Download Lesson: Civil War Time Capsules Authors: Laura Hartman, Lynne

Lesson: Civil War Time Capsules
Authors: Laura Hartman, Lynne Seljan, Cyndie Walrath
Grade Level: Elementary
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.2 Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how
they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or
more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text
based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domainspecific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in
order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to
build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
B.4.1 Identify and examine various sources of information that are used for constructing
an understanding of the past, such as artifacts, documents, letters, diaries, maps,
textbooks, photos, paintings, architecture, oral presentations, graphs, and charts
B.4.2 Use a timeline to select, organize, and sequence information describing eras in
history
B.4.5 Identify the historical background and meaning of important political values such
as freedom, democracy, and justice
A.4.5 Use atlases, databases, grid systems, charts, graphs, and maps to gather
information about the local community, Wisconsin, the United States, and the world
C.4.1 Identify and explain the individual’s responsibilities to family, peers and the
community, including the need for civility and respect for diversity
C.4.2 Identify the documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, in which the rights of citizens in our country are
guaranteed
C.4.3 Explain how families, schools, and other groups develop, enforce, and change
rules of behavior and explain how various behaviors promote or hinder cooperation
D.4.6 Identify the economic roles of various institutions, including households,
businesses, and government
Essential Question: What were the most significant events and people of the Civil
War?
Learner Outcomes – Students Will Be Able To:
Describe the key differences between the North and South
Analyze why slaves became an important human resource for the South
Compare conflicting attitudes that led to increased tension as people moved west
Summarize the way enslaved Africans were treated and how they helped one
another
Evaluate the effectiveness of the Underground Railroad
Compare and contrast the diverse views of Americans on the spread of slavery,
and analyze the effect of these views on the elections of 1860 and the events
that followed it
Evaluate the choices facing leaders of the union and the Confederacy in 1861,
and discuss the consequences of the leaders decisions
Summarize the choices one had to make in deciding which side to support in the
Civil War
Describe Lincolns views on writing an order to free the slaves, analyze his
reasons
Summarize the Emancipation Proclamation
Evaluate the role of Africans fighting for the Union
Summarize the key points of Lincolns Gettysburg Address
Analyze the reason Lee Surrendered
Describe the assassination of President Lincoln
Describe how free Africans rebuilt their lives – freedman’s Bureau
Evaluate the successes and failures of reconstruction
Procedure:
Phase 1
1. Introduction: Print the following paragraphs without the underlined words. Place
the underlined words in a word bank at the top of the worksheet:
As slavery continued in the South, more and more people tried to escape by running
away. After Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, Southern states seceded
from the Union.
During the Civil War thousands of people in both the North and the South joined the war
effort. The war dragged on for four long years, destroying property and lives on both
sides. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate forces to Union General Ulysses S.
Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in 1865.
During Reconstruction the Freedman’s Bureau opened schools for former slaves. After
the war, life was difficult for former slaves, even though they were now free. Many tried
to build new lives as sharecroppers.
2. Break students into pairs and hand out the worksheets. Students will use their
textbooks to figure out which words go where in the blank spaces to complete the
paragraphs.
3. Call on pairs to read particular paragraphs. Discuss the historical context of each
paragraph afterwards.
4. Staying in pairs, have students work with their partners to draw a map of the
United States at the time of the Civil War. Use different colors for the states of
the Union and the states of the Confederacy. Write the date on which each
Southern state seceded. Draw diagonal lines on the border states. Label the
capitals of the North and the South and the major battle sites. Use your map to
tell your classmates about one event of the Civil War.
Phase 2
1. Choose someone you admire from the Civil War as the subject of a poster for a
display called “Heroes of the Civil War. “ Work together to find or draw a picture
of the person or a picture of a scene showing the person in action. Then add
words of phrases around the picture that tell what made that person a hero.
Present your poster to the class.
Phase 3 – Culminating Activity
1. Tell students: “A time capsule is a sealed container that holds articles and/or
written documents that are representative of specific time period and place. A
time capsule is buried and preserved by people in one time period for people in a
future age. On November 19th, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln went to
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate the national cemetery for the soldiers who
had died during the Battle of Gettysburg. A special memorial was built to honor
the individuals who had fought so bravely in the battle. A time capsule was
buried near that memorial.”
2. Ask students why we construct memorials and monuments. Call on students for
responses.
3. Tell students: “Your task is to imagine that you are in charge of the time capsule.
As the person in charge, you must do two things: Select six items that will go
into the time capsule, and explain why you have chosen each item.”
4. These items should be representative of the time period of the Civil War. They
should be items that would help someone in today’s world better understand the
events of the Civil War and the men and women who were alive at that time.
Additional Resources to Be Used For Research:
Baicker, Karen. Primary Sources For the Interactive Whiteboard. New York: Scholastic,
2011. Print
Barker, Brett. Exploring Civil War Wisconsin. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society
Press, 200. Print.
Boehm, Richard G., Claudia Hoone, and Thomas M. McGowan. Social Studies: United
States. Vol. 2. N.p.: Harcourt Brace and Co, 2000. 2 vols. Print.
Schultz, . The Civil War 1861-1865. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2011. <Schultz-Civil
War.notebook>.
Marsh, M. Civil War Introduction. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2011.
<ECU4001_MarshM.notebook>.
Closure: Share time capsules as a class.
Assessment: Multiple-choice quiz
Choose the best answer.
1. Why was slavery important in the Southern states?
A) Slaves were needed to produce cotton and other crops.
B) Southern factories depended on slave labor.
C) Slaves were the only people who could read and write.
D) Slaves were needed to build the railroad.
2. People living in the slave communities helped each other cope with the
hardships by
A) Making sure they were paid for their work.
B) Electing leaders to represent them.
C) Writing rules for all slaves to follow.
D) Keeping their traditions alive
3. The Underground Railroad was important because it
A) Brought Northern products to the Southern states.
B) Helped slaves escape from the South
C) Carried Southern cotton to the Northern textile mills.
4. Before the Civil War most free Africans
A) Lived on Southern plantations.
B) Could vote and run for office.
C) Faced difficulties in making a living.
D) Moved to the western frontier states.
5. Which of the following statements best describes Abraham Lincoln’s view on
slavery before he became President?
A) He wanted to end slavery in the South.
B) He believed the framers of the Constitution wanted slavery to continue.
C) He was against the spread of slavery to new states.
D) He wanted to send runaway slaves back to the Southern states.
6. Those states that remained in the Union after the Civil War started and that
still allowed slavery were called:
A) Slave states
B) Rebel states
C) Confederate states
D) Border states
7. After the Civil War, the Freedman’s Bureau was established to
A) Return plantations to their former owners.
B) Give African-Americans the right to vote.
C) Encourage African-Americans to move north.
D) Build schools and educate former slaves.
8. Many members of Congress wanted to change President Johnson plan for
Reconstruction because
A) They wanted to be more fair to the Southern states that Johnson had
been.
B) They agreed with the black codes.
C) Johnson had been impeached.
D) Former slaves in some Southern states were being treated harshly.
9. Protesting Slavery
Describe three methods used by enslaved people to protest slavery.
Answers for the multiple choice questions.
1. A
2. D
3. B 4. C
5. C
6. D
7. D
8. D
Possible answers for question 9
a. They secretly damaged the plantation by breaking tools, leaving gates open,
letting boats drift away, and hiding household goods.
b. They acted as if they did not understand what they had been told and said
they would try to do better.
c. They participated in rebellions.