Calendar Creations about the Civil War

Subject Area: Math

Grade Level(s): 8

Duration of Activity: Three to four, 50-minute class periods

Description of Activity:

This lesson plan provides a unique way to research and organize data about the Civil War. The students will carry out their research using teacher-provided Web sites or sites found from the students’ own World Wide Web searches. The students will research Civil War events occurring during one month of the year, recording specific events and the dates on which they occurred. They will list each event by month, day, and year on a one-month calendar of their own creation. The students will work in small groups of two to four based on class size and the number of computers available for use. Calendar listings will be color coded so that the reader will have visual cues related to the sequence of events during the war. After their one-month calendars have been completed, each group will give a presentation of their findings to the class.

Objectives:

• The student will research important events of the Civil War by using the World Wide Web, Microsoft Encarta, or other resources.
• The student will use Microsoft Publisher software to create a one-month calendar.
• The student will learn to organize information on a calendar.
• The student will create a word problem based on the Civil War data found through Web sources.
• The student will give oral presentations to the class and share the information found in conducting research for the calendar.

Materials/Equipment:

• Computers
• Large-screen monitor or projection device
• Printer
• Microsoft Encarta
• Web sites
• Microsoft Publisher software
• Digital projector
• Microsoft Word or other word-processing software
• Handout 1: Collecting and Analyzing the Calendar Data
• Handout 2: How to Make a Calendar Using Microsoft Publisher
• Handout 3: Math Word Problems Related to the Civil War (one per student)
• Handout 4: Model Calendar Page with Math Problem (one per student)

Prerequisites (skills or background needed):

• Basic computer knowledge including the ability to use a keyboard and mouse
• Basic knowledge of accessing sites on the World Wide Web
• Understanding of grade-level math concepts

Procedure

Teacher Component: The mathematics teacher will

1. instruct the students to work in pairs or small groups to collect data from teacher-previewed Web sites, Microsoft Encarta, or from other Web sites the students locate through search engines. Each pair/group of students will select a specific month to explore important data about the Civil War.
2. divide the students into groups of two to four based on class size.
3. assign each group of students to choose a specific month during the Civil War to explore.
4. provide URLs for the students to use in their research, or teach the students how to conduct a search using an Internet search engine to locate Web sites.
5. instruct the student to use the assessment, Handout 1: Collecting and Analyzing the Calendar Data, to record and analyze the important events that occurred during the selected month of the Civil War.
6. instruct the students to create math word problems based on the data they encounter in their research and record their problems and related information on Handout 1: Math Word Problems Related to the Civil War. Handout 4: Model Publisher Calendar Page can be used as a guide.
7. give oral instruction along with providing Handout 2: How To Create a Calendar Using Microsoft Publisher, to instruct the student on how to create a calendar and how to place important dates about the Civil War on the calendar.
8. instruct each pair or small group to make a presentation of their calendar month, showing the important dates of the Civil War that occurred during that month. The students will display their calendar page using the computer and digital projector or large-screen monitor.

Student Activities: The students will

1. work in pairs or small groups to collect information about important Civil War events from URLs provided by the teacher or found through independent Web searches and Microsoft Encarta.
2. work in pairs or small groups to investigate an assigned or selected month of the year.
3. use Handout 1: Collecting and Analyzing the Calendar Data, to record dates and analyze the events that occurred during that calendar month.
4. use Handout 2: How To Create a Calendar Using Microsoft Publisher to create a calendar of the month, inserting the significant dates about the Civil War in the calendar. The information recorded will be color-coded by year in the following manner:
• 1861—Black
• 1862—Red
• 1863—Blue
• 1864—Purple
• 1865—Green
5. develop math word problems based on the data they encounter as they search for important events. Record the problems on Handout 3: Math Word Problems Related to the Civil War. Each student should create one problem that relates to the data for the month.
6. work in pairs or in small groups to create an oral presentation based on their calendar page.
7. work in pairs or in small groups to present the information orally using a laptop computer and a large-screen monitor or a digital projector to display the calendar page as a visual aid for the class.

Accommodations:

• Students can print their calendars as overhead transparencies and use an overhead projector to display them in classrooms without access to large-screen or projection devices.
• The teacher will give individual assistance to students as needed.
• The teacher will provide floppy disks for students to save their calendar file.
• The teacher will provide extra workspace for students as needed. For example, the library might be reserved if additional space is needed.

Extension Activities:

• The students may create a newsletter about the important events that occurred during their month(s) of the Civil War.
• The class can combine all twelve months to create a complete calendar about the Civil War as a class project.

Calendars can be created chronologically by year using monthly calendars. Microsoft Publisher does not go back to the 1800s, however. Students can substitute the months for the years 1957-1961 because the days of the month are the same as for 1861-1865. Students must remember to change the date at the top of each page before printing the calendars.

Civil War Year	same as	20th Century Year
1861		1957
1862		1958
1863		1959
1864		1960
1865		1961

• Comparisons and contrasts can be discussed about the number of battles and other important events by seasons.
• The student can create Microsoft PowerPoint presentations about their Civil War data.
• The math problems can be included on the monthly pages or added at the back of the calendar.

Integration:

• Math
• Social Studies
• Technology

Assessments:

1. Handout 1: Collecting and Analyzing the Calendar Data
2. Handout 3: Math Word Problems Related to the Civil War

URLs:

• Civil War Battle Summaries by Campaign
  http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/bycampgn.htm
• Battlefields (click on state desired on map; click on Mississippi to view details of battles)
  http://www.cwbattlefields.com/battlefields.html
• The Civil War at a Glance
  http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/civilwar/civilwar.htm
• The Official Records of the War of The Rebellion
  http://www.civilwarhome.com/records.htm
• Civil War Battles – Battles 1861-1865
  http://www.us-civilwar.com/
• Shiloh National Military Park
  http://www.nps.gov/shil/
• The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing)
  April 6-7,1862 (click on link for battle description and battle timeline)
  http://www.civilwarhome.com/shiloh.htm
• Battlefield Dates
  http://battlefieldvacations.com/dates.htm
• Civil War Interactive - This Day in the Civil War
  http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/ThisDay.asp

Curriculum Frameworks

Mississippi:

Eighth Grade

7. Interpret, organize, and make predictions about a variety of data using concepts of probability and statistics.
   1. Interpret tables and charts.
   3. Interpret graphs form given data.
   5. Predict patterns or trends based on given data.

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS):

5. Apply productivity/multimedia tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, group collaboration, and learning throughout the curriculum. (3, 6)
6. Design, develop, publish, and present products (e.g., Web pages, videotapes) using technology resources that demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5, 6)

TerraNova:

15 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (Level 10-21/22)
Analyze, interpret, and evaluate data in various forms; and apply the concepts and processes of data analysis, statistics, and probability to real-world situations.

Represent and interpret data, model probability situations, describe trends, and evaluate or construct arguments based on data.

Link and Feedback to Author(s):

Charlotte Moore, Booneville Middle School, Booneville, MS
cmoore@booneville.k12.ms.us