Description

This 15 day complete unit covers the country’s growing economic, social, and political split over the spread of slavery in the first half of the 19th century, which eventually led to the secession of most of the Southern states, the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and the start of the Civil War. The unit covers: the development of the different economic systems in the North and South, examining the Industrial Revolution in the North and “King Cotton” in the South; the political compromises which attempted (unsuccessfully) to keep the North and South together; the Abolition movement; Bleeding Kansas; the Dred Scott decision; John Brown; and the Election of 1860. This is a “warts and all” examination of this period of history; it is both a story of triumph and tragedy as well as one of heroes and villains – some of whom were both, depending on how one looks at them.

This unit is based upon and complements my textbook “We Take Nothing by Conquest”, and is designed for both the novice and experienced classroom teacher as it contains everything needed for the full course. These materials – all of which have been battle-tested in the crucible of my own 8th grade classroom - include:
*a 70 page Teacher’s Guide which provides day-by-day and step-by-step instructions how to teach the unit and use all of the materials;
*45 pages of informative and interesting text, divided into eight chapters (the complete ninth unit of the textbook);
*an inquiry based study guide for each chapter to focus students on the main points and supporting details;
*quizzes for each chapter;
*PowerPoints with answers to the study guides for review, and including pictures and maps to stimulate discussion and enhance understanding;
*a Cloze activity for one chapter;
*two primary source activities: one on the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, and one on slave life, including narratives, pro-slavery arguments, and an abolitionist speech;
*an activity analyzing the results of the Election of 1800;
*a flowchart activity to enhance understanding of the Kansas-Nebraska Act;
*a Slave Life poster/PowerPoint project, complete with instructions and a sample poster and PowerPoint presentation;
*a PowerPoint Quiz Show review game;
*a test prep study guide;
*and a unit test (with answers).

Answer keys and grading guides for all study guides, activities, quizzes, and project are included in the Teacher’s Guide. Materials are provided as word documents and PDFs in one zip file.