Student Resources:

• Surrender at Appomattox Essay
• Soldiers at Appomattox Handout

Teacher Resources:

• Modes of Reading Teacher Support

Engage

• Ask students to define the word “respect” in their own words.
• Then, ask them how respect can be shown in war?
  • If students need prompting, the following questions can provide guidance:
    • How does adhering to guidelines of conduct (rules of war) show respect?
    • How does allowing tending to the wounded show respect?
    • How does limiting damage to civilian property show respect?

Explore

• Read the Surrender at Appomattox Essay.
  • Our Modes of Reading Teacher Support Resource can help facilitate or break up the reading into more manageable chunks for students.
• Distribute a copy of the Soldiers at Appomattox Handout and instruct students to complete the sensory figure worksheet for either a Union or Confederate soldier. Direct students to describe and elaborate on what a Union or Confederate soldier at Appomattox would have seen, heard, tasted, smelled, and felt based on the reading. This can be literal or figurative, based on teacher discretion.
  • If students struggle with one of the senses, a good replacement is “think.” For example, if students struggle with the sense of “taste,” they could cross out the picture of a mouth and write “think” and elaborate on what a soldier might be thinking.
• Encourage students to work diligently on their descriptions. “I heard the war was over” is a basic entry that is accurate but not an appropriate elaboration.

Assess & Reflect

• After students have finished their sensory figures, ask the following questions:
  • How do your sensory elaborations demonstrate the respect that was shown at Appomattox?
  • In what ways do a Union or Confederate soldiers’ elaborations show respect in different ways?

Extend (Optional)

• As a research project, have students draw or use a photograph of a Union or Confederate soldier from Appomattox as the foundation for the sensory figure. The descriptions can be written around the drawing or photo to annotate the real experiences of this soldier.