Bringing Antebellum Reformers to Life

By Jeff Burns

The antebellum period was a tumultuous time in American History, and there were a lot of reformers and reform movements seeking to cure various societal ills.  Movements to end slavery and alcoholism coexisted with movements to improve the conditions of women, inmates, and the mentally ill.  New religious denominations spread across the country, and utopians tried to build perfect societies.  There are a lot of people that students need to know.

This period is a perfect period for speed dating, an activity I picked up from the AP U.S. History Teachers Facebook Group.  I have no idea of the origin, but it is a fun way to cover a lot of people quickly.  Each student chose a reformer from a list.  The list can be customized based on local or state standards, textbooks, teaching preferences, etc.

They then have a couple of days to research their character. I have them prepare a one page biography sheet and an “I am” poem in the voice of the character.  On the biography sheet, they answer these questions:

• What criticism of American society did the individual have?
• What methods did the person use to improve American life?
• What success did the individual have in promoting reform?
• What detail(s) of the person’s work made him or her an interesting historical figure?
• To what extent was the reformer obsessed with achieving an impractical goal through fanatical or impractical means?
• What lasting impact did the person’s reforms have on American society? 

They may also wear costumes or bring props that relate to their character for extra credit. 

On the appointed day, the desks are set up in pairs and one side of the pair moves every 2-3 minutes, to rotate around the room.  In that two to three minutes, each one of the pair shares important highlights about his or her character and takes notes.  

The next day we debriefed in small groups.  I had 6 stations set up around the room with big pieces of paper and markers.  One paper had the question “What did the Reformers have in common with each other?”  One said “How were the reformers different from the rest of Americans?”  The other 4 papers had straight lines, the small groups had to discuss and place their partial list of reformers on each spectrum.  Among the spectrum topics were:

Most Successful/Least Successful

Most Crazy (Unconventional)/Least Crazy(Unconventional)

Most Dedicated/Least Dedicated

Overly Idealistic/Practical & Pragmatic

Greatest Legacy/Least Legacy

The small groups rotated around the room addressing each question and contributing to each page.  Then we had a whole group discussion about their work and why they thought the way we did.

In the end, the students had actively engaged in learning about the reformers and the antebellum period. I do speed dating a few times a year now, as it can be easily adopted to almost any period when there are a lot of people. However, it doesn’t have to be just people.  Students can also speed date as ideas, books/documents, states, countries, etc. 

If you want to see the student instructions and list of reformers that I used, go here http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/page/7362 and look for “Reformers Speed Dating.” There are numerous “I Am” poem templates online; you can easily find one that suits your needs.

Crafting Comparisons: A Creative Activity for Teaching the CIvil War

By Nina Kendall

As an extended activity the during the Civil War unit, I challenge students to write metaphors comparing some aspect of the Civil War to some facet of a football game.  This activity is simply called, “If the Civil War was a football game.” Students have the opportunity to view models comparisons and a list of broad topics that we study in this unit. It is their job to make evidence based comparison using accurate and colorful language.

I do this activity with students with students enrolled in regular US History class and in Advanced Placement United States History(APUSH). With students in the regular US History Class, I provide a sentence frame, a model sentence, a list of history terms to choose from, and a reference list of football terms as reference. For the APUSH students, I share a few examples and challenge them to make their metaphors. I let my APUSH students choose to work by themselves or in a group. The rule for the assignment is simply the groups must turn in at least 10 metaphors for every group member. Students also had choice about the aspects of the Civil War they choose to be the subject of their metaphors.

This activity is very engaging and a great opportunity for students to be creativity. Students examine the war from economic, political, and military perspectives as they strive to understand how different people and events played a role. Some of the greatest independent  thinking about the Civil War from students happens during this activity. Students frequently extend their inquiry to different perspectives as they craft their metaphors. Further as students are crafting their own comparisons and selecting evidence to support their comparisons it is a great way for me to evaluate their understanding of the  period and their growth in using historical evidence.

At the conclusion of this activity students share the part of their work they are most proud of with their peers. This is a great day in class. I establish some rules for sharing. Each topic can only be used once in the entire class.  We rotate after each comparison to another person or group. Students are invited to express their appreciation and approval for the work of others. Students  happily share their work. As time runs down, students compete with each other to be able to share another part of the work.

Metaphor Rubric

   

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Focus on Metaphor	There is one clear, well-focused metaphor. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information.	The metaphor is clear but the supporting information is general.	The metaphor is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information.	The metaphor is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.
Support for Metaphor	Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable.	Supporting details and information are relevant.	Supporting details and information are relevant, but are not period specific,	Supporting details and information are typically unclear.
Creativity	The project contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used imagination.	The project contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used imagination.	The project contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the project. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.

Rubric from Read Write Think