Brothers
Against
Brothers
A WebQuest
for 11th Grade on the Civil War
Designed by:
Tabitha
Horton
Travis
Robbins
John
Spencer
Scott
Strickler
NCSCS
Rational
Introduction | Task
| Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion | Credits
Click on the picture above for a battle
map.
Imagine
you are in America in the 1860s. The Civil War is beginning to become
a reality. You feel both scared and ready to fight for your cause.
For this WebQuest you are going to be put into the shoes of both Northern
and Southern soldiers and generals. You will be in the middle of
some of the greatest, and bloodiest, battles of the Civil War. Prepare
to pick up your gun and fight for your nation or your Confederacy.
As you travel through this WebQuest be ready to examine the different truths
and hardships for soldiers of both the North and the South. Look
into the past and see how it has shaped our nation since this defining
moment in US history. As you navigate through the war you will visit
the major battles of the Civil War in different roles, one moment you may
be a soldier and the next a general!
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The Task
Through reading about
the main battles of the Civil War you will write journal entries
and letters describing the skirmish through the eyes of various people.
Students can choose to write as a black or white soldier from either the
northern or southern perspective, plantation/landowner, general, or president
Lincoln/Jefferson.
Battles:
Links:
American
Civil War.com
Civil
war Battle Summaries by Campaign
Civil
War Battles of 1861
Dakota
State University - The American Civil War
Civil
War Chronology
Civil
War Battles 1861-1865
Civil
War Battles by State
Civil
War - Archives and Articles
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The Process
After examing all of the links above write a journal article reflecting
each battle from a different viewpoint. Through the links allow yourself
to jump into the mind of different people during these great battles.
-
When writing the journal
entries each must be from a different perspective. Your options are
a northern soldier, southern soldier, northern commanding officer, southern
commanding officer, and a freed black soldier.
-
Students must write at least
two letters they must choose either President Lincoln/Jefferson Davis or
a Union general/Confederate general.
Guidelines for letters and
journals:
-
All letters must be hand-written
with blue or black ink.
-
Journals should be in the
perspective of the soldier. Include details of the battle and what
happened. These should only be about the battle and how it effected
you, other soldiers, and non-military people.
-
If you choose a general you
should write the letter to another general, wife, or the president for
which side you fight for. These letters should include details of
the battle, but most importantly they should have the cause and effects
of the battle. Describe how the outcome helped or hurt your side,
how many men were lost, what options are ahead of you, what battles before
this one put you in the position of this battle, or whatever information
you can find to show the importance of the battle.
-
If you write a letter as
a president you should write it to a general, the government, or the citizens.
Include details of the battle and cause and effect should be included within
the letter.
-
Remember, journals should
include the details of the battles and focus more on the individual soldier.
Letters should also include details of the battles but focus mostly on
the cause and effect of the particular battle.
There will be a class discusion
at the end of the unit once all of the letters and journal entries have
been turned in. In this discusion individual roles will be assigned
by placing students in the role of anyone from president to soldier.
There will be a main theme to discuss and students will be expected to
participate and make relevent to what was covered and discovered in class.
Roles will be given at least a week before the discusion. During
this time students may research their role and gather material for the
discusion.
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Evaluation
All of the evaluation
listed below is for individuals and not groups.
|
Beginning
1 |
Developing
2 |
Accomplished
3 |
Exemplary
4 |
Score |
Journal entries
|
Journal entries
are less than one page long, written in pencil, no organization, no detail,
and have many grammatical errors.
|
Journal entries
are a page long, pen is used, little organization, little detail, and few
grammatical errors.
|
Journal entries
are a page or more long, pen is used, is organized, detailed, and no grammatical
errors.
|
Journal entries
are as long as needed, pen is used, great organization, no grammatical
errors, very detailed, and it is obvious that the writer has taken creative
liberties with the subject.
|
|
Letters
|
Letter has many
grammatical errors, sloppy writing style, paper is messy, non flowing
and no detail present.
|
Letter has several
grammatical errors, messy writing style, non flowing and few details.
|
Letters have
few grammatical errors, neat writing style, flows well and has some detail.
|
Letters have
no grammatical errors, wonderful writing style, flows incredibly, and is
very detailed.
|
|
Closing Discussion
|
Does not particpate
or contribute to the discussion.
|
Makes only one
statement, shows some understanding of the material, and little interest.
|
Makes several
statements, shows understanding of the material, and a good interest.
|
Makes several
statements and shows creativity and a strong understanding of the material.
|
|
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Conclusion
By
completing this webquest you should have a clear understanding of the battles
and consequences of the Civil War. Different perspectives of the
war should be understood. How do you feel about the Civil War,
would you have gone to war? Who would you want to be a soldier, general,
president, or citizen? Hopefully you be able to make a decision on
who you would want to be.
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Credits &
References
http://americancivilwar.com/
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/bycampgn.htm
http://users.aol.com/dlharvey/1861bat.htm
http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/battles.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcivilwarC.htm
http://www.us-civilwar.com/battles.htm
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/index.html
http://www.swcivilwar.com/cw_articles.html
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Last updated
on August 15, 1999. Based on
a template from The
WebQuest Page
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