Lesson 3: A Reconstruction Newspaper
Essential Questions Addressed:
· What problems did Virginia face after the Civil War?
· How did Reconstruction try to solve Virginia’s problems?
NCSS Theme Addressed:
· NCSS Standard 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
· NCSS Standard 10: Civic Ideals and Practices
VA SOL Addressed:
· VA SOL VS.8: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the reconstruction of Virginia following the Civil War by
o a) Identifying the effects of Reconstruction on life in Virginia;
o b) Identifying the effects of segregation and “Jim Crow” on life in Virginia for whites, African Americans, and American Indians;
o c) Describing the importance of railroads, new industries, and the growth of cities to Virginia’s economic development.
· VA English SOL 4.3: The student will learn how media messages are constructed and for what purposes
o a) Differentiate between auditory, visual, and written media messages.
o b) Identify the characteristics of various media messages.
· VA English SOL 4.9: The student will demonstrate comprehension of information resources to research a topic.
o a) Construct questions about a topic.
o b) Collect information from multiple resources including online, print, and media.
o c) Use technology as a tool to organize, evaluate, and communicate information.
o d) Give credit to sources used in research.
o e) Understand the difference between plagiarism and using own words.
Student Objective:
· Students will be able to understand their summative assessment for this unit.
· Students will be able to write an historical newspaper article.
· Students will be able to describe the parts of a newspaper.
Materials:
· Book or CDROM of The New York Times Complete Civil War, with either a document camera or a computer and projector to display articles for the class.
o Holzer, H. & Symonds, C. L. (Ed.). (2010). The New York Times Complete Civil War. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal.
· Rubrics for the Reconstruction Newspaper, one copy per student
· Loose-leaf paper for each student
· Pencils
Procedure (45 minutes):
· Gather students on the carpet for a whole group lesson (20 minutes).
· Ask them about newspapers and parts of a newspaper. Parts to make sure they include in the discussion are: news articles, opinion pieces, pictures, maps, and cartoons. Does anyone read the newspaper? Do anyone’s parents?
· Show articles from the New York Times Complete Civil War. The goal is not for students to understand the language in the article but to grasp some of the language, and to understand that newspapers were the source of information to citizens during Reconstruction.
· Let students know that as their summative assessment for their Reconstruction Unit they will be writing their own Reconstruction Newspapers.
· Pass out the rubric for their assessment.
· Outline what students need to do for the assignment:
o Write a Reconstruction Newspaper, including news articles, opinions, a cartoon, maps, a graph, and covering various aspects of Reconstruction in Virginia
· Answer questions students have at the time about the project.
· Give students time (20 minutes) to work independently at their desks and write one news article they can include in their newspapers. Students may use any resource they want in writing, as long as they cite their sources. Be available to assist students and answer questions while they work.
· After 20 minutes have students turn in their articles and return to the carpet to wrap up the lesson (5 minutes).
· Discuss what was easy, what was hard, and any questions students have with a shoulder buddy.
· Let students know they will be learning more content in the next few days, and should always be thinking about ideas to include in their own newspapers throughout the rest of the unit. They will have class time to work at the end, but they should be working on this assignment at home as well.
Assessment:
· Take anecdotal notes of students and their understandings during the discussion
· Collect the articles students write during this lesson and use that article to provide feedback to students to help them write successful articles in their Reconstruction Newspapers.
Differentiation and Accommodation:
· The ESOL teacher will assist those students needing extra help with their language. If necessary, the ESOL teacher could provide an additional lesson on understanding newspapers for those students.
· Students with ADHD will be given the required assistance.
· This lesson addresses some of Gardner’s multiple intelligences: verbal-linguistic (discussion and writing) and visual-spatial (layout of newspapers).
Technology Integration:
This lesson requires either a document camera or laptop with CDROM and a projector.
· What problems did Virginia face after the Civil War?
· How did Reconstruction try to solve Virginia’s problems?
NCSS Theme Addressed:
· NCSS Standard 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
· NCSS Standard 10: Civic Ideals and Practices
VA SOL Addressed:
· VA SOL VS.8: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the reconstruction of Virginia following the Civil War by
o a) Identifying the effects of Reconstruction on life in Virginia;
o b) Identifying the effects of segregation and “Jim Crow” on life in Virginia for whites, African Americans, and American Indians;
o c) Describing the importance of railroads, new industries, and the growth of cities to Virginia’s economic development.
· VA English SOL 4.3: The student will learn how media messages are constructed and for what purposes
o a) Differentiate between auditory, visual, and written media messages.
o b) Identify the characteristics of various media messages.
· VA English SOL 4.9: The student will demonstrate comprehension of information resources to research a topic.
o a) Construct questions about a topic.
o b) Collect information from multiple resources including online, print, and media.
o c) Use technology as a tool to organize, evaluate, and communicate information.
o d) Give credit to sources used in research.
o e) Understand the difference between plagiarism and using own words.
Student Objective:
· Students will be able to understand their summative assessment for this unit.
· Students will be able to write an historical newspaper article.
· Students will be able to describe the parts of a newspaper.
Materials:
· Book or CDROM of The New York Times Complete Civil War, with either a document camera or a computer and projector to display articles for the class.
o Holzer, H. & Symonds, C. L. (Ed.). (2010). The New York Times Complete Civil War. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal.
· Rubrics for the Reconstruction Newspaper, one copy per student
· Loose-leaf paper for each student
· Pencils
Procedure (45 minutes):
· Gather students on the carpet for a whole group lesson (20 minutes).
· Ask them about newspapers and parts of a newspaper. Parts to make sure they include in the discussion are: news articles, opinion pieces, pictures, maps, and cartoons. Does anyone read the newspaper? Do anyone’s parents?
· Show articles from the New York Times Complete Civil War. The goal is not for students to understand the language in the article but to grasp some of the language, and to understand that newspapers were the source of information to citizens during Reconstruction.
· Let students know that as their summative assessment for their Reconstruction Unit they will be writing their own Reconstruction Newspapers.
· Pass out the rubric for their assessment.
· Outline what students need to do for the assignment:
o Write a Reconstruction Newspaper, including news articles, opinions, a cartoon, maps, a graph, and covering various aspects of Reconstruction in Virginia
· Answer questions students have at the time about the project.
· Give students time (20 minutes) to work independently at their desks and write one news article they can include in their newspapers. Students may use any resource they want in writing, as long as they cite their sources. Be available to assist students and answer questions while they work.
· After 20 minutes have students turn in their articles and return to the carpet to wrap up the lesson (5 minutes).
· Discuss what was easy, what was hard, and any questions students have with a shoulder buddy.
· Let students know they will be learning more content in the next few days, and should always be thinking about ideas to include in their own newspapers throughout the rest of the unit. They will have class time to work at the end, but they should be working on this assignment at home as well.
Assessment:
· Take anecdotal notes of students and their understandings during the discussion
· Collect the articles students write during this lesson and use that article to provide feedback to students to help them write successful articles in their Reconstruction Newspapers.
Differentiation and Accommodation:
· The ESOL teacher will assist those students needing extra help with their language. If necessary, the ESOL teacher could provide an additional lesson on understanding newspapers for those students.
· Students with ADHD will be given the required assistance.
· This lesson addresses some of Gardner’s multiple intelligences: verbal-linguistic (discussion and writing) and visual-spatial (layout of newspapers).
Technology Integration:
This lesson requires either a document camera or laptop with CDROM and a projector.