10th Grade The Beginning Of The American Civil War Lesson Plan

Topic: The beginning of the American Civil War

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will understand the contributing factors that led to the Civil war.
• Students will be able to explain the main causes of the Civil war.

Materials

• Map of the United States showing states that supported the Union (Northern states) and states that supported the Confederacy (Southern states)
• Handouts with information about the different factors that contributed to the Civil war
• Pencils and paper for students to take notes

Warm-up

• Show students the map of the United States and ask them to identify the states that supported the Union and the states that supported the Confederacy.
• Ask students to name any reasons they can think of for why these states might have taken these stands.
• Write the different reasons on the board and discuss as a class.

Direct Instruction

• Review the causes of the Civil War as outlined in the handout.
• Have students take notes on the different contributing factors, including the political and economic issues that led to the formation of the Confederacy, as well as the events that led to the actual outbreak of fighting.

Guided Practice

• Divide the students into small groups and give each group one of the contributing factors to discuss.
• Have the students use the handout and any other resources they have (such as textbooks or videos) to learn more about their assigned factor and share what they learn with the rest of the group.
• Encourage the students to discuss how the factor they are discussing contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Independent Practice

• Have the students choose one of the contributing factors to the Civil War that they found the most interesting during the small-group discussion.
• Have the students write a short report on the assigned factor, including information on how it contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War and any other information they found interesting.

Closure

• Have the students share their reports with the class.
• Have the students reflect on what they have learned about the contributing factors to the Civil War and how they relate to the theme of the course: the rise of the United States as a global power.

Assessment:

• Observe student participation in class discussions and small group activities.
• Evaluate student reports for accuracy and evidence of critical thinking and analysis.
• Administer a quiz or test to assess student understanding of the causes and events of the Civil War.