This literature unit is to be taught in conjunction with a nine-week, one marking period, American history unit on the Civil War. As students master the goals set forth in the curriculum in their history class, they will read text from a variety of genres in literature. The goal of their reading is to “meet twelve characters” from the Civil War, understand their characters’ daily lives and their characters’ knowledge and perspectives of the war, and learn of the era’s conflicts, defeats, and victories. Students will read as a whole class, in small groups, and individually. The culminating project of their readings will be a Civil War Scrapbook that will document their characters’ lives and summarize their readings. Each student will share his or her scrapbook with the class during the last week of the marking period. Grades will be based on student performance during work time, the quality of the scrapbook, and the excellence of the oral presentation. Students will work on this project in class for two or three periods each week; the remainder of the work will be completed as homework.
There is a wide range of sources from which students can select their reading material: picture books, chapter books, non-fiction books, magazines, news articles, primary documents, folktales, and poetry. Critical to the success of this unit is student choice. Students will have options for reading relative to ability level, interest, genre, and particular event (s) or topics of the war. In addition to these options, the text choices will be based on “meeting” the following twelve people:
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- 1 Confederate soldier
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- 1 Union soldier
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- 1 African American soldier
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- 2 people from the Underground Railroad (travelers, conductors, and station - masters)
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- 1 child
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- 1 slave
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- 1 medical person
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- 2 famous people of the time
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- 2 people of their choice
If a student has an alternative idea for one of these categories, he or she must first discuss with me the basis for the idea and show me the particular book in question. In most cases, student ideas will be approved.
