LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Learn more

Related pages

  • Exploring first person female narratives related to Sherman's march to the sea: This lesson plan uses first person narratives from the Documenting the American South collection to demonstrate differences in perspective related to historical events, in this case, Sherman's march to the sea. It encourages students to compare the views of two southern ladies with that of a Union soldier.
  • Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity four: In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate a primary source letter from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing. Students will investigate the influence of technology, and its lack, on the tobacco bag stringers. They will do a role play/debate in which they will assume the roles of owners of companies and other people that were involved in the issue.
  • Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity three: In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate primary source letters from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing.

Related topics

Help

Please read our disclaimer for lesson plans.

Legal

The text of this page is copyright ©2008. See terms of use. Images and other media may be licensed separately; see captions for more information and read the fine print.

Learning outcomes

Students will learn about the arguments of both the southern and northern positions preceding the Civil War.

Students will develop an understanding of point-of-view and bias found in primary source documents.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 day

Technology resources

computers with access to the internet

Pre-activities

Have students read a brief introduction to First Person Narrative of the American South: About this Project before beginning their search of the documents. This overview explains the purposes of the collection as well as its main themes.

Activities

  1. Have all students read Learn More about this title summary and Chapter 2 (p. 11-25) of Rose O’Neal Greenhow: Confederate Spy which provides information about her and her position on the Civil War. See relevant websites.
  2. Ask students to complete the “Perspectives on the Civil War”(See relevant websites) handout by first writing about Greenhow’s text and then adding information from other documents in the digital library.
  3. Allow students to browse the collection of First Person Narratives to find other sources that provide relevant perspectives on the Civil War. Be sure to have students use the “Collection of Electronic Texts”(See relevant websites) and discuss in advice strategies for identifying alternative primary sources and skimming them for relevant information. For instance, a northern perspective might present a very different opinion on the war, as well, documents set around the time of the war, 1860-1865 would most likely deal with the subject of causes of the war.

Assessment

Assess students based on completion of the “Perspectives on the Civil War” sheet which includes a section for students to write their own history of the beginning of the war.

Supplemental information

Comments

This lesson is designed for upper level students and could be used to help Advanced Placement students develop the skills necessary for completion of Document Based Questions.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grades 11–12 — United States History

  • Goal 3: Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction (1848-1877) - The learner will analyze the issues that led to the Civil War, the effects of the war, and the impact of Reconstruction on the nation.