The Process
Before your Journey, you will read a historical fiction book from the Book Club Booklist that is about the times surrounding the Civil War. You may want to choose a book that is similar to one of the identities listed below. While it is not mandatory to do so, it may give you greater detail and more insight into the daily life and identity that you are assuming.
Read the novel you chose from the Book Club Booklist during Silent Reading in class and during DEARTIME.
Complete the Historical Fiction Book Club Book Report you will find by clicking on that link.
You may want to review
the Book Report Rubric. This form will be used in
evaluating your Book Report.
Your report may
be hand-written or you may word process your report, using size 12 font and
single-spacing.
Share with others
who have read the same novel some of your individual reflections and reactions
to the book.
Next, you will choose an identity
from those listed below. You will take on the role of this person and experience
the Civil War through his or her eyes. The identities are as follows:
African American Slave- You are 25 years old, have grown up and worked on a North Carolina plantation for a long as you can remember, your mother, father, and sister are still at home working on the plantation
African American Freeman- You are 23 years old living in Massachusetts, you own a small plot of land, you have a wife and an infant son
Confederate Soldier- You are 20 years old, believe in the Southern rights, you've enlisted with your 2 other brothers, you became engaged two months before you enlisted
Union Soldier- You have enlisted with your father, believe strongly in the Union cause, and have a sister and mother at home, you would like to get a higher education beginning in the fall
Southern Belle- You are 19 years old,- your father, brothers, and fiancé have left for the war, your mother and yourself are left to manage the large plantation
Northern Woman- You are 20 years old, live in New York and married a man from the South, whose entire extended family still lives there
Female Abolitionist- You are 38 years old, own farmland in Southern Ohio, and secretly help slaves escape to the North
During the Journey,
you will keep as personal journey playing the role of the identity that
you have chosen. You will divide into teams of 6 or less with those of like
identities. Each of you must work on your own personal journal, but
you may work together to search and share information. You will create your
personal journal using the following guidelines:
Form teams of 6 or less with those of like identities.
Run off and complete the Information Search Chart, using a minimum of 5 web sites to complete the chart. Each section of your chart should have 3-5 different pieces of information. Click here for a list of Civil War Websites. There are many! Be selective!!
Create a journal that consists of at least 9 entries (three entries each of before, during, and after the war). Your journal may be computer generated, hand created, or a combination of both.
Your journal must include at least 5 photos. These photos should be inserted on your journal pages, not glued or taped.
Your journal should be eye appealing and loaded with details about your journey during these tumultuous times.
Click on the Personal Journal Rubric. These guidelines will be used to assess your journal.
After the Journey, you
will meet in newly formed group to report and share experiences of your
travels through the Civil War Gateway. Follow the steps below to complete
your post journey experiences.
Form new Gateway Groups for this portion of your activity. You will need to form groups with diverse identities this time. You may not be in a group with a classmate with the same identity. If there is an unequal amount of one identity then your guide (teacher, instructor) will make a placement for you.
Once your new group has formed, read your journals to the group.
Next, your group will create a 9-11 slide Power Point Presentation using the format of the Power Point storyboard. Click here for the Power Point Storyboard. This presentation will consist of an introductory or title slide, 1 slide from each person in your group sharing your perspectives on the war, a summary slide, and a reflections slide (input from the entire group). Your presentation will be assessed using the Power Point Rubric.
Your Gateway group will
present to the large group upon your safe return through the Gateway Tunnel.
