The Civil War WebQuest
An Internet WebQuest
on The American Civil War
created by Tara Geidel
and John Niesen
Introduction | The Quest | The Process & Resources | Conclusion
A civil war always divides a
country, ultimately resulting in devastation. The American Civil war was
divided between the Northern Union, and the Southern Confederacy, formed from
states that seceded, or abandoned the Union. You will learn about this tragic
confrontation from the perspective of the Northerners, the Southerners, and
slaves during the 1860’s.
Any time
there is division between parts of something, the results are rarely good. The
Civil War left many in despair, divided families, and left America to rebuild
itself.
Was the Civil War worth the fight (did the positive outcomes outweigh the
negative aspects of the war) ?
In this WebQuest you will be working together with a group of
students in class. Each group will answer the Question. As a member of the
group you will explore web pages from people all over the world who care deeply
about what happened during the Civil War. Because these are real,
and sometimes very emotional web pages we're tapping into, not things made just
for schools, the reading level might challenge you. Feel free to use the online
Webster dictionary or one in your classroom.
You'll begin with everyone in your group getting some background before
dividing into roles where people on your team become experts on one perspective
of the Civil War.
Phase 1 - Background: Something for
Everyone
Use the Internet information linked below to answer
the basic questions of who? what?
where? when? why? and how? Be creative in
exploring the information so that you answer these questions as fully and
insightfully as you can.
o The Civil War homepage
·
http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/
o A PBS film and information put
together by the Public Broadcasting System
·
http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/
o A timeline with bits of information
regarding the war’s significant points
·
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/
o A Civil War web database with many
links to informational sites
Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Individuals or pairs from your larger WebQuest
team will explore one of the roles below.
2. Read through the websites linked to your group. If you print out the
websites, underline the passages that you feel are the most important. When you
look at the websites on the computer, copy sections you feel are important by
dragging the mouse across the passage and copying / pasting it into a Word
document.
3. Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the
passage from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to to prove your point.
4. Be prepared to focus what you've learned into one main opinion that answers
the Big Question based on what you have learned from the links for your role.
Northerners
Use the
Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically
related to Northerners (Union):
1. Why did the Northerners believe they
were fighting?
2. How did slavery affect the Northern
colonies?
3. What affects did the outcome of the
Civil War have on the Union?
·
http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/union_soldier_civil_war.html
o
Information regarding
Union soldiers containing links to other pages
o
Very aptly
named- tells of causes of the civil war
o
The Civil
War Homepage
Southerners
Use the
Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically
related to Southerners (Confederacy):
1. Why did the South want to leave the Union?
2. Why did the South depend so heavily on
slavery?
3. What happened in the South following the war?
o
The Civil
War Homepage
o
Very aptly
named- tells of causes of the civil war
·
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html
o
Tells about
secession
Slaves
Use the
Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically
related to Slaves:
1. What typical duties did slaves in
America have?
2. What roles did slaves play in the
war?
3. How did slaves escape to northern
states during the Civil War?
·
http://www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm
o
Discusses slavery
during the Civil War era
·
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/slavery-during-the-civil-war.html
o
Article about
slavery during the Civil War
·
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war-feb-1861/civil-war-slave-cartoon.htm
o
A cartoon
about slavery during the Civil War
Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus
You have all learned about a
different part of Civil War Studies. Now group members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one
perspective. You must all now answer the Question as a group. Each of you will
bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others
disagree. Use information, pictures, movies, facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages you explored to convince your teammates that your
viewpoint is important and should be part of your team's answer to the
Question. Your WebQuest team should write out an
answer that everyone on the team can live with.
Phase 4 - Real World Feedback
You and your
teammates have learned a lot by dividing up into different roles. Now's the
time to put your learning into a letter you'll send out for real world
feedback. Together you will write a letter that contains opinions, information,
and perspectives that you've gained. Here's the process:
1. Begin your letter with a statement of who you are and why you are writing
your message to this particular person or organization.
2. Give background information that shows you understand the topic.
STATE THE TASK / QUEST(ION) AND YOUR GROUP'S ANSWER.
3. Each person in your group should write a paragraph that gives two good
reasons supporting the group's opinion. Make sure to be specific in both the
information (like where you got it from on the Web) and the reasoning (why the
information proves your group's point).
4. Have each person on the team proofread the message. Use correct letter
format and make sure you have correctly addressed the email message. Use the
link below to make contact. Send your message and make sure your teacher gets a
copy.
Your Contact is: John Smith
Tragedy has
many faces. It may be hard to come up with an answer everyone feels is
completely right. It's the same for understanding a topic as complex as the Civil
War: when you only know part of the picture, you only know part of the picture.
Now you all know a lot more. Nice work. You should be proud of yourselves! How
can you use what you've learned to see beyond the black and white of a topic
and into the grayer areas? What other parts of Civil War Studies could still be
explored? Remember, learning never stops.