Civil War and Reconstruction

Lesson 4: African-Americans in the Civil War

Time Estimated: days

Objectives:

Students will:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of important Civil War events and figures using both primary sources and lecture notes.
2. Examine contributions African-Americans made during the Civil War through military service
3. Successfully use primary sources to draw conclusions about historical events.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of military strategies of the Civil War and evaluate their success.

Materials:

• Laptops with wireless internet
• TV/VCR
• The Americans or a history text
• Class Notes 4 Handout
• Teacher Edition of Class Notes Handout
• National Archives copy of the Emancipation Proclamation
• The Price of Freedom
• Glory
• Glory Questions
• Directions for History Cards
• Rubric for History Cards

Strategies:

1. The students will warm up with a review of the previous day’s material. Write several questions from the previous lesson on the board and have students jot down the answers or call on students to answer the questions orally. To review the information thus far and introduce today’s lesson, ask the students which side seems to have the momentum up to this point.
2. Distribute Class notes 4 handout on the Emancipation Proclamation, Frederick Douglass, and the United States Colored Troops. Go over this with them, giving them answers to fill in where necessary (see teacher version). They may use their color coded map to follow the geography of the lesson.
3. Have the students take out their laptops, get online, and go to the following address to view the Emancipation Proclamation. Have the students get into pairs to read through this document and answer some questions on a Class Notes #4 Handout on the Emancipation Proclamation. When they are finished, go over the answers with the class and/or collect the worksheets.
4. Show students some clips from Glory. There are many good scenes to try:
   
   • the new enlistees meet in their tent for the first time
   • troops get their first paycheck and they begin to tear them up
   • soldiers have a campfire the night before they go into conflict
   • the 54th leads the assault on Ft. Wagner
   After the film, ask students if they have any questions or points that they would like to discuss about the film.
5. Distibute directions to students for their review homework activity. Students will be creating a packet of “history cards” similar to baseball cards. They will make 6 cards that feature a person, battle, or other significant event of the war. These cards could be due next class and used in a group setting to review for the upcoming test on this unit or they could just be collected on test day without usage by the students.

Differentiation:

If time permits, show the entire film. I find students are very interested in this movie. Use the Glory worksheet of questions if the entire film is shown.

Assessment:

Informal:

1. Call on students to answer review questions.
2. Walk around room to see how students are filling in their Civil War class notes.
3. Call on students to answer questions on the Gettysburg Address.
4. Call on students to compare and contrast military techniques between the Civil War and today.

Formal:

1. History cards will evaluated based on a rubric.