Introduction

The War of Northern Aggression....The War Between the States....The American Civil War....The name given to the conflict fought in the United States from 1861-1865 varied depending on where you lived and the thoughts and feelings had.  Tensions were high and emotions were deep.  Any person, place, or thing could be viewed or described in extremely different ways depending on whether you were from the Union North or the Confederate South.

You and your partner have just been chosen by the local historical society to write an alphabet picture book about the Civil War.  This book will be a part of their museum exhibit for children.  It will be used to teach them about the important people, places, concepts, and events of the war.

You will need to research different aspects of the war and use this information to create your book.  You and your partner will each take on a different perspective of the war, one writing from the perspective of the North and the other writing from the perspective of the South.  Your final product will be an upside-down book which will provide information about both sides of the war!

Each entry/page of your book should include some type of visual (picture, map, chart, etc.) as well as 3-4 sentences explaining the significance of that entry in the Civil War.  Your entries must identify:

• 7 people/groups of people who played a significant role in the Civil War.  You may use either common nouns (e.g., drummer boy) or proper nouns (e.g., Abraham Lincoln) in identifying your people.
• 7 places that were significant during the war.  Again, you may not necessarily be naming a specific place.  Common nouns are acceptable!
• 8 things/ideas/concepts related to the war. 
• You may choose from any of the three categories for any additional entries you choose to add.

To accomplish this task, you will be working with a partner to complete the following steps:

1.  You will each be randomly assigned to one side of the war, either the North or the South.  Each entry of your alphabet picture book should explain something about that person, place, concept, or event you have listed (your entry word) and include the thoughts, views, and feelings of a person from the region you represent.  For example:

                   L - Abraham Lincoln
North:  Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president in 1860.  He was a member of the Republican Party, which wanted to stop the expansion of slavery.  He thought the issue of slavery should be decided by the national government.  He declared war in order to keep the North and the South together as one country.

South: Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president in 1860.  Although he said as president he would allow slavery to continue in the South, it was believed that he would work to abolish slavery.  He did not like the idea of letting each state decide for itself whether or not to allow slavery.  The war was fought to maintain states' rights and win independence for the Confederate States of America. 
 

2.  You will use the list of web sites listed below to complete your research.  You may wish to keep an alphabetical listing of the letters, and fill in your list as you decide upon a topic for that letter.  You may use visuals found on the web sites for your book, but remember to list the site as a resource for your information!
 

3.  Don't forget to make a cover (front and back) for your book!  The front cover should include a title, author, and something that will make your book attractive to possible readers.  It should catch people's eyes and get them interested in reading your book!  Leave the back cover blank.
 

4.  After you and your partner have each completed your portion of the book, you will combine them by turning one book upside down and attaching them, back cover to back cover.  There should now be a front cover on the outside of both the front and back of your book, one facing up and the other one should be upside-down.    
 
 

Although you are working with a partner for the final version of the book, you will be given an individual grade for your part of the project only.  The following grading system will be used:
 

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Content Requirement	Includes 15 or less entries.  Many entries are missing from one or more categories.	Includes 16-18 entries.  Several entries are missing from one or more categories.	Includes 19-21 entries.  Some entries are missing from one or more categories.	Includes at least 22 entries, including the following: 7 people 7 places 8 ideas/things/concepts.
Entry requirements	Very few entries include a complete summary, with personal views/reactions and/or a visual.	Some entries contain a complete summary, with personal views/reactions and/or a visual.	Most entries contain a 3-4 sentence summary, with personal views/reactions and/or a visual.  Some entries may be explained better than others.	All entries contain a 3-4 sentence summary, including personal views/reactions and a visual.
Information is accurate and consistent with stated position (North or South)	Very few entries are historically accurate and/or consistent with stated position.	Some information is historically accurate and/or consistent with stated position.	Most information is historically accurate and/or consistent with stated position.	All information is historically accurate and consistent with the stated position.
Neatness and mechanics	Work is not neat and/or mistakes with spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar are consistent throughout.	Work is not very neat and/or there are many mistakes with spelling, punctuation, capitulation, and grammar.	Most of the work is neat.  There are several mistakes with spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.	Work is neat.  There are few or no mistakes with spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.

Congratulations!  You have completed your book, and it is now ready for use in the local historical society.  Children everywhere will be able to read your book and learn about the views of both the North and the South during the Civil War.