Using the War as a Selling Point: Discovering a Local Community during the Civil War
through Ads and Artifacts (Grades 3-5)

Katie Hickey Snyder

Summer Fellowship 2009

 

Abstract

 

Students examine advertisements dating from 1861-1865 found in local Champaign/Urbana newspapers that used the Civil War as a selling point. They match and examine artifact found in the advertisements. Students explore the ads and artifacts to learn about life on the Champaign/Urbana home front during the time of the Civil War. Using their background knowledge, they compare what was occurring in Champaign/ Urbana during the Civil War to what was happening in the nation as a whole.

 

 

Essential questions/Enduring Understandings

 

o       What can we discover about a community and a time in history by looking at primary source advertisements?

o       What do the advertisements tell us about Champaign County during the Civil War?

o       What do the primary source artifacts tell us about a community and its people at a given point in history?

 

Assessments

 

Oral reports are evaluated by classmates using the following rubric: http://www.rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Rubric number: 1768914

 

Final historical fiction story incorporating artifact is assessed using the following rubric:

http://www.rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Rubric number: 1769053

 

 

Setting the Purpose

 

The purpose of this unit is for young children (3rd-5th grade) to explore primary documents as a way to discover history based on what has been left behind by the people who lived during a time period. By looking at ads from local newspapers that used the Civil War as a selling point, and examining artifacts of items being advertised, students will learn about the people on the home front during the Civil War.

 

 

Duration

 

The entire unit will take 7-10 days, depending on how long students need to complete the writing activity. Alternatively, the cumulating writing activity can be skipped if the goal is solely to explore primary sources. In this option, only four days are needed.

 

 

Lessons

 

Lesson 1

As a whole group, students examine current advertisements found in newspapers. Through this examination they learn about the lives of the people being targeted as consumers in the ads.

 

Lesson 2

In small groups, students examine advertisements found in local newspapers during the Civil War time period to discover what life was like on the home front.

 

Lesson 3

In small groups, students guess use of the unique artifacts in collection.

 

Lesson 4

Students examine artifacts sold in the Civil War advertisements to discover what life was like on the home front.

 

Lesson 5

Students choose an artifact to feature in an original, historical fiction story.

 

Resources