Lesson Plan 
Created by Matthew Morris

Lesson: Causes of the Civil War
Length: 60 minutes
Age or Grade Level Intended: 8th grade

Academic Standard(s): 
 ü	8.1.20 (Social Studies) The Civil War and Reconstruction Period: 1850 to 1877. 	Analyze the causes and effects of events leading to the Civil War, including 	development of sectional conflict over slavery. 

Performance Objective(s):
ü	After discussion of the causes of the Civil War the students will be able to identify one major cause of the war in the form of an essay with 95% accuracy. 

Assessment: 
ü	Students will be asked to complete a formal essay describing one major cause of the Civil War that they believed to be the main reason for the war to start with support for their answers, after class discussion. The teacher will then outline the paper to how the students will write it. The paper must include an introduction, discussing the purpose of the paper. Next the students will include a body that includes three paragraphs stating the main cause of the Civil War along with many supporting details why they believe this. Last the students will include a conclusion to wrap the paper up.

Advance Preparation by Teacher:
·	Rubric for formal essay (attached)

Procedure:
	Introduction/Motivation:
	The teacher will ask the students if they know why the United State had a Civil War. Can you name a main cause for the Civil War? (Bloom: Knowledge)  Then ask the students what important events they can recall that led to causes of the war.  Finally ask the students what cause of the war they find to be the biggest reason for starting this war.  The teacher will write the information the students can recall from the questions the teacher asked the students.  The teacher will then explain to the students that we will be covering several of the causes from the Civil War and their importance to starting the war. 

	Step-by-Step Plan:
1.	The teacher will ask the students if they know any of the main causes of the Civil War. (Gardner- Intrapersonal)
2.	The teacher will then proceed to list some of the main causes of the Civil War and describe them in detail (notes attached). 
3.	Then the teacher will specifically focus on Bleeding Kansas discussing the reasons for why it caused dispute amongst the states.
4.	Now the teacher will specifically focus on the election of Abraham Lincoln as being a cause to the start of the Civil War.
5.	The teacher will then discuss the growth of the abolition movement as being a major cause of the Civil War.
6.	Then the teacher will discuss the economic and social differences between the North and South as a major cause of the war.
7.	The last major cause of the Civil War that the teacher will discuss with the class is state versus federal rights. 
8.	The students will engage in a class debate on what they believe to be the main cause leading to the Civil War. (Gardner- Interpersonal) How were the causes of this war similar to the American Revolution? (Bloom: Analysis). 
9.	The teacher will then tell the students to write a summary on who what they believe to be the main cause of the Civil War. (Gardner- Linguistic and Logical)
a.	The teacher will then outline the paper to how the students will write it.
i.	Introduction- Discuss the purpose of the paper.
ii. Body- one paragraph outlining describing a major cause of the Civil War, followed by two supporting paragraphs on why they believe this to be the main cause. Can you write in your own words why this was a main cause? (Bloom: Comprehension). 
iii. Conclusion- Wrap the paper up.
8.	While the students are writing their essay, the teacher should walk around the room and offer help to anyone who needs it. 
9.	When the students have finished the essay, have the students turn in their paper.  The teacher will grade the paper based off a rubric.

	Closure:
		The teacher will applaud the students for their hard work for the class debate and for their essay.  The teacher will then ask the class if they think these causes could have been resolved and avoided a civil war in America. (Bloom: Synthesis). Then the teacher will ask the students if they think there is a better solution to handling the causes of the Civil War. (Bloom: Evaluation).  Then tell the class that we will discuss the beginning of the Civil War the next time they meet. 

Adaptations/Enrichment:

Student with Learning disability in writing: The teacher will give the student a guided outline to make the writing process easier for them.
Student with ADHD:  The teacher will put them in charge of writing the causes of the Civil War on the board. 
Student with Gifts and Talents in Creativity: The teacher will suggest the students complete out of class research on a specific cause of the war to increase their knowledge.

Self-Reflection:
I have not taught this lesson yet, but some questions I would ask are: 
·	Was I able to lead the lesson in a way that engaged all of my students?
·	Were all of the students involved in the group discussion?  How could I help them become involved?  
·	Did I provide enough information for them to write their essay?

Name: ____________________________________  Date:____________________

Main Cause of the Civil War Essay Rubric

	1	2	3	4	
Main Cause of the War	Does not include accurate information.	Includes little or no understanding of a main cause.	Includes some understanding of a main cause.	Includes full understanding of a main cause. 	
Supporting details to the main cause. 	Includes no supporting details along with the cause. 	Includes some supporting detail along with the cause.  	Includes many supporting details along with their cause.	Includes lots of supporting details to create a strong paper to support the main cause. 	
Grammar	Had more than 5 grammar mistakes.	Had 4-5 grammar mistakes.	Had 2-3 grammar mistakes.	Had 1 or less grammar mistakes.	
Spelling	Had more than 5 spelling mistakes.	Had 4-5 spelling mistakes.	Had 2-3 spelling mistakes.	Had 1 or less spelling mistakes.	

Notes for the Causes of the Civil War

•	“Bleeding Kansas”
o	Border Ruffians
•	Fought for independent states to enter into the Union either as a slave state. 
•	Biggest dispute was in Kansas.
o	Kansas-Nebraska Act
•	Allowed Kansas to decide for itself whether state would be free or slave. 
•	May 21, 1856 Kansas was ransacked by border ruffians causing violence.
•	One day later, violence occurred on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
•	Election of Abraham Lincoln
o	Elected in 1860
o	South believed Lincoln favored Northern interests. 
•	Seven states seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
•	Abolition Movement
o	Publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
o	Dred Scott Case
o	John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry
o	Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act
•	Economic and Social Differences Between the North and South
o	North- Industrious
•	Slavery was abolished.
•	People worked together from different classes and cultures.
o	South- Agricultural
•	Slavery was main part of the economy.
•	Social order was divided.
•	Plantations were major part of the South’s prosperity.
•	States versus Federal Rights
o	States should have the right to govern themselves.
•	Nullification- Overrule federal acts to be unconstitutional.
o	Problem seen mainly in the South.
•	Wanted to have the right to have slavery even if the federal government abolished it from the Union. 
•	When the federal government refused to allow nullification the South states began to secede from the Union.