Slave Power and Abolition - Roots of the Civil War

Running head: SLAVE POWER AND ABOLITION 1

Slave Power and Abolition

Roots of the Civil War

Andrew J. Wassel

American College of Education

SLAVE POWER AND ABOLITION 2

Slave Power and Abolition

Roots of the Civil War

This paper describes a grade 11 United States History unit on the causes of the Civil War.

In part one, I identify the anchor text for the unit, the research question for students to explore,

an authentic problem for them to consider, and the learning objectives for the unit. In part two, I

present three assessment options for my students to choose from; a flow chart to demonstrate

how History can be simplified into a series of cause-and-effect events and ideas; and a Civil War

era cartoon with three accompanying activities for students to perform. Finally, in part three, I

reflect on the development, delivery, and expected outcome of using one of my assessment

options in class.

Part 1: Anchor

Subject, Grade, Unit Topic

United States History, Grade 11, Roots of the Civil War

Anchor Text

Stampp’s (1991) collection of primary sources in The Causes of the Civil War provides a

starting point for young researchers. Sources include work from prominent Southern and

Northern intellectuals such as Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Frederick Douglas, and John

Calhoun. The text is available on Google Books, in an incomplete form. Yet, many of the

sources are readily available on Google Books and elsewhere on the Web.

Research Question

What were the major events, issues, and ideas that caused the Civil War?

Authentic Problem

How are pre-Civil War themes relevant to current issues in the United States?


Learning Objectives

USH.1.2. Summarize major themes in the early history of the United States such as federalism,

sectionalism, nationalism, and states’ rights.

USH.1.3. Identify and tell the significance of controversies pertaining to slavery, abolitionism,

and social reform movements.

USH.1.4. Describe causes and lasting effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction as well as the

political controversies surrounding this time such as Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, the Black

Codes, and the Compromise of 1877 (Indiana Department of Education, 2014, p. 4).

Part 2: Planning Strategies

Component 1: Three Non-paper Assessments

Assessment Option 1: Animoto Political Ad. Students will analyze the political platforms of

Southern Democrats and Northern Abolitionists; they will compete to create the most persuasive

political ad in Animoto, an app that enables users to produce video slideshows from photos,

music, and video clips (Animoto Inc., 2015). Students will work in their preassigned small-

groups (three to four members); I will assign half the groups the Southern position and half the

Northern position. Groups will have one class day for research, one day for video production,

and one day for presentation. I will create a holistic rubric to grade the videos (Oberg, 2010);

students will use the rubric in Appendix A to vote on the best ads. The first place group will earn

ten extra credit points; second place will earn five; third place will earn three.

Assessment Option 2: Toondoo Political Cartoon. Students will analyze the same political

platforms and compete to create the most effective political cartoon in Toondoo, a comic strip

and cartooning app (Jambav Inc., 2012). Students will choose their teams (three to four

members); teams may select any of the major political themes from the pre-Civil War era. Teams


will have one class day for research, one for cartoon production, and one day for presentation. I

will use a rubric (Appendix B) to grade final products, and students will use the evaluation

criteria to vote on the best cartoon. Extra credit prizes will be the same as the first assignment.

Assessment Option 3: Debate Skit. Students will analyze the pre-Civil War political platforms

and create skits, depicting a congressional debate between Southern Democrats and Northern

Abolitionists. Groups must use the skit to identify and evaluate the major arguments of these two

political groups. Students will select their groups (three to four members); two will play the roles

of the major political platforms; one will be the debate moderator; and any extra students will

play the role of moderates. Groups will have one day for research, one day for preparation, and

one day for presentation. I will use the rubric in Appendix C to grade their skits.

Component 2: Flow Chart

I created a flow chart to demonstrate how students could simplify the events and ideas of

the pre-Civil War era into a series of causes and effects. View the flow chart at the following

link: https://goo.gl/4decBW, or in Appendix D. I will caution my students on the dangers of

historical simplification. The flow chart is meant to serve as nothing more than a tool for

understanding.

