Name ____________________________________ Name ________________________________
Each of you is required to complete project A-1 on your own. You and a partner are to choose one task from each of the B and C complexity levels on the menu board for a total
of three projects. Directions and rubrics are provided on Angel for each of the performance tasks. At the end of the unit, circle the three projects you chose to complete, and
submit this page with the names of you and your partner along with your finished products.
Civil War Menu Board
Low Complexity Items - A
Moderate Complexity Items - B
High Complexity Items - C
A-1
B-1
C-1
Written Document Analysis:
Complete the Document Based Questions Activity
5: The Civil War which is in your U. S. History
Document Based Activities workbook on pages 3744.
Travel Brochure:
Create a tri-fold travel brochure for a present day
Civil War Battlefield. You may use Publisher or
design it by hand. Include the items which are
listed on the Things to Include in a Travel
PowerPoint/Prezi:
Create a slideshow presentation on a Civil War
topic. The presentation must include a minimum
of 7 slides.
Possible topics:
Civil War People – Abraham Lincoln; Jefferson
Davis; Robert E. Lee; Frederick Douglass; Stonewall
Jackson; William T. Sherman; General Ulysses S.
Grant; Clara Barton
Other Topics – New weapons of the Civil War;
Women and the Civil War; African Americans in
the Civil War; Florida during the Civil War
Brochure handout which is posted on
Angel.
B-2
C-2
Civil War Newspaper:
For this assignment you and your partner will
write as if you were reporters during the Civil
War. First, you have to decide if you will be
writing from the perspective of a Southerner
or a Northerner. Use the Publisher Civil War
Newspaper template which is posted on Angel.
Civil War RAFT Writing Assignment:
You will be choosing a RAFT assignment from the
nine choices offered on the RAFT sheet which is
posted on Angel. Your goal is to portray your role
accurately using the given format. You will need to
research the character and the setting, and be
creative.
B-1
Things to Include in a Travel Brochure
First choose a specific Civil War Battlefield which currently has a National or State Park or Historic Site associated with it.

Brief summary of the battle that took place there including the names of the commanders, number of casualties, and the
victor.

Admission

Location, including a map

Nearest major airport

Geography of the area

Major city or cities in the area and well-known places one could visit while there
 Actual Hotels in the Area

