3 in the same series is under the Lincoln heading.
Lesson Identifier: 8ADImage: O’Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882, photographer. “[Incidents of the war. A harvest of death, Gettysburg, July, 1863].” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. : published by Philp & Solomons, c1865, https://www.loc.gov/item/2018667213/. Accessed: 6.15.2020.
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Grade Level: HS, (College)
- HS=High School
- Though HS is the specified grade level, this lesson would be excellent for college students as well.
Remote Ready: With Modifications
- Links to the reading assignments and videos can easily be emailed or posted for students
- Group work (pairs) might be difficult, though questions could be answered individually
- Student artwork can be digital or they can photograph artwork done by hand
- Students’ diary entries can be emailed or uploaded to your LMS
- Discussion can be had via typing on your LMS or over video conferencing
Primary Source Icon
This means that this activity utilizes primary sources
Secondary Source Icon
This activity contains secondary sources
Research Icon
This activity requires students to do research
Group Work Icon
This activity calls for working in pairs, a group, and/or having a class discussion
Writing Icon
This icon represents a long writing assignment such as an essay or a several paragraph response to a prompt. Almost all activities require students to answer questions, but that's not what this icon represents.
Movie Icon
This means that this activity calls for showing a film, clip, and/or documentary
Computer Icon
This means that a computer is required for this activity. We will NOT use this icon when print-outs are possible.
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