Slide Show of 6th Grade Student Work
What Are They Thinking?
When this assignment was due, I had actually done my What Are They Thinking on 4th graders because my unit was going to be on Virginia's involvement in the Civil War. For a few different reasons, I decided to move my unit up to 6th grade and focus on the Noteworthy Americans involved in the Civil War, a standard taken directly from the Virginia S.O.Ls. Even though I had already completed this assignment with 4th grade, I wanted to make sure I got some feedback from my 6th graders as well so I could formulate unit activities that would enhance my 6th graders knowledge.
For my 6th graders, I did the same thing I did with my 4th graders-- I had them write "Civil War" in the middle of their papers and create a web of words that came to their mind when they thought about the Civil War. From the samples below, it was evident that a lot of knowledge about the war revolves around the abolitionist initiatives and the slavery cause of the war. Names like Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman were used frequently. On many students' work were the names of general Robert E. Lee and even one student had Stonewall Jackson, however during our discussion about the Civil War, there continued to be that focus on slavery and how that impacted the war rather than the course of the war, and battles. Therefore, I knew I wanted to take them on a field trip to the Manassas Battlefield. What a great way to engage the students in learning about a very important battle in the Civil War, which also happens to be in our backyard.
Prior to this assignment, I had decided to focus my unit on the Noteworthy Americans outlined in the Virginia S.O.Ls for 6th grade, and even after the assignment, I am glad this is my focus. Although several of the students were able to rattle off names such as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln, the students had a hard time telling me how they influenced the war. Most were familiar with Abraham Lincoln, but no one knew what side of the war Stonewall Jackson was on.
Based on the information I learned from the 6th graders, I really hope to focus this lesson on learning about these noteworthy Americans: Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglas, and Stonewall Jackson. I hope that my students walk about understanding how these 6 men influenced the course of the Civil War.
For my 6th graders, I did the same thing I did with my 4th graders-- I had them write "Civil War" in the middle of their papers and create a web of words that came to their mind when they thought about the Civil War. From the samples below, it was evident that a lot of knowledge about the war revolves around the abolitionist initiatives and the slavery cause of the war. Names like Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman were used frequently. On many students' work were the names of general Robert E. Lee and even one student had Stonewall Jackson, however during our discussion about the Civil War, there continued to be that focus on slavery and how that impacted the war rather than the course of the war, and battles. Therefore, I knew I wanted to take them on a field trip to the Manassas Battlefield. What a great way to engage the students in learning about a very important battle in the Civil War, which also happens to be in our backyard.
Prior to this assignment, I had decided to focus my unit on the Noteworthy Americans outlined in the Virginia S.O.Ls for 6th grade, and even after the assignment, I am glad this is my focus. Although several of the students were able to rattle off names such as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln, the students had a hard time telling me how they influenced the war. Most were familiar with Abraham Lincoln, but no one knew what side of the war Stonewall Jackson was on.
Based on the information I learned from the 6th graders, I really hope to focus this lesson on learning about these noteworthy Americans: Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglas, and Stonewall Jackson. I hope that my students walk about understanding how these 6 men influenced the course of the Civil War.
Before deciding to create a unit on the Noteworthy American's in the Civil War for 6th grade, I was going to do a unit on Virginia's influences in the Civil War for 4th grade. Below is the What Are They Thinking reflection for 4th grade to give you an idea of the difference between 4th grade and 6th grade thinking.
4th grade: whataretheythinking.docx | |
File Size: | 95 kb |
File Type: | docx |