Lesson #2 -- Civil War
Lesson Objective
In order for me to see that the students understand what they have learned, they will answer questions throughout the lesson, along with creating a venn diagram. The venn diagram will be comparing and contrasting black life before and after emancipation. The students will also be completing a few new pages in their books. These pages will deal with questions about slavery and voting.
I.               Instructional Sequence (page 1)
A.     Focusing Activity
    1.Review material from previous lesson, using books students made.
        a.       What did we talk about last week?
               Student Response: the death of Lincoln
        b.      What do you remember about how Lincoln was killed?
               Student Response: He was shot by John Wilkes Booth in a theatre.
        c.       Why do we study Lincoln?
               Student Response: He was a president and he helped to end slavery.
        d.      What were the different kinds of jobs that Lincoln had?
              Student Response: lawyer, surveyor, politician, president
                     
B.     Purpose
I will tell the students, “The point of teaching this lesson about slavery and the changes after the civil war is so you have a clear understanding of exactly what life was like during that time. It is important that we see and understand the differences between what we could and could not do during that time and what we can and cannot do in present day. Also, this helps us to learn what we should value being able to do now, because it might be something that we couldn’t do in the past.”

C.     Instruction
I will begin the lesson by introducing what we will be going over. I will tell the students, “Today, we are going to learn about what changes our country went through after the Civil War. One of the big things that happened was slavery being over.” Then I will give students a chance to tell me what they already know about slavery from both prior knowledge and our skit. I will ask them, “Do you remember what year the Civil War ended? (1865)” I will also ask them if they remember what the term “abolished” means from the previous lesson (ended). Once they know what that means, I will ask, “Do you have any ideas of what our country was like after slavery had been abolished?” (People had more freedom and could do whatever they wanted; they didn’t have to be ordered around anymore.) Then I will ask the students, “Do you think slavery was fair? Why or why not?” (No, because people did not have the right to make their own decisions.) Then I will explain to the students what an amendment is. I will say, “The U.S. got some new rules after the war was over. These rules are called amendments and the 13th rule was the one that said slavery wasn’t allowed. You are going to learn about that amendment and a few others in more detail when Ms. Connors teaches you.” Now, I will read a portion of A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass to the students. I will tell them, “Now I am going to read you guys a story about a man who was a slave and a good friend of Mr. Lincoln. His name is Frederick Douglass.” I will read the first five pages and then ask the students, “After hearing a little about Frederick’s life, what are some different things that you think slaves had to do?” (Work in the sun and cold with little to no clothes, run errands, took care of younger children) I would also ask them, “What would happen if a slave didn’t obey the rules?” (They would get hit.) I would read the next four pages and then ask the students, “How did Frederick learn to read? Did his slave owners teach him?” (No, he learned from white boys on the street) After they answered that, I would ask “How did Frederick finally get his owner to stop hitting him?” (He fought back.) I would read 4 more pages after this and then explain to the students Frederick’s relationship with Lincoln and what he did for slavery. “Frederick Douglass wrote books and newspapers, his house was a safe place for slaves to come on their way to freedom, and he gave many speeches. He knew Mr. Lincoln because he had told him that it wasn’t fair for black soldiers to be paid less than white soldiers. When Lincoln was elected president again, Frederick got to shake his hand.” Once we are done reading that passage (pg. 1-13), then I will ask the students, “What do you think a day in the life of Frederick Douglass would have been like?” (Really hard because we would have to work for a long time and be told what to do.) I will get a response from each of the students and then move on. Next, I will teach them about voting. I will ask if they know anything about it. “Do you know what it means to vote?” (To give your opinion on something.) I will also ask them, “From our skit, do you remember who could vote and who couldn’t after the Civil War was over? Can everyone vote now?” (Men could, women couldn’t; Everyone who is older than 18 can vote now.) Finally, I will invite students to look at the Life magazine, “The Harsh Reality of Freedom”. Inside there is a picture of a slave family. I will show this to the students and say, “Tell me anything that you can think of about this picture.” (There’s a family; they’re slaves; they might live in that place behind them; they might get separated; they look kind of sad.)

D. Response Activity
Once we are done with the lesson, I will pass out venn diagrams to the students. I will have my own to hang up. I will ask the students, “anyone ever used a venn diagram before? (yes) What is it? (It’s something that tells things that are the same and different.)” I will then tell the students, “We are going to be comparing and contrasting life for the blacks before slavery ended and freedom.” We will think of ideas as a group, but each student will have their own venn diagram to copy down our ideas. Once we’ve done this, I will hand out two new pages for their books.
 
Teacher Examples:
      Slavery
Men could vote, but women still couldn’t.
Slaves and animals picked the crops for farmers.
It was still okay to buy and sell people.
 Black children were considered slaves no matter what age they were. They also didn’t go to school; they learned from real life.
 
       Both
 People still live on farms today just as they did back in times of slavery.
Everyone still has their own opinions.
       Present
 All people over 18 years old can vote.
Farmers pick their own crops or use machines.
You are no longer allowed to buy and/or sell people in America .
Children aren’t able to start working until they’re fifteen and they attend school on a regular basis.
 

                                                                                                                                                                    
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