Intended Target: 5th grade students
Objective:
Students will be able to identify the major events and battles in the Civil War, and their significance to the War by comparing the battles.
Materials Needed:
o Class size timeline
o Paper timelines for each group
o Battle Information Sheets (5 total)
o Clear Plastic Stands/Frames
o Civil War Battle Spreadsheet (one for each student)
Anticipatory Set:
Place the dates and events up on the board. Give the groups about 5 minutes to see how fast the students can put the timeline in order of the events and dates correctly. Afterwards put your timeline in order and have the students see how closely they got it right.
Instructional Strategies:
Discuss the order of the timeline and tell them that today they will learn about the major battles and events in the civil war. Also, review the North (Union or United States) and the South (Confederate or Confederate States.) Tell them today that they will see some of those words abbreviated – US and CS.
Divide the class into 5 groups and state your expectations for working in groups around the classroom. Set-up the plastic stands with the different battles around the classroom. Hand out the Battle Spreadsheet to each student and give them instructions. They are to start at their own stand and they have approximately 5 minutes to fill in the spreadsheet boxes that deal with that battle. After the five minutes are up (timer goes off) the students rotate clockwise to the next information sheet and fill in the boxes about that battle. So on and so forth, until all battles are completed.
Closure:
Afterwards, review the battles with the students and discuss the casualties, the outcomes, and important things that happened at these battles. Have the students turn in their comparison spreadsheets completed.
Assessment:
Check their assignments looking for accuracy in each of the battles and their descriptions of important information.
Civil War Timeline
Battle Comparison Sheet
Battle Information Sheets
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Civil War is always something that I end up teaching at the very end of the school year after CRT's and honestly, I don't always do a fantastic job of it because I'm just worn out. This year it's got a little more punch because I'm trying to use more of the strategies from the Marzano book. This lesson went well in these ways: students were engaged and on task, we covered the high points of the material in an efficient way, I had a product to use in assessment. Things I'd improve: I'd like something to facilitate more analysis of the information because I felt like they just got the facts, but no understanding. Always something more to work on. :)
ReplyDeleteYour googledocs didn't come up. I would love to take a look at them. I also teach the Civil War at the end of the year. Not only am I worn out, but it is hard to keep the kids focused. I am always looking for new ways to try and help them understand it better.
ReplyDeleteI think the googledocs will all come up now. Let me know if they don't.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea. If you teach Civil War at the very end of the year, do you ever get to WW I and WW II?
ReplyDeleteI like the way you used the timeline. I've done it before as well, but made the mistake of trying to cover too big of a chunk of history. Next year I think I'll try to take it as a smaller piece, and maybe I'll have more success.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time I don't get much on WWI or WWII, but there's always next year.
ReplyDeleteThis is great way to help students visualize the various battles. You could also give each group a little more time with just one battle. Each group could then share their battle with the class, and the class could fill out their spreadsheet that way. You could also have each group summarize their battle and act it out.
ReplyDelete