Nearby Historic Sites and Landmarks

Recreation and Outdoor Activities Nearby—parks, sports, water

Entertainment

Climate and overall weather conditions

Transportation

Arts and Culture, including museums, theaters, places to visit

Food that the area is known for

Many Pictures/Graphics with captions

Additional Information is welcome
B-1
Travel Brochure Rubric
4
3
2
1
Organization
The brochure has
excellent formatting
and very well
organized
information.
The brochure has
appropriate
formatting and wellorganized
information.
The brochure has
some organized
information with
random formatting.
The brochure's format
and organization of
material are confusing
to the reader.
Ideas
The brochure
communicates
relevant information
appropriately and
effectively to the
intended audience.
The brochure
communicates
relevant information
appropriately to the
intended audience.
The brochure
communicates
irrelevant information,
or communicates
inappropriately to the
intended audience.
The brochure
communicates
irrelevant information,
and communicates
inappropriately to the
intended audience.
Conventions
All of the writing is
done in complete
sentences.
Most of the writing is
done in complete
sentences.
Some of the writing is
done in complete
sentences.
Most of the writing is
not done in complete
sentences.
Capitalization and
punctuation are
correct throughout
the brochure.
Most of the
capitalization and
punctuation are
correct throughout
the brochure.
Some of the
capitalization and
punctuation are
correct throughout
the brochure.
Most of the
capitalization and
punctuation are not
correct throughout
the brochure.
The graphics go well
with the text, and there
is a good mix of text
and graphics.
The graphics go well
with the text, but
there are so many
that they distract
from the text.
The graphics go well
with the text, but
there are too few.
The graphics do not go
with the accompanying
text or appear to be
randomly chosen.
Graphics
B-2 Civil War Newspaper
In this assignment you will write as if you were a reporter during the War. First, you have to decide if you will be writing from the perspective of a
Southerner or a Northerner. Then you will choose a real city and give your newspaper a name such as the “Gettysburg Gazette”. Your newspaper
will contain four articles. Please include at least one article about a Civil War battle which has recently occurred. Your paper should have a date
between 1860-1865. You need to write the articles as if the events you described happened just a few days ago. Each article should be a minimum
of 100 words.
The Civil War Newspaper rubric will be used to determine your grade. Describe the events in detail and include many real facts about the events
which you are writing. The thoroughness of your research will be evident. Each article should have a headline. Grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors will result in a loss of points for each individual article.
There should be no excess white space in your newspaper. You may use the Publisher template which is posted on Angel. All pictures, political
cartoons, advertisements, etc. must be relevant to the time period.
You must use 2 resources other than your textbook for the newspaper. Internet sources are acceptable as long as they come from reputable
academic sites and are properly cited. (Do not cite Wikipedia as a source.) List your resources on an additional works cited page. Failure to attach
a works cited page will result in the loss of one letter grade.
THE ARTICLES MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE TEXT INTO YOUR WORK WITHOUT GIVING PROPER CREDIT TO THE
AUTHOR.
Rubric: Civil War Newspaper Project
You and your partner will create a Civil War era newspaper. You should use the Publisher template which is posted on Angel. You will be graded on the ability to follow directions, content of the articles, creativity,
presentation, and overall neatness.
Overall newspaper
Poor
1 pts
News Articles Content
20 %
Fair
2 pts
Poor
The articles were not historically accurate
and/or did not answer the 5W questions;
missing an article
News Articles Length/Grammar
10 %
Photos/Captions
10 % One photo with a caption for EACH
article
Title/Headlines and Bylines
10 % For EACH article
The articles were historically accurate,
and answered all of the 5W/1H
questions.
Excellent
The articles were historically accurate,
answered all of the 5W/1H questions, and
exceeded expectations.
Good
Excellent
The articles have only one paragraph and
are poorly written.
The articles were two or three paragraphs
long, contained spelling/grammar errors
and writing was just fair.
The articles have at least three paragraphs
but contained a few spelling/grammar
errors. Writing was good.
The articles have at least three paragraphs
or more, contained less than two
spelling/grammar errors, and writing was
excellent.
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
No photos or captions were included.
Poor
Poor
Poor
The newspaper shows little creativity.
Want Ads
5 % Advertisements, Classifieds, etc.
The articles contained some historically
accurate facts and answered most of the
5W questions.
Good
Fair
Newspaper appears thrown together
and/or not laid out logically with white
spaces that articles, etc. could fit into
Creativity
5%
Fair
Excellent
4 pts
Poor
No title; No headlines and/or bylines were
included
Presentation/Neatness
10 %
Good
3 pts
Poor
No extras were included
At least one photo/caption related to an
article was included.
Fair
Missing an element: Title and/or
headlines and/or bylines
Fair
Newspaper is not laid out properly with
the correct amount of columns, articles,
photos, headlines, and bylines.
Fair
The newspaper shows some creativity.
Fair
At least one extra was included but was
not done properly.
Four photos/captions related to articles
were included.
Good
Title, headlines, and bylines were included
that related to the accompanying article.
Good
Newspaper is neatly laid out with correct
amount of columns, articles, photos,
headlines, and bylines aligned properly
with some empty spaces.
Good
The newspaper shows a significant
amount of creativity.
Good
At least one extra was included. It was
relevant and done well.
More than four photos/captions related
to articles were included.
Excellent
Exceptional title, headlines, and bylines
were included that related to the
accompanying article.
Excellent
Newspaper is neatly laid out with
columns, articles, photos, headlines, and
bylines aligned properly with NO spaces.
Excellent
The newspaper has exceeded
expectations for creativity.
Excellent
More than one extra was included. They
were relevant and exceeded
expectations.
C-1 PowerPoint / Prezi
Objective:
Students will create and give a presentation using a PowerPoint or Prezi slideshow centered upon a Civil War topic.
Presentation Requirements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
An introduction
A timeline or chronological breakdown of the topic
Visuals related to the topic (maps, photographs, cartoons, charts, etc.)
Interesting and relevant information related to the topic
Conclusion stating the consequences, results, or significance of the topic
Organization
Content
Knowledge
Graphics
Oral Presentation
/Eye Contact
Exemplary
Information
presented in
logical,
interesting
sequence
Demonstrates full
knowledge with
clear
explanations and
elaborations
Explain and
reinforce screen
text and
presentation
Accomplished
Information in
logical sequence
Developing
Difficult to follow
presentation-student jumps
around
At ease with
content but does
not elaborate
Uncomfortable
with information
and/or unclear
explanations
Relate to text and
presentation
Maintains eye
contact and
speaks in a clear
voice
Maintains eye
contact most of
the time speaks
in a mostly clear
voice
Occasionally uses
graphics that
rarely support
text and
presentation
Occasionally uses
eye contact,
mostly reading
slides, audience
members have
difficulty hearing
Beginning
Cannot
understand
presentation-no sequence of
information
Does not have a
grasp of the
information.
Uses
superfluous
graphics or no
graphics
Reads, no eye
contact, and
speaks too
quietly
Other possible topics?

