A Look Back In Time At The Civil War

Introduction || The Task || Resources || The Process ||

Learning Advice || Assessment || Rubrics || Conclusion

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Your private investigation firm has just been given the assignment to investigate the people and events of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Luckily you have a new state of the art time machine which makes travel from now to the 1850's, 60's and 1870's easy for you. Your assignment is to discover all that you can about two people, one event from the Civil War and one aspect of the Reconstruction. Your topics will be given to you shortly. Don't worry, you aren't alone in this task. You will be taking four other private investigators with you. Pack well and don't forget your handy P.I.'s notebook.

Our investigative agency has provided you with some necessary background information about the Civil War and the Reconstruction. Read it carefully. It will be very useful to you during your search. If at any time during your travels you need help or have questions remember to contact our agencies' representative in your classroom, Ms. Chagnon. Good luck on your search,. We are counting on you and your team.

Background Information

The Civil War had a huge impact on the United States as we know it today. The South separated or seceded from the United States. The country was divided into two parts, the North and the South. The northern states were known as the Union and the southern states were know as the Confederate States. The Nation split over the issue of slavery. The North took a antislavery stance and the South wanted slavery. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, the South became upset and chose to secede from the United States because of Lincoln and the North's antislavery view point.

If the South won the war, our nation today would be split in two. The North would probably be known as the United States of America and the South would be known as the Confederate States of America. We know this is not the case though. The North won the war and by defeating the Confederate States, the United States once again became one country. Becoming one country again was not as simple as winning the war though.

In the twelve years following the war, from 1865 to 1877, the Nation had to be rebuilt or reconstructed. This twelve year period is known as the Reconstruction. The Civil War had destroyed much of the South and many people were killed. During the Reconstruction, the government planned to reorganize and rebuild the South. The government wanted to help the freed slaves gain their own lives and land. The United States wanted to bring the country back together. During this period many rights of African Americans were granted and restricted. The Reconstruction ended, after much disagreement between the North and the South, with the Compromise of 1877.

 

 Private investigators, here is your task for this project:

  In groups of five, you will research and explore four aspects of the Civil War and the Reconstruction. After discovering interesting facts and opinions you will be able to choose how you want to present your information from several options. Each team of investigators will present their finding to the rest of the agency at the end of the project. The process of gathering information and presenting it will be explained in more detail under the section labeled Process. Each team will investigate two people, one event and one aspect of the Reconstruction. Below you will find your team number and your assignments for this project.

When you present your information on the people or events of the period you can select from several options what your method of presentation will be. For the aspect of the Reconstruction that you research you will need to create a role play which shows a certain person's point of view on several issues of the Reconstruction. The aspects of the Reconstruction which you will have to comment on from another person's point of view are: the Freedmen's Bureau, Black Codes created by the South, the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution and the Compromise of 1877.

 Following the presentations each audience member will be responsible for recording information about two main questions from each presentation. These questions are:

What was the event and how did it affect the civil war? The second question is: why was this person important?

After each presentation the class will discuss the responses to the questions above. Everyone will be responsible for this information in a quiz which will happen at the end of the presentations.

Team 1

People: Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth

Event: Emancipation Proclamation

Reconstruction: A now free African American

 

Team 2

People: Ulysses S. Grant and Harriet Tubman

Event: The Dred Scott Decision

Reconstruction: A Southern Leader

 

Team 3

People: Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis

Event: The Battle of Gettysburg

Reconstruction: A Northern Leader

 

Team 4

People: Clara Barton and Frederick Douglas

Event: Kansas Nebraska Act

Reconstruction: A now free African American

 

Team 5

People: Andrew Johnson and John Brown

Event: Harper's Ferry

Reconstruction: A Northern Leader

 Now that you have be given your topics for your trip back in time, you need to decide how you are going to demonstrate the information that you have learned. Your project needs to show what you learned about each topic. Each category (people, events) is listed below with three possible presentation choices. You and your teammates need to select one project for each topic. You may not use the same type of presentation twice. You will be sharing your projects will the class.

For example, if I chose to do a HyperStudio slide show and make a model, then I would use one method for each topic. My HyperStudio could be about Harper's Ferry and the model could show what happened at the Battle of Gettysburg.

