Name: ______________________

Civil War Journal Project

Driving Question:  

How can we, as 8th grade historians, create a mock primary source that chronicles the Civil War Era in a realistic manner which captures the time period and context of the era accurately while also engaging the reader?

Overview

Sometimes it is hard to imagine what it would be like to experience major events in our

nation’s history. With this project, you will have the opportunity to create a realistic account of the Civil War through creating a “found journal.” Through your character’s journal entries you will be able to entertain and inform the reader of aspects of the Civil War and most importantly you will be learning through this project. You will be researching, writing, editing, and revising the journal in class. There will be homework assignments attached to this for research and rough draft writing of journal entries.

 We will be focusing on major events regarding the Civil War, so your journal will span many years. Your character would have written in it basically to document huge events in history to help people understand years later. You will also want to include major events of your character’s life.

Authentic Need:

These will be used as teaching tools for the Springfield Heritage Center. Guests will be able to read through your products to gain a deeper understanding of the Civil War Era.

Information that must be included in a way to show comprehension:

170 Points (10 points each)

Leading to Civil War:

____ Differences between the North and South

____ What they were fighting over (not just slavery)

____ Missouri Compromise- Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas

____ Fugitive Slave Law

____ Dred Scott Decision

____ John Brown and his raid on Harper’s Ferry (In what ways was it a success and failure?)

____ Election of 1860

____ Fort Sumter: beginning of the Civil War

Civil War

____ Resources/Advantages and Disadvantages of the North and South

____ Goals of the North and South

____ Emancipation Proclamation

____ African American soldiers on both sides

____ Women in the war effort

____ War time economy

____ Major turning points/battles/people

____ Sherman’s March to the Sea

____ The Surrender of the South

20 points: Historical Context/Everyday life

____ Everyday life details, what they did, how they lived, vocabulary, culture, shows historical context, etc.

20 Points: Use of Primary Sources

____ Beyond the primary source work that we do in class as a group, you will need to find two other primary source documents that connect with your story.

20 Points: Authentic Appearance.  Either typed in the corsiva font, something similar, or handwritten. Construction is done in a way to hide original book. It is distressed to look authentic.

20 points: Interactive Components: Two separate interactive components that you include. Remember the ideas that we listed on the board? Use only one of each that you choose, or think of another: Map (battle ground, free/slave states, Underground Railroad, etc), photo, letter, poem, important document, sentimental objects, awards, military orders, receipts from purchases, catalog page, a song you wrote, the list could go on forever! They need to be historically accurate, teach the reader content about the topic, and fit the story. You will need to do some research and deep thinking to ensure this.

“Use your time wisely. Time wasted is just time you will have to make up later! The sooner you get started, the less stressed you will be at the end.”

 -Famous quote from Cameron McCoy