Civil War Webquest

Introduction

The year is 1863 and you are a proud civilian of the United States of America. However, your country is falling apart. You believe that it is your duty as a citizen to join the fight. Do you decide to support the Union or the Confederacy? Whatever decision you make will greatly change your life.

Task• You are either a Union soldier, Confederate soldier, or a

woman soldier during the Civil War. You want to keep in touch with your family to let them know how you are doing. Unfortunately, the year is 1863; cell phones have not been created yet, so you cannot text message them to relay the message. Instead, you must write your family a letter.

• In this letter, you will describe: – The daily hardships that you face – What it is like to be the person that you chose

• Use the resources provided to get to know the character that you choose… your final task will be to present your letter to the class.

Process

• This is an individual assignment. First, choose what character you would like to be: a Union soldier, a Confederate soldier, or a woman soldier. Once you have picked your role, visit related websites to help write your letter. After you have answered the questions on your guided discovery sheet about these websites, you are ready to write your letter home. By reading this letter, your family should be able to understand the hardships you face and what your daily life is like.

Union Soldier

• Letters and Diaries of Union Soldiers• http://www.civilwarletters.com/home.html• Letters Home• http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/GETTKIDZ/l

etters.htm

• Soldier Life• http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/c

warmy.htm

Confederate Soldier

• Civil War Letters from Confederate Soldiers• http://www.civilwarhome.com/letters.htm • Letters Home• http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/GETTKIDZ/l

etters.htm Soldier Life

• http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/cwarmy.htm

Women Soldiers

• Women Soldiers in the War• http://www.archives.gov/publications/

prologue/1993/spring/women-in-the-civil-war-1.html

• http://americancivilwar.com/women/ • Soldier Life• http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/

cwarmy.htm

Evaluation

• To conclude this Webquest, you will present your letter to the class. You will be graded on your description of the hardships faced and your daily life in the letter as well as your creativity and enthusiasm when presenting. A rubric is provided below as a guide.

Beginning1

Developing2

Accomplished3

Exemplary4

Score

 The student

will:Gather

information on their role and

places in guided

discovery sheet

Student found little or no information about their

role

Student finds some

information about their

role.

Student finds valuable

information about their

role.

Student finds valuable

information about their

role and supplements it with other information.

 The student

will:Use proper

grammar and writing skills in

their letter 

Student did not complete

the letter.

Student had more than

two grammar or writing mistakes.

Student had one to two grammar or

writing mistakes.

Student had no grammar

or writing mistakes.

 The student

will:Share the

letter with the class

 

Student did not complete

the letter.

Student completed letter and provided minimal

information.

Student completed letter that

identified with character.

Student strongly

identified with character in

letter in a well thought out

fashion.

Conclusion• The goal of this project was for you to gain a

deeper understanding of the lives of American soldiers during the Civil War and to realize that all soldiers during the Civil War faced hardships regardless of what side they fought on or their sex.

• Some questions to think about:– Did you choose the right side to fight on?– If you were a soldier during the Civil War, would you

volunteer to fight? Why or why not?– What hardships do soldiers face today?