English/Language Arts
Explore lead sentences - questions
Another Minute for the question lead mentor list! How can students resist a hook like the one delivered by Author Warren? Have students look at their own writing journals and choose a piece to play with the idea of question sentence leads. Have them write several different possible questions and then practice their peer conferencing skills by discussing and justifying which question they would choose for themselves and their writing partners.
Explore writing seeds
In the third paragraph, Author Warren explains how she learned about Frederick Grant in the course of her research for a book. The story made enough of an impression to take his story further, and Andrea Warren did that in her book Under Siege! Three Children at the Civil War Battle for Vicksburg. Challenge your students to add entries to their writing journals from research and reading they do in other subject area classes, like social studies, science, art and music. They may be surprised with the ideas they find.
Social Studies
Explore US History - Civil War
Use this Minute to reinforce the key points of the Civil War. Have students look at a map to see where Union and Confederate lines ran. Have them use the map to unpack Grant’s strategies regarding the battle at Vicksburg. Look at the geographic location and discuss how that impacted Grant's strategies.
Explore Families in Wars
Author Warren describes how some families behaved during the US Civil War. Have your students explore to find out if the behavior - soldiers bringing their families closer to the war - is typical in war. Has this behavior changed over time? Why or why not? Is the behavior similar in other countries? Why?
Explore US Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant
Following the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant became the 18th president of the United States. Have students explore his presidential win. Did his war experience affect his ability to win the election? Did it affect the way he chose to govern? Do we see parallels in other US Presidents? When students discover the connection between military service and the presidency, have them do some critical thinking of why the connection exists.
STEM
Explore biology: antiseptics and infection
Take a look at medical conditions that existed during the Civil War. How often was amputation employed as a medical solution. How often was it successful? What kinds of medical developments came about due to what we learned during this War?
Research Skills
Explore biography
Use this Minute to reinforce the organization of biographical resources. Check your school library. Is there a biography section? What does the call number pattern look like? Point out that the three letters at the end of the call number are not the first three letters of the author’s last name (like they are in the rest of the library), but rather the first three letters of the biographee’s last name. Ask students what their call number would be if they had a biography shelved in the library.
Explore lead sentences - questions
Another Minute for the question lead mentor list! How can students resist a hook like the one delivered by Author Warren? Have students look at their own writing journals and choose a piece to play with the idea of question sentence leads. Have them write several different possible questions and then practice their peer conferencing skills by discussing and justifying which question they would choose for themselves and their writing partners.
Explore writing seeds
In the third paragraph, Author Warren explains how she learned about Frederick Grant in the course of her research for a book. The story made enough of an impression to take his story further, and Andrea Warren did that in her book Under Siege! Three Children at the Civil War Battle for Vicksburg. Challenge your students to add entries to their writing journals from research and reading they do in other subject area classes, like social studies, science, art and music. They may be surprised with the ideas they find.
Social Studies
Explore US History - Civil War
Use this Minute to reinforce the key points of the Civil War. Have students look at a map to see where Union and Confederate lines ran. Have them use the map to unpack Grant’s strategies regarding the battle at Vicksburg. Look at the geographic location and discuss how that impacted Grant's strategies.
Explore Families in Wars
Author Warren describes how some families behaved during the US Civil War. Have your students explore to find out if the behavior - soldiers bringing their families closer to the war - is typical in war. Has this behavior changed over time? Why or why not? Is the behavior similar in other countries? Why?
Explore US Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant
Following the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant became the 18th president of the United States. Have students explore his presidential win. Did his war experience affect his ability to win the election? Did it affect the way he chose to govern? Do we see parallels in other US Presidents? When students discover the connection between military service and the presidency, have them do some critical thinking of why the connection exists.
STEM
Explore biology: antiseptics and infection
Take a look at medical conditions that existed during the Civil War. How often was amputation employed as a medical solution. How often was it successful? What kinds of medical developments came about due to what we learned during this War?
Research Skills
Explore biography
Use this Minute to reinforce the organization of biographical resources. Check your school library. Is there a biography section? What does the call number pattern look like? Point out that the three letters at the end of the call number are not the first three letters of the author’s last name (like they are in the rest of the library), but rather the first three letters of the biographee’s last name. Ask students what their call number would be if they had a biography shelved in the library.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission