By: Julia Rion & Erica Wagner

America’s Bloodiest Battle –

The Battle of Gettysburg

In preparation for a field trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield, students will explore three essential questions in order to understand why the battle was a turning point in and an iconic memory of the war.1. How did so many soldiers converge at the same time

on Gettysburg, and why—even though the war did not end at Gettysburg—was it evident the Union would ultimately prevail?

2. Decoding the Gettysburg Address: Why have 273 words delivered in less than 2 minutes become one of the most recognized documents in our country’s history?

3. Why is it important to preserve Civil War battlefields?

Unit Plan Description

Suggested Grade Level: 7th Grade Social Studies

Approximate number of Class Periods: 8 -10 (45-minute) class periods

Grade Level & Time Frame

8.2.9.A.: Analyze the political and cultural contributions of individuals and groups to Pennsylvania history from 1787 to 1914.

8.2.9.B.: Identify and analyze primary documents, material artifacts and historic sites important to Pennsylvania history from 1787 to 1914.

8.2.9.D.: Identify and analyze conflict and cooperation among social groups and organizations in Pennsylvania history from 1787 to 1914.

PA Standards

1. Creativity and InnovationStudents demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

2. Communication and CollaborationStudents use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

3. Research and Information FluencyStudents apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

NETS for Students

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision MakingStudents use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

5. Digital CitizenshipStudents understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

NETS for Students (cont.)

The classroom teacher will set up a Gettysburg wiki with pages for each assignment and group, provide models for each assignment, create links to approved resources, and demonstrate how to implement software.

The teacher will provide a packet with an overview of the unit and essential questions.

Students will work on learning activities in groups of 2.The teacher will utilize the Smartboard to conduct group

discussions and demonstrate activities.The class will work both in the classroom and in the

Library Resource Room. The classroom teacher, aid, and librarian will circulate as

facilitators for students working at tables and on laptops.

Classroom Management Strategies

Students will watch a brief video from the Gettysburg Battlefield Park website. The teacher will then utilize the Smart Board to show students images of crowded local locations, a sold-out Citizen’s Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, and busy days of tourism in Philadelphia. The teacher will lead students into estimating populations and distances (with Google Maps). After establishing numbers, the teacher will ask students to visualize how many soldiers were involved in the Battle of Gettysburg, the estimated casualties, the 14-mile stretch of retreating Confederate troops, and the number of visitors each year to Gettysburg.

Let’s get started…

Learning Objectives:Students will participate with the teacher in a

group activity on the Smart Board and will demonstrate an understanding of the enormity of soldiers engaged in the battle and of the casualties.

Students will access and analyze information about the Battle of Gettysburg.

Students will create an timeline on the convergence of the troops on Gettysburg.

Students will summarize and describe in writing a day of battle.

Students will provide a supporting detail to exemplify why Gettysburg is considered the turning point in the Civil War.

Part 1: The Battle

Students in groups of 2 will research guided questions using the social studies textbook, the EBSCO database on the school library website, and approved websites to obtain information about the days leading up to the battle.

Student Activities

Each group will use Microsoft WORD to create a timeline of events preceding the battle. Files will be saved as PDF’s and uploaded onto the class Gettysburg wiki.

Students will include a list of the sources they consulted for information and where they obtained images at the bottom of their wiki pages.

Timeline – The Road to Gettysburg

Example – Timeline

Each group will “time travel” as journalists and cover one of the three days of battle.

Each group will write 2-3 well-developed paragraphs describing a scene witnessed (from their assigned day of battle) on a page for the class Gettysburg wiki and add at least three photos representing the scene. The description should include a prediction and justification of whether their eye-witness account indicates a Union or Confederate victory.

Students will include a list of the sources they consulted for information and where they obtained images at the bottom of their wiki pages.

“Time Travel”

Selected Groups will present their timelines to the class.

Remaining groups (that did not present timelines) will showcase their wiki pages.

