Download The student will explain the causes, major events, and

Sample Assessment Items
This is not meant to be printed off and given as a test…this document is to give you ideas
of how this standard might be assessed. Please use these as an example when you are
developing your own formative assessments. Remember formative assessment is to be
given throughout the teaching of a standard to help you guide your instruction based on
students needs. A good formative assessment should have a mix of multiple choice as
well as open ended.
SS5H1 The student will explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil
War.
a. Identify Uncle Tom’s Cabin and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, and explain how
each of these events was related to the Civil War.
b. Discuss how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased tensions between the
North and South.
c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign,
Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court House.
d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis,
and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
e. Describe the effects of war on the North and South.
Multiple Choice:
Your social studies teacher asked you to write a report about Harper’s Ferry. Which
question below would be the MOST IMPORTANT question to answer?
a. Who was John Brown?
b. Who invented the ferry?
c. What role did ferries play in the Civil War?
d. How did the Harper’s Ferry raid lead to the Civil War?
Answer: d
Why was slavery MOST important to plantation owners?
a. It provided cheap labor.
b. It supported the abolitionist movement.
c. It provided protection from Union soldiers.
d. It created a need for a public education system.
Answer: a
Which person below would have been MOST supportive of states’ rights?
a. A Union soldier
b. Jefferson Davis
c. Abraham Lincoln
d. A congressman from Pennsylvania
Answer: b
It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and ended Lee’s last attempt to invade the
North. Which battle was it?
a. Gettysburg
b. Fort Sumter
c. Appomattox
d. March to the Sea
Answer: a
What significant event happened at Appomattox Court House?
a. Sherman started his march to the sea.
b. Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address.
c. It was the site of the first battle of the Civil War.
d. General Lee surrendered to Grant, ending the Civil War.
Answer: d
Look at the map below, and answer the question that follows.
The map shows which of these?
a. Reconstruction
b. Sherman’s March to the Sea
c. Lee’s strategy to win the Civil War
d. Grant’s strategy to make Lee face him in a head-to-head battle
Answer: b
Look at the list of important battles in the Civil War. What is the correct order in which
they took place?
1. Gettysburg
2. Sherman’s March to the Sea
3. Fort Sumter
a. 1, 2, 3
b. 1, 3, 2
c. 2, 3, 1
d. 3, 1, 2
Answer: d
Which man does NOT belong in this list because he did NOT support the Union (north)
during the Civil war?
A
Abraham Lincoln
B
Ulysses S. Grant
C
William T. Sherman
D
Jefferson Davis
Answer: D
Who was the general who commanded the Confederate Army at both Antietam and
Gettysburg?
a. Robert E. Lee
b. Ulysses S. Grant
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. Abraham Lincoln
Answer: a
Jefferson Davis was to the Southern (Confederate) states as ______ ______ was to the
Northern (Union) states. Which name should go in the blanks?
A
Thomas Jackson
B
Robert Lee
C
Abraham Lincoln
D
William Sherman
Answer: C
What was the effect of the Civil War on the South?
a. Its economy suffered.
b. Its economy prospered.
c. Industries and manufacturing grew.
d. The war had no effect on the South.
Answer: a
Read the list below and answer the question that follows.
 the economy prospered
 manufacturing and industries grew
 more jobs became available
What is the BEST heading for the list above?
a. Reasons the Civil War Ended
b. Causes for the Start of the Civil War
c. Effects of the Civil War on the South
d. Effects of the Civil War on the North
Answer: c
Open ended:
How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin affect the abolitionist movement?
Who was Harriet Beecher Stowe? What did she do to increase the debate over slavery?
How did the raid on Harpers Ferry influence the Civil War?
Why did increased tensions between the North and the South lead to war?
What did someone who supported states’ rights believe?
How did key battles (Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlantic Campaign, Sherman’s March
to the Sea, and Appomattox Courthouse) affect the outcome of the Civil War?
How did the leadership styles of the Confederate Army (Robert E. Lee, Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson) compare to the leadership styles of the Union Army (Ulysses S.
Grant)? (SS5H1d)
How did Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis compare as leaders?
How did the war affect the economies of the North and South differently?