>Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a
great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we can not hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here,
have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
-Abraham
Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" |
Civil War
This four week unit on the Civil War is Blue Cluster's first introduction to integrated learning. The background of this era is presented through Social Studies classes. It includes causes, leaders, major battles, important people and the lasting effect this war had on America.
Language Arts:
- Reading and discussion of the
novel Across Five Aprils
- Diary writing
- Cooperative learning groups
- Ongoing webbing of the Civil War
- Vocab exchange
- Enlistment posters
- Self-evalutations.
Math/Science:
- Graphing of casualties and population
- Comparisons with other statistical data and economics of the war
Social Studies:
- Civil War Journal
- Analysis of cause and effect
- Silent reading of supplementary
materials
- Class discussions
- Selections from the PBS series
on the Civil War
- Publishing "Reflections on the Civil War," a collection of student writings from a slave's point of view.
Objective:
- To increase students' comprehension and appreciation of the novel Across Five Aprils by presenting coordinating works of historical non-fiction,
including Boys War and Behind the Blue and Grey.
- To connect Social Studies learning across the curriculum.
Activities:
- Write a letter to President Lincoln convincing him to pardon any deserters include specific reasons.
- In cooperative literature groups, using Boys War and Behind the Blue and Grey, work on reading logs, ongoing vocabulary lists, fact sheets, reading responses, and perform self and group evaluations.
- Choose one major project from the following:
- Make a drawing (at least 18" tall) of both a Confederate and a Union soldier, labeling all garments
and equipment. Write a two page report on the uniforms and supplies carried by both sides.
- Write a two page report on weapons of the Civil War, including any pictures. Drawings are allowed.
- Create and illustrate a timeline of major events from 1860-1865.
- Research two recipes of the Civil War era and serve one to the class.
- Create a medical display including primitive techniques, medical instruments, and nursing care/hospitals.
- Scavenger Hunt: Students are broken into "armies" of five each. A leader is selected and a list of ten clues distributed. The students scatter throughout the school; the first group to return with ten correct answers wins. Prizes are awarded, and all groups share in refreshments.
Evaluation:
- Students evaluate what they liked and what they would change.
- Samples of students' writings, group work, and projects are evaluated by the teacher.
Civil War Links:
 Click on this icon to hear an upbeat rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
  Click on the picture to the left for a closer view of an autographed copy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and to the picture on the right for a glimpse of Union soldiers in the trenches, Petersburg, VA, 1864. (from the Encylopedia
Britannica archives)
 Click on the amazon.com graphic to browse other books on the Civil War.
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