Format
1.This program begins with an introductory discussion about the Civil War.
2.We then discuss the events leading up to the 1861 special session of Maryland’s State Legislature.
3.Students are divided into Northern and Southern Sympathizers and navigate to their respective webpages.
4.Participants review their sources about Marylander’s social ties to the North and South and craft their arguments.
5.The students debate the topic citing evidence from their sources.
6.Students then anonymously poll in their vote.
7.This process is repeated for two more rounds that focus on the economic and political ties of Marylanders.
8.The students then engage in one last overall discussion and cast their last overall vote.
9.Participants will then learn about how divided the state remained throughout the war.
10.Time is allowed for questions and answers.
Objectives
The participant will learn about what it meant to be a border state during the Civil War,
Engage in a discussion about how border states were extremely divided leading up to and during the war,
Synthesize information from a variety of sources,
Construct and present an argument,
Evaluate and compare the arguments presented by their classmates
Standards Alignment
National Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.9-10.RI.1 -- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.9-10.RI.5 -- Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.9-10.RI.6 -- Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.9-10.RL.4 -- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.9-10.SL.1 -- Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.9-10.SL.4 -- Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.This program can be adapted for various grade levels. Outlined below are the 9th – 10th grade benchmarks and standards met by this program
UNITED STATES HISTORY CONTENT STANDARDS
Era 5 -- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
-- Standard 1: The causes of the Civil War
The student understands how the North and South differed and how politics and ideologies led to the Civil War.
C3 FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
D2.Eco.1.9-12. Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
D2.Geo.2.9-12. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past
D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.
D4.1.9-12. Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.
D4.2.9-12. Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or non-linear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose
COMMON CORE STANDARDS FOR LITERACY
RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone
RI.9-10.5 Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
CCR.S&L.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCR.S&L.9-10.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
State Standards
MARYLAND CONTENT STANDARDS
2.C.1.d Describe how cultural, economic and political differences contributed to sectionalism
3.A.1.a Use thematic maps to locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics, such as settlement patterns, migration, population density, transportation, and communication networks
3.A.1.c Analyze thematic maps to determine demographic and economic information about a region
4.A.4.a Describe how differences between the agrarian South and the industrial North heightened tensions
5.C.4.a Describe pro-slavery and anti-slavery positions and explain how debates over slavery influenced politics and sectionalism.
5.C.5.c Explain why the 1860 election led to the secession of the southern states.