Engaged Learning Project

Mary Caroline Smith

Title of Project: Civil War Collaborative Website
Subject(s): Reading/Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 5th
Abstract:
Student historians will create online websites using www.weebly.com to share their expertise of the Civil War and its impact
on Georgia specifically. Students will work in groups and will meet with mentors from the community to help create and
publish electronic Civil War scrapbooks using the website www.weebly.com. Students will create these online scrapbooks
and eventually create an online game about the topics presented.
Learner Description/Context:
I teach 5th grade in a public school with a Free/Reduced Lunch population of approximately 50%. Our school is different
than most because it is a theme school. Parents are required to volunteer 20 hours a year and students are required to
maintain an overall average of an 80/B and have few behavior issues. This is a choice school, so students do not have to live
in the zone of the school. We run buses to different parts of the county, but they do not take/drop off at student homes. For
example, one bus drops off in a church parking lot while another bus drops off in the old Wal-Mart parking lot. I teach 4
Reading/Social Studies Integrated blocks each day. Three blocks are accelerated while one is co-teaching at a slower pace.
There are 28 in each block with a total of 47 Quest (gifted) students scattered throughout the 3 accelerated classes. The coteaching class is made up of 3 students with special needs as well as other students who are performing on grade level.
Students are completing this scrapbook assignment in the regular classroom, the Media Center, and in the computer lab
during their Specials time. Students will be taken to the Media Center to use online as well as hard copy resources. This type
of activity is authentic and meaningful for students. This activity will be a good way for students with a variety of learning
styles to be successful.
Time Frame: Students will be given 2 weeks to complete this assignment. We will work in class the day this project is
assigned for 45 minutes. This will be a brainstorming time. Students will not be allowed to use computers or other electronic
devices until their brainstorms are completed.
Standards Assessed:
SS5H1 The student will explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War.
a. Identify Uncle Toms Cabin and John Browns raid on Harpers Ferry and explain how each of these events was related to
the Civil War.
b. Discuss how the issues of states rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South.
c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Shermans March to the Sea, and
Appomattox Court House.
d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas Stonewall
Jackson.
e. Describe the effects of war on the North and South.
ELACC5RI7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a
question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
ELACC5RI9: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject
knowledgeably.
Learner Objectives:
Students will be able to successfully research Civil War topics appropriate for a 5 th grader and post it onto their websites.
Assessment: Completion of website with appropriate information.
Students will be able to collaborate with their peers not only they are in class with, but also students in other schools.
Assessment: Students will be assessed using a group work rubric to help determine how well they work with peers.
The hook or Introduction:
5th grade students have been studying about the Civil War. Students will have two surprise guests that will come to help pump
up students about their upcoming task of becoming Civil War Historians. The first guest will be a local teacher who collects
historical artifacts. He will bring in weapons, newspapers, money, maps, and photographs from the Civil War era. He will

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project

discuss with students how he decided to become a Civil War historian and all that it takes for students to do so. The second
guest will be a representative from History to Go! She will come dressed as a Civil War widow and walk students through the
lives of people living during the Civil War era. She will focus on the effects the Civil War had on Georgia and help jumpstart
ideas of the students for their projects. After both presentations have been completed, students will be able to begin their
brainstorms of what it takes to become Civil War historians.
Process:
This project is a culminating product for our Civil War Unit. Students will spend two class periods becoming familiar with
local Civil War historians thorough the use of a History to Go program as well as a local teacher historian. Representatives
from the Georgia Cyclorama, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Kennesaw Mountain will also bring in pamphlets
and serve as mentors to students throughout the completion of the project. Students will use a graphic organizer to help
brainstorm about information they have learned so far about the Civil War either during regular class time or during the
recent presentations. Students will use the website edu.glogster.com to post ideas and give feedback to their peers. This is an
online poster maker that allows you to pin videos, pictures, documents, slide shows, signs, etc. to an online pinboard. This
website will be the idea board (i.e. electronic graphic organizer) for students to use as they are creating their projects.
Students will be given time in class over a two week period to work on their projects. Students will use the computer lab,
laptop cart, and personal electronic devices to help create their final products. The teacher is a guide and monitor during the
entire process. The students are responsible for determining in which direction they want their projects to go. The teacher will
provide guidance through a rubric and checklist of required information. The teacher will be available to offer any assistance
when needed.
Product:
Students will produce an online version of a Civil War scrapbook as their culminating project for our Civil War Unit. This is
an authentic and meaningful task because students have to take the knowledge that they have previously acquired throughout
our Civil War unit and apply it to making our scrapbook. The final product as well as how students use class time and work in
their groups to complete their products will be assessed using a rubric.
Technology Use:
Students will be using technology throughout the process of creating their projects. Students will research information about
the Civil War by using a variety of technology. Students will use email and an online blogging site (MyBigCampus) to help
communicate with peers at other schools throughout the project. Students will use the website edu.glogster.com to post ideas
and give feedback to their peers. This is an online poster maker that allows you to pin videos, pictures, documents, slide
shows, signs, etc. to an online pinboard. This website will be the idea board (i.e. electronic graphic organizer) for students to
use as they are creating their projects.
References and Supporting Material:
Materials:
Civil War Books
Graphic Organizers
Rubrics
Local Teacher (Hugh Waters) serving as Civil War historian
History to Go Presentation and presenter
Computers in Computer Lab
Laptop Cart
Personal Electronic Devices
ActivBoard
Kennesaw Mountain pamphlets and mentors
Georgia Cyclorama pamphlets and mentors
Daughters of the American Revolution pamphlets and mentors
References:
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/freemovies/civilwar/
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/undergroundrailroad/
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/civilwarcauses/
www.mybigcampus.com
www.weebly.com
www.edu.glogster.com
Georgia Performance Standards Social Studies
Common Core Georgia Performance Standards Reading

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University