Component 3: One Cartoon, Three Activities

Activity 1: Collaborative Thinking. Students will analyze the political cartoon: The United

States—A Black Business, from the London Newspaper: Punch (1856) (Appendix E). Students

will work in their pre-assigned small-groups to identify three themes from the cartoon. Groups

are not allowed to conduct any outside research. The purpose of this activity is for students to

analyze the specific elements of a cartoon: character appearance, gestures, thought and text

bubbles, scenery, and props, with limited understanding of the political context.

https://goo.gl/4decBW


Activity 2: Collaborative Research. Groups will research three primary sources that establish

the historical context of the political cartoon in Appendix E. They will revise their original three

themes, based on their findings. Students will then write one paragraph for each theme, reflecting

on how their contemporary ideas of the Civil War have influenced their judgment. Groups will

present their work to the class.

Activity 3: Socratic Seminar. Groups will research one current events article that depicts the

relevance of their pre-Civil War themes. They will have half of one class period to complete this

part of the activity. During the next class, students will arrange their desks in a circle and hold a

Socratic seminar. They will evaluate the relevance of their pre-Civil War themes to current

events issues. In the Socratic seminar, students have equal say, and may speak at any time, as

long as they respect the voice and opinions of their peers (National Paideia Center, 2014). This

activity will exercise students’ critical thinking and communication skills, and enable us to

examine the authentic problem for our unit (see part one).

Part III: Reflection

My first reaction to the choice board was to brainstorm the activities, assessments, and

Web 2.0 tools I would use to illustrate the components. Ever since I completed The Digital

Learner and Assessment Strategies, I have enjoyed creating activities and assessments and

incorporating technology to enhance learning. This tendency led me to gravitate towards the top

left and bottom right corners of the choice board. I also wanted to challenge myself by trying

something new. I had never used a cartoon as an anchor for classroom activities, and I only used

a flowchart, once, as a college freshman in a basic computer programming class. I chose an

anchor text on a History topic I had not yet explored: causes of the Civil War. I was challenged

to research the events and themes necessary for creating a logical, sensible flow chart. I also


spent a fair amount of time researching a Civil War-era newspaper cartoon that was legible,

simple enough for students to understand, and yet, complex enough to exercise their critical

thinking skills.

I will likely use the top left choice (develop three non-paper assessments) in a future

History unit. Before providing my students with any assessment options, I will need to perform

additional research on the anchor text, Stampp’s (1991) The Causes of the Civil War. I found the

text in Google Books; it is not complete. However, Stampp provides an excellent introduction to

the topic and an extensive list of primary source material, including documents from both sides

of the slavery and state’s rights debate. After performing a brief search, I discovered several of

these sources are readily available on Google Books and elsewhere on the Web. Therefore, I plan

to provide students with a full classroom day for research in each of three assessment options. I

will introduce the unit and take a constructivist approach; I will spend 10-15 minutes modeling

how to conduct appropriate online research (Kumari, 2014). Students should have the tools, then,

to explore in their small-groups.

I will provide all three assessment options to my students and allow them to choose the

one they will conduct as a class. Let us assume they choose to create Animoto political ads. This

assessment is multimodal; students will assemble components from various modes: images,

music, writing, special effects, and movement. As students produce coherent political ads in

Animoto, they are creating new meaning from the individual components (Jocius, 2013). This

assessment also challenges students to exercise cognitive skills at the two highest levels of

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy: evaluate and create (Krathwohl, 2002). I am requiring students to

work in their small-groups, because I know this assignment will be challenging. I may also

assign individual roles, such as group leader, researcher, and producer, to increase students’


ownership of their products and improve efficiency (Fontichiaro, 2009). I am deliberately

pushing students out of their comfort zones by requiring them to collaborate, conduct online

research, and employ digital media. I know they will be pressed to meet the performance criteria

in the rubric (Appendix A). Yet, their grades are only half as important as their learning.


References

Animoto Inc. (2015). Features [Web 2.0 app]. Retrieved from https://animoto.com/features

Fontichiaro, K. (2009). More than friendship: School scholarship, young learners, and the

standards for the 21st century learner. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), 64-67.

Indiana Department of Education (2015). United States History [PDF]. Retrieved from

http://goo.gl/SMVUAn

Jambav Inc. (2012). Toondoo [Web 2.0 app]. Retrieved from http://www.toondoo.com/

Jocius, R. (2013). Exploring adolescents’ multimodal responses to The Kite Runner:

Understanding how students use digital media for academic purposes. Journal of

Media Literacy Education, 5(1), 310-325.

Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An overview. Theory Into Practice,

41(4), 212-218.

Kumari, V. (2014). Constructivist approach to teacher education: An integrative model for

reflective teaching. i-manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 7(4), 31-40.

National Paideia Center (2014). How to teach a socratic seminar [Website]. Retrieved from

http://goo.gl/LyTLEZ

Oberg, C. (2010). Guiding classroom instruction through performance assessment. Research in

Higher Education Journal, 1, 1-11.

Punch (1856, November 8). The united states—a black business [Cartoon]. Punch, London.

Retrieved from http://goo.gl/u96ZjN

Stampp, K. M. (Ed.). (1991). The Causes of the Civil War (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Simon &

Schuster Inc.


Appendix A

Animoto Political Ad Grading Rubric

Performance Criteria/ Possible Points

Description of Performance Criteria

Level: Excellent

Level: Good

Level: Average

Level: Poor

Students effectively integrated primary source material (10 points)

Integrated three sources(10 points)

Integrated two sources(8 points)

Integrated one sources(6 points)

No primary sources(4 points)

Students addressed counterpoints to their political platform(10 points)

Addressed three counterpoints(10 points)

Addressed two counterpoints(8 points)

Addressed one counterpoint(6 points)

Addressed none(4 points)

Students articulated their political stance simply, clearly, and logically(15 points)

Excellent communication(15 points)

Good communication(12 points)

Average communication(9 points)

Poor communication(6 points)

Students created a quality ad, integrating music, text, pictures, and video into a coherent, persuasive product(20 points)

High level of persuasiveness(20 points)

Middle level of persuasiveness(16 points)

Low level of persuasiveness(12 points)

Not persuasive (8 points)


Appendix B

Toondoo Political Cartoon Grading Rubric



Level: Excellent

Level: Good

Level: Average

Level: Poor

Students clearly illustrated a relevant political theme in their cartoon(10 points)

Theme is clear and relevant(10 points)

Theme is mostly clear and relevant(8 points)

Theme is somewhat clear and relevant(6 points)

Theme is unclear and irrelevant(4 points)

Students used visual aids: characters, gestures, background, and props, to enhance the clarity and persuasiveness of their cartoon(15 points)

Excellent use of visual aids; used all four types(15 points)

Good use of visual aids; used at least three types(12 points)

Average use of visual aids; used at least two types(9 points)

Poor use of visual aids; used only one type(6 points)

Students used clear, concise text in dialogue and thought bubbles to enhance the persuasiveness of their cartoon(15 points)

Text is clear, concise, and persuasive(15 points)

Text is mostly clear, concise, and persuasive(12 points)

Text is somewhat clear, concise, and persuasive(9 points)

Text is unclear inconcise, and unpersuasive(6 points)

Students used humor to enhance the persuasiveness of their cartoon(15 points)

Cartoon is funny; the humor enhances its persuasive(15 points)

Cartoon is somewhat funny; the humor enhances its persuasiveness(12 points)

Cartoon is not funny, but the team clearly tried to be funny(9 points)

No evidence of humor(6 points)


Appendix C

Skit Grading Rubric



Level: Excellent

Level: Good

Level: Average

Level: Poor

Students identify and evaluate the major arguments of Southern Democrats (15 points)

Three arguments identified and evaluated(15 points)

Two arguments identified and evaluated (12 points)

One argument identified and evaluated(9 points)

No arguments identified or evaluated(6 points)

Students identify and evaluate the major arguments of Northern Abolitionists(15 points)

Three arguments identified and evaluated(15 points)

Two arguments identified and evaluated (12 points)

One argument identified and evaluated(9 points)

No arguments identified or evaluated(6 points)

Students identify and evaluate major counterpoints to both sides of the debate(15 points)

Three counterpoints identified and evaluated (15 points)

Two counterpoints identified and evaluated (12 points)

One counterpoint identified and evaluated (9 points)

No counterpoints identified or evaluated(6 points)

Students present an authentic product: moderator asks critical questions, congressmen remain in character throughout the debate(10 points)

Authentic product(10 points)

Mostly authentic product(8 points)

Somewhat authentic product(6 points)

Not an authentic product(4 points)


Appendix D

Causes of the Civil War Flowchart


Appendix E

Political Cartoon

Slave Power and Abolition - Roots of the Civil War

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