North vs South, Brother against Brother

In order for students to understand the conflict that soldiers had to deal with when forced to fight between their family and friends, students will be broken up into Union and Confederate soldiers and asked to research and persuade others to fight for their cause. Students will not be given a choice as to what side that they will be on, so they may be fighting for a different reason then some of their friends.

Students will draw from a bucket their side and position in which they will be fighting for. Then, as a group, students will use the computers to research their positions to help them create their presentations. The student who was assigned as a general will be giving the speech in front of the class. The major and lieutenant will be using the computers to research information regarding their position. The corporals will create recruitment posters, and the citizens will find and locate what their flag looks like in order to draw it. The citizens will also be asked to research what their flags stand for.

As a follow up to their presentations, students will be writing a persuasive letter home to you as if they were a soldier fighting in the Civil War. They will be asked to describe to you their position as they try to persuade you to help fight for their cause. Look for their letters to be arriving in the mail in the next week or so. I hope you enjoy them!