The Civil War by Cassi Odom

I will be teaching a 4th grade unit on the Civil War. During this unit, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the Civil War and its impact on America. Students will study the reasons behind the war, the role and accomplishments of the leaders, key battles, the roles of African Americans and women, and the effects of the war on people and their environments. Understanding of our country’s history is important. Our views of history shape the way we view the present, and therefore dictate what answers are offered for existing and future problems. It is important for students to learn history in order to learn from the past and gain a sense of perspective about themselves and the world around them. In order for students to be functioning citizens in our society, they should be able to think critically about documents, cause and affect relationships, and have the ability to read and summarize material.
This technology integration will need to take place in a computer lab at your school. This is a two-day integration, so plan to have your students in the lab for two days during the week. The goal of this integration is for students to be able to read articles and/or biographies for information and create online timelines of significant dates and events. The biographies of Civil War leaders can be found at http://www.history.com. If creating a timeline on key battles of the Civil War, information can be found at www.sonofthesouth.net. It would be beneficial for the teacher to provide a hard copy handout to students that highlights the desired important dates. This is to provide students with some guidance so they do not get bogged-down with insignificant dates during research. Day 1 of research should consist of students reading biographies and articles and writing down important information (significant dates during Lincoln’s presidency, Key battles, etc). Day two should consist of students finishing up research from the prior day and advancing on create their online timeline.
After research is complete, students should visit the site: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines. Step 1 on the web site allows students to choose whether they would like to create a vertical or a horizontal timeline. Step 2 of creating the timeline allows students to type in their researched information into blank cells. The cells are labeled: Event #, Event Date, and Event Name / Description. Once students have successfully entered their information, he/she is allowed to then add one border graphic to the timeline. For the final step, students click “generate your timeline” and PRESTO—a printable timeline of the information appears. Online timelines can be used throughout the Civil War unit and should prove to be quite effective in helping students to organize information.