All students will be assigned to read “articles” written by two other groups (from the two days of battle other than their own). Students will be provided a simple rubric to assess their classmates’ “articles.”

Project Presentations

Rubric – Timeline Assessment

Rubric – Class Presentations

Rubric – Time Travelling Article

Learning Objectives:Students will listen to a dramatized reading of the Gettysburg Address.

Students will work as a group with the teacher to determine which words and phrases in the speech they don’t understand.

Students will explore the Library of Congress’ exhibit on the Gettysburg Address and complete a study guide to “decode” the Gettysburg Address.

Part 2 – The Gettysburg Address

Students will listen to a dramatic reading of the Gettysburg Address on the NPR website.

In groups of 2, students will be provided a written copy of the Gettysburg Address.

The teacher will lead a discussion asking students to look for phrases or words they don’t understand. Following an exercise on the Smartboard, the groups will circle key words and phrases on their copies.

Mission Guides for Decoding Gettysburg Address

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Teacher will post an online guide (WORD document) with questions about the speech.

Students will go on a mission to decode the Gettysburg Address: students will complete a brief web journey visiting specified websites and answering questions about the origin of the speech, the meanings of key phrases, and the preservation of documents.

Students may either print the 2-page guide for the mission and complete it by hand, or complete it in WORD and print the document after it has been completed.

The class will come back together as a group and share/review the completed guide. Students should add missing information to their guides during the review. A collaborative group version of the mission guide (collated by teacher) will be added to the wiki.

Mission Guides for Decoding Gettysburg Address

Rubric – Decoding Gettysburg Address

Learning Objectives:Students will be able to identify and justify three

reasons why Civil War battle sites should be protected.

Students will create a Glog, with text, images, and a video, making a clear connection to their ideas.

Students will speak clearly and succinctly on their Glog, using a tone of voice that convinces their audience the battlefields should be protected.

Part 3 – Preserving Battlefields

Students will read and analyze information on the National Park Service website and on the Save Gettysburg website about preserving Civil War battlefields.

Students will outline and draw a storyboard for three reasons the Gettysburg Battlefield should be preserved.

Students will create a Glog—on Glogster—representing a PSA for preserving the Gettysburg Battlefield.

The classroom teacher will provide a model for the Glog and assist students in navigating the application’s tools and features.

The Glogs will consist of text, images, a brief video, voiceover and music (all of these components can be accessed through Glogster).

Students will import their Glogs into the class wiki, where they can be shared with classmates, the school community, friends and family.

PSA Glog

Example – Glog

Assessment

For the Activities Related to the Battle Itself:Smartboard, laptops, databases, approved websites, teacher’s guide, Microsoft WORD, Wikispaces, and models of timeline and wiki page.

For Decoding the Gettysburg Address:Smartboard, handouts of speech, podcast on NPR site, mission guide, specified websites, Wikispaces

For The PSA Glog on Preserving Gettysburg Battlefield:specified websites, Glogster, images from the Internet, and resources accessible through Glogster (School Tube videos, images, recording options, etc.), Wikispaces

Required Resources

EBSCOhost Searchasaurus for Grades 6-8Gettysburg Battlefield SiteNPRLibrary of Congress Exhibit on the

Gettysburg AddressLincoln OnlineNational Park Service on the Preservation of

Civil War SitesSave The Gettysburg Battlefield

Approved Web Sites & Database

Several activities could be facilitated by the teacher at work tables. The teacher will print out copies of a few relevant articles from EBSCO and print out some sections of websites for researching all three essential questions (students will also have social studies textbook).

There will be two days built-in to the schedule to accommodate technological glitches and student absences.

Back-up Plan

Teacher, classroom aid, and librarian will circulate among groups monitoring the process, resources, and applications. Students who appear less confident with the content, process or technology will be assisted individually and encouraged to come for a “booster session.” Students who appear to have an exceptional interest in the Civil War or to be motivated by the technology will be encouraged to broaden the scope of their presentations.

Differentiated Instruction