Student Resources:

• Civil War Battles Project Assignment Sheets
  • Project assignment pages- 2 options

Teacher Resources:

• Civil War Battle Research Project Rubrics Teacher Resource
  • 1-point rubrics with student reflection and goal setting prompts

Facilitation Notes

• This lesson is designed to be used in addition to, or in place of, our Civil War Battles lesson plan. The lesson contains ample teacher notes to assist you in using this lesson as an extension building on knowledge gleaned from that lesson or replace that lesson all together. Use your time constraints and state standards to assess which is best for your situation.

Anticipate

• Before class, research your local area for battles that may have occurred locally, or in your state. Have this list available if needed to support student research during this lesson.
  • Teacher note: If there are no Civil War battles of note local to you, examine your state standards for battles to highlight.
• Rapid Research
  • Before class, prepare a collection surface for student ideas. A digital surface like Padlet or Google Docs can works well, or the classroom whiteboard or chart paper can also be prepared.
  • When class begins, instruct students to do a quick search to find Civil War battles that occurred near your school.
    • If local battles are not available, ask students to search for the top 5 most significant battles in a state of their choice.
  • Have students add the battles they find to the central classroom location you prepared. Take this opportunity to add any battles you would like students to consider and weed out options you would prefer students to not research through a think-aloud or class discussion.

Engage

• Tell students they will be working independently to learn more about a battle of their choice from the list you have collaborated to create. The purpose of their research is to inform the community about the battle they choose through an academic research poster, or polished guidebook brochure.
• Distribute the assignment sheet to students. There is an Option A that outlines the academic poster assignment, and an Option B that outlines the brochure assignment.

Scaffolding note: Choose one option for the class to complete or give students the option to choose.

• Walk through the options with students outlining the process and expectations for each project. This is a great time to answer questions and provide examples.

Explore

• Either assign the research project for homework or dedicate time to allow your students to research and create their product.
  • Scaffolding note: If your students struggle to complete projects according to directions or to submit their projects on time, consider assigning micro-deadlines. With each deadline, students submit a small part of their project for approval to ensure they are on the right track and working at a sustainable pace. Deadlines might occur at the end of each class period or over a few days leading up to the project due date.

Assess

Use a rubric to assess student posters and/or brochures. A 1-point rubric is provided in the teacher resources list to structure feedback and allow students to reflect on their performance through goal setting.

1. Research Poster

• • When students have completed and submitted their research posters, choose an authentic method for sharing their research such as:
    • Host a poster presentation and invite parents and community members like local historical societies and tourist bureaus to listen to student presentations.
    • Have 1 or 2 students share their research at the beginning of class for the next few days.
    • Display the posters in a school hallway with sticky notes and instructions for passing students and teachers to leave their thoughts, questions, and reflections on student research.

OR

1. Local Battle Brochure
   • When students have completed and submitted their battle brochures, choose an authentic method for sharing their research.
     • Cultivate community connections by submitting student brochures to local historical societies or tourist bureaus for distribution.
     • Partner with a local elementary school to share the brochures with a younger classroom of students. The younger students may be inspired by the work of your students creating their own brochures to share with your class for feedback.

Reflect & Extend

• Plan a field trip to the site of a local battle or use the Battlefield Trusts Virtual Field Trip to discover more about battles of the Civil War.