Using Oral History
The Valley of the Shadow
 Before Brother Fought Brother:  People and Places in the North and South
Grade 8

Tatum Bell
Becky Fobar
Sarah Stewart

Perspective:  Historical
Benchmark:  Use Historical biographies to explain how events from the past affected the lives of individuals and how some individuals influenced the course of history.

Anticipatory Set:  Teacher states the objectives of the lesson in the following manner:

 During the next hour, you will:

• discuss what conflict was the worst in American history
• dentify newspapers from both the North and South
• complete two worksheets to help you compare and contrast the newspapers

Mode of Instruction: Small Group Discussion 

Procedure:

1.  Ask students, "Does anyone know what was the worst conflict in American history?" Let students discuss and answer question.
2.  Ask students, "Does anyone know why there was a conflict?" Let students discuss and answer question.
3.  Teacher explains that today the students will be finding out about the conflict and looking into the lives of people from the north and south during the Civil War.
4.  Teacher will introduce topic.
5.  Teacher will hand out study guides and distribute the newspaper articles for the students to analyze.

Hands On Activity:

Students will individually analyze two newspaper articles and to compare and contrast the two.  The teacher will explain to the students that these are actual newspapers from the past and that they are written about actual events in our history.

Closure:

Ask students to share their findings with the rest of the class and to address and additional comments or questions that they may have about the activity.  Teacher closes by asking the students what they thought about the activity and to tell one thing that they learned today.