Connection of Women in the Civil War to New York State Standards for ELA at the Intermediate Level

Literature Circles: Students will be reading one of five historical fiction books featuring a strong female character of the Civil War era. The four roles of Character Sketcher, Discussion Director, History Connector, and Passage Master will be used on a rotating basis within each Literature Circle group. Each student will rotate his/her role with each new reading assignment. There are twelve reading assignments for each book, allowing each student to perform each role three times. Groups are heterogeneous. The activity of Literature Circles involving the four stated roles addresses Standards 1, 2, and 4.

1. Listening and Reading

Students:

*compare and synthesize information from different sources (History Connector)

*use a wide variety of strategies for selecting, organizing, and categorizing information (all four roles)

*relate new information to prior knowledge and experience (all four roles).

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*develop information with appropriate supporting material, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material (Character Sketcher, History Connector, and Passage Master).

1. Listening and Reading

Students:

*identify significant literary elements (including metaphor, symbolism, foreshadowing, dialect, rhyme, meter, irony, climax) and use those elements to interpret the work (all four roles)

*recognize different levels of meaning (all four roles)

*read aloud with expression, conveying the meaning and mood of a work (Character Sketcher and Passage Master)

*evaluate literary merit based on an understanding of the genre and the literary elements (all four roles).

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*present responses to and interpretations of literature, making reference to the literary elements found in the text and connections with their personal knowledge and experience (all four roles)

*produce interpretations of literary works that identify different levels of meaning and comment on their significance and effect (all four roles)

*use standard English effectively (all four roles).

1. Listening and Speaking

Students:

*listen attentively to others and build on others’ ideas in conversations with peers and adults (all four roles)

*express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions (all four roles)

*use verbal and nonverbal skills to improve communication with others (all four roles).

2. Reading and Writing

Students:

*use appropriate language and style for the situation and the audience and take into account the ideas and interests expressed by the person receiving the message (all four roles).

Research of a Woman from Civil War Era: Regardless of which product choice a student chooses, all students will be required to do the same amount and type of research. This activity addresses Standard 1.

1. Listening and Reading

Students:

*interpret and analyze information from textbooks and nonfiction books for young adults, as well as reference materials, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, graphs, charts, diagrams, and electronic data

*compare and synthesize information from different sources

*use a wide variety of strategies for selecting, organizing, and categorizing information

*distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information and between fact and opinion

*relate new information to prior knowledge and experience

*understand and use the text features that make information accessible and usable, such as format, sequence, level of diction, and relevance of details.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*produce oral and written reports on topics related to all school subjects

*establish an authoritative stance on the subject and provide references to establish the validity and verifiability of the information presented

*organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific

*develop information with appropriate supporting materials, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material

*use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*establish an authoritative stance on the subject and provide references to establish the validity and verifiability of the information presented

*organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific

*develop information with appropriate supporting materials, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material

*use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*establish an authoritative stance on the subject and provide references to establish the validity and verifiability of the information presented

*organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific

*develop information with appropriate supporting materials, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material

*use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*establish an authoritative stance on the subject and provide references to establish the validity and verifiability of the information presented

*organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific

*develop information with appropriate supporting materials, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material

*use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts.

2. Reading and Writing:

Students:

*write social letters, cards, and electronic messages to friends, relatives, community acquaintances, and other electronic network users.

*use appropriate language and style for the situation and the audience and take into account the ideas and interests expressed by the person receiving the message

*read and discuss social communications and electronic communications of other writers and use some of the techniques of those writers in their own writing.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*establish an authoritative stance on the subject and provide references to establish the validity and verifiability of the information presented

*organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific

*develop information with appropriate supporting materials, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material

*use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts.

2. Reading and Writing:

Students:

*write social letters, cards, and electronic messages to friends, relatives, community acquaintances, and other electronic network users.

*use appropriate language and style for the situation and the audience and take into account the ideas and interests expressed by the person receiving the message

*read and discuss social communications and electronic communications of other writers and use some of the techniques of those writers in their own writing.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*establish an authoritative stance on the subject and provide references to establish the validity and verifiability of the information presented

*organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific

*develop information with appropriate supporting materials, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material

*use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*write stories, poems, literary essay, and lays that observe the conventions of the genre and contain interesting and effective language and voice

*use standard English effectively.

2. Speaking and Writing

Students:

*use standard English for formal presentation of information, selecting appropriate grammatical constructions and vocabulary, using a variety of sentence structures, and observing the rules of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

1. Listening and Reading:

Students:

*read aloud with expression, conveying the meaning and mood of a work.

Connection of Women in the Civil War to New York State Grades 7-8 Social Studies Core Curriculum

The need for this grant is even more striking after closely examining the New York State Social Studies Grades 7-8 Core Curriculum.  In Unit Six of the Core Curriculum, Division and Reunion , women are only mentioned once in the content outline, with the inclusion of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  The only other mentions of women in Unit Six are several vague references to social factors causing the war and social ramifications resulting from the war in the essential questions.  From reading this document, one would barely know that women were around during the Civil War.  However, because different aspects of this project address larger issues, important pieces of the core curriculum are addressed.

Unit Six:  Division and Reunion

I.  Underlying Causes of the Civil War

            B.  The emotional impact of slavery

                        1.  Uncle Tom’s Cabin

·        This will be addressed through the introductory power point presentation through a discussion on Harriet Beecher Stowe, who students may also choose for their project.

II.  The Civil War Breaks Out

            B.  Advantages and disadvantages of each side

                        1.  Advantages

                                    a.  South

                                                2.  Commitment of the people to preserve their way of life

·        Several of the assignments, including those on female spies, soldiers, and medical professionals, address the commitment of Southerners to preserve their way of life.  Any students choosing a Southern woman or group of women for their research will also be investigating this commitment.

                        2.  Disadvantages

                                    a.  South

                                                3.  Not prepared for war

·        Several documents, especially the one on Sherman ’s March to the Sea, illustrate how Southerners were not prepared for war from a female perspective.

                                    b.  North

                                                2.  Not prepared for war

·        Depending on the research topic chosen, students may investigate ways in which the North was not prepared for war.

                                    c.  The military and political dimensions of the war

·        Many of the assignments focus on the military and political dimensions of the war, including accounts of specifics battles, the results of specific battles, and the role of spies in the war effort.  Additionally, many students will investigate this through their research.

III.  Results of the War

            B.  The abolition of slavery

·        Many of the profiles of important women from the introductory power point discuss the role of women in the abolition of slavery.  Students may also choose many of these women as their research topics.

            E.  The enormous human suffering and loss of life caused by the war

·        This is addressed through the introductory power point presentation, several of the assignments, and through most of the research topics.  Of particular value to this part of the core curriculum are the assignments and research topics dealing with female nurses and doctors. 

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