[WebJunkie]

I would like to do something dynamic in history this year with the civil war. I was thinking about having the students separate into two groups and put half the students in one half of the room and the other students on the other half of the room and call it the "north" side and the "south" side or the Blue vs. Grey. I'm not really sure what else to do with it but maybe have them do research and report on it or give some type of presentation. I'm trying to come up with something really great. Any good ideas on what they could do in their groups?

[musicbug]

1. Research and debate the idea of Secession.
2. Heros Blue and Gray- Have the class create a pack of " trading cards" of famous people both Northern and South. A picture on the front and 2 paragraphs or 5-7 facts about the person on the back.
3. News reports on major battles from both points of view.
I hope this helps.

[4strong]

I divided my class last year as you suggest. I used If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War; each student was assigned a question/answer to rewrite in own words as if they lived at that time. We performed as Readers Theater for one of the other classes.

Tape the "answer" on a blue or gray piece of construction paper. Have students stand on opposite sides of the room.

The best reader stood in the middle of the room and asked the questions. We alternated north and south answers for each question we used.

Students loved it.....and learned :-)

[WebJunkie]

I was thinking they could divide in half for this- half the class be north and the other half be south. Then they will bring in a blue tshirt and a grey tshirt and that will be their uniform. I like the idea of the trading cards- that would be good to do.

I'm going to give them jobs to do within their army:
cartographers- map any and all territory that is union territory or free slave states; they need to draw railroad lines, rivers, etc... famous battlesites to be marked here

reporters- write news articles for the newspaper about famous battles, famous people, facts and opinion sections, advertisements for products, mathew brady photographs- a little write up on him-

Seamstress- dress up 2 soldiers in a confederate and a yankee uniform using a wooden spoon and construction paper

Musicians- find samples of civil war music or poetry to share and interpret

Artists- Make the Flag for the Union or Confederacy; find a picture of flags and replicate it using art materials;

Cookie- cook up some civil war recipes (hardtack)
events coordinator- find ways to break up boredom and demonstrate

Military Strategist- reconstruct a dioramma of Bull Run

[kt]

Inviting a Civil War re-enactment group for a 1/2 day demonstration? We did this one year complete with a cannon shot - a kid pulled the cord. He was an essay contest winner. Also, we did a paper wad war. I gave the north more ammunition (paper), and the south better cover (mats to make forts, etc.). The kids really got the point.