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Making History Relevant Using Primary Sources

Lesson Author
Sash, Debra
Course(s)
American History
Subject(s)
Civil War
Grade Level(s)
11
Lesson Abstract
Through this lesson students will be able to make a more personal connection to history, they will come to understand the deep wounds that resulted from the conflict, and they will be able to discern the lasting effects of the conflict.
Description

Students will be using primary sources for this assignment in the form of letters written by soldiers from both sides of the conflict

Rationale (why are you doing this?)

Through this lesson students will be able to make a more personal connection to history, they will come to understand the deep wounds that resulted from the conflict, and they will be able to discern the lasting effects of the conflict.

Lesson Objectives - the student will
  • Describe the correspondence of the common soldier from the Ozarks during the Civil War
  • Compare the correspondence of soldiers from both sides of the conflict.
  • Evaluate own attitude toward the conflict.
District, state, or national performance and knowledge standards/goals/skills met
  • 3aZ,ss3,1.6,1.10 Missouri history as it relates to major developments of United States history
  • 32aY, ss3, 1.9, 1.10 Understanding cultural change
  • 5D, ss5,1.6 Relationships within places
  • 7A,ss7,1.7,1.5,Identify, select, use, analyze and create appropriate resources for social science inquiry
Primary sources needed (document, photograph, artifact, diary or letter, audio or visual recording, etc.) needed
  • Students will use copies of authentic letters written by soldiers during the Civil War obtained from the website ozarkscivilwar.org, the Miller County Museum, or other reliable sources
Fully describe the activity or assignment in detail. What will both the teacher and the students do?

Teacher will give students background information about the Civil War in Missouri as part of the larger Civil War unit.

Teacher will explain the assignment as follows: Students will either visit the Miller County Museum, or the Community and Conflict website, and obtain a copy of a letter written by a Civil War soldier from the area, or any reliable source. Students will be given a period of 3 days to obtain a copy of a letter. After obtaining the copy of the letter, the student will summarize the letter. On the fourth day students will be placed in groups of four, 2 students with letters from Confederate soldiers, and 2 students with letters from Union soldiers. Students will discuss the differences and similarities of the letters. Students will write a one page paper stating which side they would have fought for and give their reasons why.

Assessment: fully explain the assessment method in detail or create and attach a scoring guide
  • Students will be graded for the completion of each part of the assignment as well as participation in the group discussion.