 

Here are your project choices:

For your research on people you may:

1. create a one page report

2. create a detailed poem

3. create a collage about the person

 

For your research on events you may:

1. create a diorama or model of the event

2. create a skit

3. create a HyperStudio slide show

 

For your research on the Reconstruction, you have been given a point of view. Using this point of view you need to create a role play showing how that person would feel about each of the topics listed below which are related to the Reconstruction. You will need to collect information about each of the topics below before you can create your role play showing a person's point of view.

Freedmen's Bureau

Black Codes Created By the South

14th and 15th Amendments

The Compromise of 1877

 

 

People

Abraham Lincoln- Encyclopedia Article

Abraham Lincoln biography

Abraham Lincoln Site Contains:

1. Lincoln-The Man
2. Emancipation Proclamation
3. Battle of Gettysburg Present Day Pictures of the Battle Field
4. Kansas - Nebraska Act
5. Dred Scott Decision

Ulysses S. Grant

Site 2

Robert E. Lee

Jefferson Davis

Andrew Johnson

John Brown, Site 2

Frederick Douglass Site 1

Site 2 , Site 3

John Wilkes Booth, Site 2

Causes of the Civil War

Clara Barton, Site 2, Site 3

Harriet Tubman, Site 2

Events

Fort Sumter, Photo, Site 2

Lincoln's Assassination, Site 2

Harper's Ferry, Site 2

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Dred Scott Case, Site 2

The Emancipation Proclamation, Site 2

The Battle of Gettysburg, Site 2

 

Reconstruction

Freedmen's Bureau

Black Codes- See Classroom Resources

Compromise of 1877

14th and 15th Amendments- See Classroom Resources

 

Classroom Resources

Books and online encyclopedia resources are also available in the classroom.

Your research on the Reconstruction must examine the effects each of the four events had on your team's particular point of view. You also need to discover how each of the four events affected your particular person's human rights.

 Once you have your team, your four topics and you have selected the four ways you want to present your information you need to follow the steps listed below.

1. Look at the questions you need to research on your topic. You will need to list your research questions on a separate piece of paper so you can use them when ever you need them.

2. You will need to collect information from the internet, our classroom and the library to answer the questions and to learn all that you can about your topic. This page provides links to all internet site you need in the section labeled Resources.

3. As you collect this information you need to take notes on it. Your notes need to be in your own words. Notes need to be organized by the question they answer or the topic they cover. Your private investigators notebook provides plenty of space for you to record your notes in.

4. You need to keep a bibliography of all the sources that you use to collect information. This includes books, CD-ROMs, and the internet. Your private investigators notebook contains forms to help you keep track of the sources you use.

5. Once you have finished collecting information, you need to create your final products. These projects are the ones you selected in the beginning as tools to represent what you have learned.

6. When your projects are all completed you need to decide how you want to present all of your projects to the class. You will need to talk about how the project shows what you discovered and what you learned during your research.

7. Each team will present their investigation results to the class. The other investigators will take notes and there will be a final quiz on all of the information you have learned.

 Although all of you are skilled private investigators, here are a few tips which will make the project go more smoothly.

1. Assign jobs to each member of your group. The projects will be completed much more rapidly if everyone has their own topic to research and you share the work.

2. Help your teammates! Remember this isn't an individual assignment. Your team needs to work together to complete all five projects.

3. Check the rubrics often to remind yourselves of what you need to include in each project.

4. Save everything! Keep everything in your social studies folders. Don't throw anything away. You never know when you might need it.

5. Use your checklist (in you private investigator's notebook) to keep track of where you are one each assignment.

6. Have fun on your trip back in time!

Assessment

Each project will be assessed according to the appropriate rubric. All rubrics can be found in the section below labeled rubric. Your team will receive 4 team project grades, one grade for each project.

After each presentation, we will discuss as a class the most important aspects. Each of you will be responsible for recording this information. You will have a quiz after everyone has presented based upon the information we discussed as a class following each presentation. The quiz will be an individual assessment.

Your team will also have to report biweekly to the class on your progress with the project. This report is an informal check-in which should last for a few minutes. You will need to talk about what you have done, what you are working on and two things you have learned so far from this project.

