Tiffany Lowe
ID# 252224
TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY
LESSON 1
1. Civil War – Am. History 11th Grade – Regular
2. A. It is important for students to understand this because this particular time period led to
major changes to the economy, governmental structure, changes to the U.S. Constitution/state
constitutions, as well as the abolition of slavery. These changes will lead to continual changes
that are still affecting us today.
B. Identify and describe the causes of the Civil War. What was the “interwoven thread” within
these causes (slavery)? What were the effects of the battles of the Civil War on the regions in
which they occurred & the people? How was the economy affected during & after the Civil War?
In what ways does the emphasis on technology & innovations that occurred during the Civil War
that we still see occurring today? In what ways were African Americans finally allowed to engage
in participation in both state & federal governments? What type of resistance occurred with this
new engagement by African Americans in government? How were the lives of African Americans
changed after the emancipation proclamation is issued & after the 13th Amendment is passed to
the U.S. Constitution? Identify and describe the methods of racism towards African Americans
that would arise both in the South & the North after the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th
amendments to the U.S. Constitution. In what ways did state constitutions change now that the
Civil War was lost and African Americans were freed? What are some of the lasting impacts that
are still felt today from the battles of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery?
3. NGSSS-SS Benchmarks: SS.912.A.2.1, SS.912.A.2.2, SS.912.A.2.3, SS.912.A.2.4, SS.912.A.2.5,
SS.912.A.2.6.
4. Students will acquire key knowledge on Civil War causes & battles (individuals involved in &
impact of) and Reconstruction (individuals involved, changes to federal & state governments,
changes to economy). Students will be able to identify causes & effects of the Civil War, to
identify & describe the major battles of the Civil War, to understand the effects that each of
these battles had on the regions & the people during this time, and to describe the changes &
the impact of these changes on the lives of African Americans.
5. Materials needed: Textbook – The Americans (Florida Edition), computer with internet access,
television with DVD player so as to show films.
6. Steps for lessons: 1 – Have students read and outline Chapter 11 of The Americans (Florida
Edition) textbook. 2 – Lecture/discussion through power point – Use photos & maps to
emphasize all major points of Civil War. 3 – Show video segments of certain major battles from
the DVD entitled: History Channel presents: The Civil War. 4 – Group Project – Have students
create a newspaper featuring articles on selected topics pertaining to the battles and the
abolition of slavery (include the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation). 5 – Use web
lessons activities (i.e. Civil War Battles, Abolition of Slavery, & Freedom after Slavery), located on
weblessons.com, to re-emphasize facts on major battles (impact on the Civil War) and the
Tiffany Lowe
ID# 252224
abolition of slavery. Students will need to go online through the computer to the website to look
at the different sites assigned, answer the questions given that pertain to that specific website,
then answer a cumulative quiz on the whole assignment at the end. 6 – Give students a
comprehensive test on the Civil War.
7. Specific Activities: (See Number six)
8. Differentiated Instruction Strategies: ESOL (LEP) – Place these students with someone who
speaks their language (if possible) to assist in translating. Other learning strategies that will be
implemented (can be geared for SPED & gift students based on their accommodations): CRISS,
audio – lecture/discussion with power point, visual – videos & photos, kinesthetic – project.
9. Technology Integration: Power point, pictures, DVDs, computers, and internet websites (web
lessons).
10. Lesson closure: After students complete the test – revisit the questions verbally with an open
discussion. During discussion help students to relate the impact of what occurred during the
Civil War to today (use different events in our generation that the students may be aware of)