Fact, Fiction or Folklore

As a class we will be traveling the stories of the Civil War through literature. First your child will learn what fact, fiction and folklore means. After a class read-aloud, discussion, and a quiz your child will be reading and excerpt of literature from the Civil War. After they read their passage they will decide which category it falls under, fact, fiction or folklore, and will then add a pamphlet about the passage they read to a class bulletin board. The bulletin board will allow the your child's peers to check out their work!

Letters of the Civil War

Hello again time travelers! For this lesson your child is going to be putting themselves into someone else’s shoes. The whole point of this lesson is for the students to use multiple perspectives when thinking about a situation in addition to using historical resources. Your child will read two REAL letters from the Civil War; one that was written by an occupant of the south and another that was written by a northern occupant. They may be reading a letter that was written by a slave, civilian, soldier, or a politician. As an accumulating activity each sixth grader will make a poster that compares/contrasts letters from the north and south and will present them at our mini-fair. We hope that this activity will help the students relate themselves to the people of our past as well as realize that those who were in conflict with each other often have some similarities. Be sure to ask your child about the letters that they have been reading!

Causing an Effect

This week's lesson focuses on cause and effect. We have used cause and effect in many areas in the classroom. It is only fitting that we discuss the causes and effects of the Civil War on us today. Students will be assigned an event to research. We will post all of our information on a wiki that can be read and edited from school or home. Students will then update information as they learn more about their "cause" and begin to discover its "effect". Some of the effects we find will have effected a time in our past, and many will still have an effect on us today. I encourage students to brush up on the cause and effect knowledge and get ready to apply it. I am looking forward to this lesson and I think we will all learn something new by the end!
~Miss Levine

The Big Picture

Hello Parents! This lesson will help your students define different branches of social studies. As a class we will define, civics, geography, history and economics. Then the class will be divided into four groups. Each group will travel through all four of the learning stations in a matter of four days. The students will use primary sources to learn about each area of the Civil War. The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about the different disciplines of social studies and learn the context of the Civil War; or to see the big picture. All of the students will be write in their journals as a means of reflection on each learning station. Be sure to check out what your child learned by taking some time to read their journal!

Take a Tour of the Civil War

The places in history are just as important as the events that took place there. Together, we will use programs such as Google Earth and googlemaps to discover the places that were important to the Civil War. These programs are wonderful ways to take a virtual tour of the places that were so influential back in the time of the Civil War. Each student will research ten places and identify them using googlemaps. After each student has had a chance to learn all about their ten places, they will present them to the rest of the class using both googlemaps and Google Earth. I am so excited to introduce these programs to you! Both of them can be used in many ways in the future and I hope this project inspires your own ideas for the further use of googlemaps and Google Earth! So join me on our virtual tour of the Civil War!
~Miss Levine

People and Events

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world - Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was just one of many people who was influential during the time of the Civil War. Together, we will learn about many people who have been important in the outcome of our country today. After learning about this individual, we will write an autobiography from the point of view of them. Our class will use the many resources available to us to find out as much as we can about these individuals. As a class, we will create a blog and post all our new information on the site for everyone to see. I cannot wait to work on this project together. The Internet will be a great asset to this project! Put on your thinking caps and get ready to become an individual from the Civil War period.

~Miss Levine

Time Traveling

Hello fellow time travelers! I am so excited to be traveling back to a time that shaped out countries history, the Civil War! Our very first lesson is going to be about time lines. During this lesson the students will learn the definition of timeline and construct their very own timeline. After the students have a good understanding of time lines they will work independently and as a class in order to create a classroom timeline. Each student will be assigned to a monumental event of the Civil War. They will research the event and create a part of the timeline that will include a picture, date and a brief overview of the event that will be part of a whole class timeline. In addition to this project, the students will eventually be making the timeline in an electronic format in order to post it on the blog. the purpose of teaching students about time lines is so that they can understand the sequence and context of an event. This lesson will engage your child into the history of our country.
Thanks for your time and interest!
Miss Beaver