THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR THROUGH SONG

NOTE: Each lesson can be executed as a stand alone lesson that will fit into any wider unit on the wars of the United States.

OVERVIEW: This unit makes use of the free National Park Service double CD set Songs of the Lower Mississippi Delta, created by the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park (www.nps.gov/jazz) . The park, located in the French Quarter, interprets the origins, early history, and development of jazz music.  The CD is funded through a grant from the Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative (www.cr.nps.gov/delta), whose goals are to preserve the regions’ and natural resources and to enhance heritage tourism within the region. Please visit www.nps.gov for more information about the relevant parks.

The CD contains a total of 29 songs, many of which are used in lesson plans available elsewhere on this site.

This unit could be used as part of a larger unit on the American Civil War, or as an introduction to the war. If used as an introduction, begin with Civil War Synopsis (provided). Alternatively, the teacher could use only one, two, or three of the lessons rather than all five.

CURRICULUM STANDARDS: From The History Standards Project, directed by the National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS). http://www.uni.edu/icss/standards.html   http://nchs.ucla.edu/

LANGUAGE ARTS: From the Common Core State Standards Initiative  http://www.corestandards.org/ . http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards

History

Era 5 - Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877): Standard 14. Understands the course and character of the Civil War and its effects on the American people

·         Level II (Grades 5-6)

    Understands the technological, social, and strategic aspects of the Civil War (e.g., the impact of innovations in military technology; turning points of the war; leaders of the Confederacy and Union; conditions, characteristics, and armies of the Confederacy and Union; major areas of Civil War combat)

·         Level IV (Grades 9-12)

    Understands military events that influenced the outcome of the Civil War (e.g., the "hammering campaigns" of Generals Grant and Sherman, the wartime leadership of Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln)

The lesson is also applicable to grades 7 and 8, as it will familiarize students with a specific battle of the Civil War.

Geography

• Knows the geographic factors that have influenced people and events in the past (e.g., the effects of the site of a Civil War battle on the course of the conflict.)

 

Language Arts

·         Key Ideas and Details

1.       Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

 

·         Craft and Structure

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

 

·         Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.