o
o
o
o






o
o
o
o
o
o
Women in the war:
Nurses
Spies
Soldiers
On the home front
African Americans in the war
Life in the base camps – soldiers’ experiences
Men on the Home Front – the civilian
experience
Technology (choose a specific new
technology):
Ironclads
Rifles/cannons
Telegraph
Railroads
Florida During the Civil War
Civil War Prison Camps
C-2 Civil War RAFT Writing Assignment
Role
Audience
Format
Topic/Title
Jefferson Davis
Abraham Lincoln
Formal Letter(s)
“Let’s Find and End to this War”
Abraham Lincoln
Jefferson Davis
Formal Letter(s)
“Let’s Find an End to this War”
Robert E. Lee
His Wife
Friendly Letter(s)
“Events at Antietam”
Union Soldier
His Children
Friendly Letter(s)
“My Thoughts on the Civil War”
Confederate Soldier
His Mother
Friendly Letter(s)
“My Thoughts on the Civil War”
Robert E. Lee’s Horse
Robert E. Lee
Reflective Journal
“Can You Believe What We Have
Seen”
Atlanta
General William T.
Sherman
Persuasive Paper
“Please Change Your Mind”
Robert E. Lee
Jefferson Davis
Formal Letter(s)
“My Report of Events at
Gettysburg”
Prisoner of War at
Andersonville
Father
Friendly Letter(s)
“Why I Can’t Sleep at Night?”
From the list above, choose a row for your writing assignment. Your goal is to portray your role accurately using the given format. You will need to be creative.
You must stay in character, even if your role’s point-of-view is different from your own. You are not writing as an 8th grader but as a character from history.
Remember to use language appropriate to the time period and utilize proper conventions, voice, and creativity. You must perform research to confirm that the
details in your writing are actual and factual.
Requirements
You should contain quality information in your writing.
1. As you write, include and underline at least 10 facts found in your research.
2. Utilize correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
3. Type, double spaced.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Include a works cited page. List articles, book, websites, etc. used for information, illustrations, maps, or pictures.
Show your creativity in telling your story.
Should be at least a page long of text (size 12 font, 1” margins)
You Might Also Include-Maps, Pictures, Quotations, Statistics
If you are writing a friendly letter, here are some things to consider—
Where did you sleep? What did you eat? What were your feelings throughout your experiences? What role did you play specifically? Details of what you saw
using figurative language. In what battles did you participate? What were the outcomes of the battles you participated in? What were your weapons? What
was your uniform? Who were your commanders/leaders?
C-2 RAFT Writing Assignment
Role
Audience
Format
Topic
Imagine that you are a former
slave during the Reconstruction
era.
You are writing to Thaddeus
Stevens, who was one of the
leaders of the Radical Republicans
in Congress at the time.
You will write a letter to Mr.
Stevens.
You want to tell Mr. Stevens
about how your life has changed
now that you are no longer a
slave, and thank him for the
positive impact he and the Radical
Republicans have had.
Your writing should:
 Portray your role accurately and use the given format
 Include historical facts and information
that relate to the topic
 Be thoughtful and thorough and
show an understanding of the
content
 Be neatly written or typed
 Show creativity