Lesson Plan Template

Name: Kevin Klemm Class/Subject: 7th grade Social Studies Date: 4/13/11 Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: Students will infer the feelings that family members of soldiers experienced during the Civil War by pointing out at least three specific words or phrases from the Walt Whitman poem, Come Up From the Fields, Father. Students will argue whether or not it was worth it to go to war by specifically mentioning at least two emotions either from the poem or from their personal reactions to the poem to support their argument. Content Standards: 16.B.2d (US) Identify major political events and leaders within the United States historical eras since the adoption of the Constitution, including the westward expansion, Louisiana Purchase, Civil War, and 20th century wars as well as the roles of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. 2.B.3a: Respond to literary material from personal, creative and critical points of view. (Language Arts) Materials/Resources/Technology: o Smartboard o Computer/Projector o Powerpoint o Handouts of Come Up From the Fields, Father poem Teachers Goals: o To get students to understand that the Civil War affected more people than just those fighting o To get students to analyze a piece of literature in order to draw out the argument that the author is trying to make o To get students providing their own personal feelings about what it would have been like to serve/have family members serving in the Civil War Time

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Start of Class: Teacher will begin class by asking the students: You have just been drafted to serve either the Union or Confederate armies in the Civil War. Write down 4-5 emotions that you are feeling after getting this announcement. Students will be given time to do this activity, and then the teacher will ask for volunteers to share what they wrote down while he writes the emotions on the Smartboard. It will be explained to them that we will be discussing what kinds of people fought in the Civil War and the emotions that the families of these soldiers felt. Introduction of Lesson: Teacher will explain that the objective for the class that day is: Students will infer the feelings that family members of soldiers experienced during the Civil War by pointing out at least three specific words or phrases from the Walt Whitman poem, Come Up From the Fields, Father. Students will argue whether or not it was worth it to go to war by specifically mentioning at least two emotions either from the poem or from their personal reactions to the poem to support their argument. Lesson Instruction: Teacher will begin instruction with a brief Powerpoint going through some of the details about the Civil War: numbers of soldiers in both armies, statistics on how many died, and the percentages of people fighting in the war compared to the overall population. Then, the teacher will offer a brief explanation of the poem that will be discussed in addition to briefly explaining who Walt Whitman is. Students will be given a handout of the lyrics of the poem and some time to look it over. Questions will be provided at the bottom of the sheet: What kinds of emotions do the family members in the poem feel? What do you think the main message of the poem is? What kinds of emotions do you feel as you read this poem? Does it change your mind about whether or not it was worth it to go to war? The class will be opened back up for discussion about individual student responses to the 3 questions. The goal of this discussion is to get students to think about the impact of the Civil War on the entire country, not just those fighting. Assessments/Checks for Understanding: The questions on the handout, along with the class discussion, will be used as the check for understanding. The handout will be turned in at the end of the class period. Closure/Wrap-Up/Review: The Civil War is the deadliest war in the history of the United States. Even those who did not die on the battlefield came back home with permanent reminders of the unparalleled violence that this war contained. I hope that after todays lesson you understand the nation-wide effects that this war had on all Americans: especially those who worried every day that they would receive the horrible news that a loved one had died, just like the family in the poem we read for today. Self-Assessment: N/A