 Rubrics

Event Rubric

Criteria	Just Starting	Almost There	Meets Standard	Exceeds Expectations
6.4, 6.5 -Causes and effects of the war. -Relationships among people, events and their effects	The group examined and represented very little of the requirements accurately. Very little detail was used. Click here for the requirements.	The group examined and represented most of the requirements accurately. Some detail was used. Click here for the requirements.	The group examined and represented all of the required aspects of the event accurately and with detail. Click here for the requirements.	The group examined and represented all of the required aspects of the event accurately and with a lot of detail. The group went beyond the required questions and created additional research questions. Click here for the requirements.
Presentation / Representation Accuracy	The model, skit or HyperStudio was a slightly accurate demonstration of the event. The representation was appropriate in length, was very detailed and well organized. Skit: Appropriate voice tone and drama level were seldom used. HyperStudio: Less than 4 slides were used.	The model, skit or HyperStudio was a somewhat accurate demonstration of the event. The representation was brief , was slightly detailed and somewhat organized. Skit: Appropriate voice tone and drama level were used throughout some of the skit. HyperStudio: 4 to 5 slides were used.	The model, skit or HyperStudio was an accurate demonstration of the event. The representation was appropriate in length, was detailed and organized. Skit: Appropriate voice, tone and drama level were used frequently. HyperStudio: At least 6 slides were used.	The model, skit or HyperStudio was an extremely accurate demonstration of the event. The representation was appropriate in length, was very detailed and well organized. Skit: The students demonstrated appropriate changes in tone, voice level and drama throughout the skit. HyperStudio: More than 6 slides were used.
Editing / Final Product	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were seldom used throughout the project.	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout some of the project.	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout most of the project.	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout the project.

People Rubric

Criteria	Just Starting	Almost There	Meets Standard	Exceeds Expectations
6.4, 6.5 -Causes and effects of the war. -Relationships among people, events and their effects	The group examined and represented very little of the requirements accurately. Very little detail was used. Click here for the requirements.	The group examined and represented most of the requirements accurately. Some detail was used. Click here for the requirements.	The group examined and represented all of the required aspects of the event accurately and with detail. Click here for the requirements.	The group examined and represented all of the required aspects of the event very accurately and with a lot of detail. The group went beyond the required questions and created additional research questions. Click here for the requirements.
Editing, Detail, Organization	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout the project. The project shows very little detail, organization and clarity.	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout the project. The project is somewhat detailed, organized and clear.	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout most of the project. The project is detailed, organized and clear.	Correct capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure were used throughout the project. The project is highly detailed, organized and clear.

Reconstruction Rubric

Criteria	Just Starting	Almost There	Meets Standard	Exceeds Expectations
Standard 6.18, 6.12, 6.5 and 6.4	The students portrayed and reacted to all four events of the Reconstruction in a slightly accurate and detailed fashion. Their role play was slightly based upon their given point of view. Students only slightly described ways in which the social choices of the Reconstruction affected the rights of their particular view point.	The students portrayed and reacted to all four events of the Reconstruction in a mostly accurate and detailed fashion based upon their given point of view. Students briefly described ways in which the social choices of the Reconstruction affected the rights of their particular view point.	The students portrayed and reacted to all four events of the Reconstruction in an accurate and detailed fashion based upon their given point of view. Students described ways in which the social choices of the Reconstruction affected the rights of their particular view point.	The students portrayed and reacted to all four events of the Reconstruction in a highly accurate and detailed fashion based upon their given point of view. Students described multiple ways in which the social choices of the Reconstruction affected the rights of their particular view point.
Presentation and Organization	Students rarely spoke clearly or used loud voices. Students were rarely dramatic during the presentation. The presentation was not organized.	Students spoke clearly, used loud voices and were dramatic throughout some of the presentation. The presentation somewhat organized and planned.	Students spoke clearly, used loud voices, were aware of their audience and were dramatic throughout most of the presentation. The presentation was well organized and planned.	Students spoke clearly, used loud voices, were aware of their audience and were dramatic throughout the presentation. The presentation was extremely well organized and planned.

 

Conclusion

Now that you have completed your investigation into the Civil War, you will now be presenting everything you have learned to the rest of the private investigators. While watching each presentation don't forget to answer the two question provided in the task section. There will be a quiz following all of the presentations based on the information we discuss about each presentation.

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