Civil War Wanted Poster & Plaque

My classes are currently starting the Civil War and some students have had a difficult time seeing two "different Americas" and understanding point of view. To help this and cover some of the many abolitionists, generals, and politicians of the day we just completed this project. 

Students read about and analyzed various Civil War-era figures as either criminals or heroes based on how they are viewed by the North or South. The famous abolitionist John Brown for instance was said to possess a “transcendent moral greatness” by Henry David Thoreau. Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, however, called him “nothing more than a murderer, a robber, a thief, and a traitor.” Many of my students like people from history to be simplified as either "good guys" or "bad guys", but it's important for students to understand why someone can be seen as both. 

One one side of this worksheet, students create a commemorative plague to honor the great accomplishments of one of the assigned figures. They must name their award, come up with 3 reasons why he/she is being awarded, an appropriate date, and write down who is presenting the award. Here is one sample:

On the opposite side of their worksheet is a template for a wanted poster to capture him or her as a known criminal. This side must include a picture, last known location, reward, who the person is wanted by, and 3 crimes/reasons why they are wanted. Here are a completed versions on Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant:

  

On the students' list of possible choices, I included Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B Stuart, Robert E. Lee, Robert Gould Shaw, William T. Sherman, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Ulysses S. Grant. However, you could certainly add any number of Confederate or Union figures depending on your curriculum.

All of the resources needed for this project can be downloaded here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Civil-War-Wanted-Poster-Plaque.

Thanks & good luck!

Animated Battle of Antietam Map

The Civil War Preservation trust has a lot of incredible resources for helping teachers cover the Civil War. This includes iPad, iPhone, and Android apps for each major battle, an entire curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school, and a ton of other resources for teachers.

To me however, the best resource they have created is this animated map and video of Antietam. Created in honor of the battle's 150th anniversary, it does an amazing job of showing how the death toll mounted so quickly and terribly. The flash video mixes in reenactments and video footage with the animated troop movements on computer-generated maps for a truly amazing multimedia experience. This is exactly the type of media that Students of History supports - it uses technology effectively to support learning, makes the content relevant and engaging, and is effective for all learners.

Definitely recommend you check this out when you cover the Battle of Antietam in your classes!

Essential Knowledge of the Civil War

Many of my high school students have limited English proficiency and lack the background knowledge that comes with attending school in the US for your entire life. To help them grasp large topics, I created simple to read, 1 page overviews of our unites in American History.

This one (which you can download here) covers the American Civil War. Vocabulary that students need to know if defined and each aspect of the war is explained in simple terms for students so that they do not need to rely on background knowledge.

The 2nd page is a worksheet of 8 open-ended and multiple choice questions based off the reading. These questions guide students toward the essential information they need to know.

Here are some sample images of what the worksheet looks like:

   

This worksheet can be download by clicking here. Hope you can find this useful for your students.