History teacher Johanna Heppeler sets the stage for an ambitious unit that incorporates several Common Core State Standards. During the multi-day unit, students will closely read four of President Lincoln’s speeches to analyze the text and to determine how Lincoln’s word choices reflect changes in the course of the Civil War. In this first lesson, Ms. Heppeler orients the students to the vast array of materials on the Civil War, including an iMovie of Civil War images, maps, and texts. Students organize their thoughts using a graphic organizer and prepare to navigate the written texts.
Things to watch for:
- Ms. Heppeler models strategies for analyzing and drawing inferences from primary sources
- Students work independently, and then share findings with a partner
- Ms. Heppeler provides layers of support through individual, small, and whole group discussion formats
More classroom videos with Johanna Heppeler:
