American Revolution & Civil War Bundle of 16 Supplemental Activities

American Revolution & Civil War Bundle. Learning about the American Revolution and the Civil War can be a great experience for students or they could be sitting passively and daydreaming about anything but what is being taught. I'm a fan of students being engaged in their learning which is why I put together this American Revolution & Civil War bundle for you to use with your students. I believe when students are doing they are students who are learning.

INCLUDED IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION PACKAGE:

1. Revolutionary War Review Activity - Based on HEADBANDS Game - 96 Review Cards

[Answer Key = Does Not Apply]

Try this Revolutionary War review activity and see how it goes for you and your students. Based on the popular game Headbands these cards help students review their knowledge of the Revolutionary War.

There are 96 cards that each have something on the front that has to do with the Revolutionary War. One student holds a card up to their forehead and the other person gives them clues to try and guess what is on the front of their card. You can play for a minute a round, two minutes, or whatever you think will work well for your students.

Cardstock works best for printing because it is more durable and easier for students to keep in a stack. You could also print out a classroom set and laminate them to use over and over again. You could also use these cards as a way for students to create flashcards to help them study as well. I've included two pages that have blank cards to add more to the list if you'd like.

2. The American Revolution Review Game – Based on $100,000 Pyramid Game Show

[Answer Key = Does Not Apply]

Another review activity is one that two students play at a time in front of the class with one student seated facing away from the screen and one student seated so they are facing the screen. Kind of like the old $100,00 Pyramid game show. Each round consists of 6 topics that have something to do with the American Revolution and will be uncovered with your click of the mouse. The team has 60 seconds (you are the time keeper) to complete as many as they can in that round. Sometimes the topics are connected and sometimes it is a hodgepodge of vocabulary.

There are 16 rounds with 6 topics in each round for a total of 96 vocabulary terms regarding people, places, events, and quotations from the time period of the American Revolution.

3. 32 American Revolution Trading Cards of Historic Figures to be Made

[Answer Key = Does Not Apply]

Looking for a way for your students to discover facts about some of the major names of the American Revolution? Here is a way your students can discover these historic figures that allows them to find out some basic facts, but also allows them to identify what they think is important about each person. Each trading card has the same format and allows students to gather a very brief snapshot of who these people were and what they did that contributed to the history of the American Revolution. Decide how many you'd like students to do and make a mini-research project out of it. Kids really enjoy this format!

This file is in .pdf format and can be printed on standard 8.5x11 inch paper. Each trading card is on a half sheet of paper and will need to be cut out by students to write on and fold to make into front/back trading cards.

For each person students will identify the following:

Date of Birth

Date of Death

Cause of Death

Role in the American Revolution

Fun Facts

Legacy

There isn't a lot of room for students to write so they'll have to be brief and to the point, thus contributing to the brief snapshot of each person's life.

Each trading card is set up to be folded into a front and a back and could be stapled together or left unfolded to see both sides at once. Included on each front side is a picture of the person, their name, and their signature.

The historic figures for this activity are:

John Adams

Samuel Adams

Abigail Adams

Ethan Allen

Benedict Arnold

Joseph Brant

John Burgoyne

George Rogers Clark

Lord Cornwallis

Silas Deane

John Dickinson

Benjamin Franklin

Thomas Gage

Nathaniel Greene

Nathan Hale

Alexander Hamilton

John Hancock

Patrick Henry

King George III

Thomas Jefferson

John Paul Jones

Marquis de Lafayette

Richard Henry Lee

Francis Marion

George Mason

Robert Morris

Thomas Paine

Paul Revere

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur de Rochambeau

Betsy Ross

Baron von Steuben

George Washington

This has worked well for my students so I hope yours find the same success!

4. American Revolution - 15 Famous Mystery Phrases - Research, Writing, & Analysis

[Answer Key = Included]

The American Revolution can be an exciting time for students to learn about because heroes stepped forward and there was a struggle between the upper hand and the underdog, but it can be overwhelming for students because of how much there is to cover. However, with pictures and stories students are able to get a firmer grip of this fascinating time period because of what was said, who said it, why it was said, and the impact that it had within the story of the American Revolution. And most importantly, did these people really say these phrases at all?!?

Included in this package are 15 famous people from the American Revolution who said something that was powerful at the time and still resonates in our minds today. The phrases are to be found by students using whatever research methods you decide on.

The 15 Phrases are accompanied by two different writing tasks of your choice:

Option #1 is set up for students to identify what was being said in the bubble captions, explain what the phrase means, and explain what was happening during the revolution that led to the phrase being said.

Option #2 is more advanced in terms of students choosing two of the phrases that have been discovered and identify key words, find synonyms that could have been used, identify what the words mean, and write a critical analysis as to whether or not they believe the phrase is a valid and meaningful part of American History.

The Phrases Included are:

Patrick Henry - "If this be treason, make the most of it!"

John Paul Jones - "I have not yet begun to fight!"

Nathan Hale - "My only regret is I only have one life to give for my country."

John Hancock - "There! His majesty can no read my name without glasses!"

James Otis - "A man's house is his castle."

Thomas Paine - "These are the times that try men's souls."

John Parker - "Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a way, let it begin here."

Israel Putnam/William Prescott - "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"

Benjamin Franklin - "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

Thomas Jefferson - "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

George Washington - "Tell General Sullivan to use the bayonet. I am resolved to take Trenton."

John Adams - "Facts are stubborn things."

Paul Revere - "The regulars are coming!"

Paul Revere - "One if by land, two if by sea."

Patrick Henry - "Give me liberty, or give me death!

5. The Road to Revolution Cloze Style Quiz

[Answer Key = Included]

This is a story quiz I created that has students fill in the blanks using a word bank filled with 40 terms. The quiz is rather lengthy and takes about 30 minutes for a student to complete. Would be a great quiz to give if you knew you were going to have a substitute teacher that day. Could also be used as a pre-assessment before learning about the build up to the American Revolution.

I teach 8th grade U.S. History using the Creating America: Beginnings through World War I text book. My classes are comprised of general education, special education, and gifted and talented all together. This quiz lets me see how well students are connecting to the story so far.

This quiz needs to be printed on 11" x 17" paper and is 2 total pages. I print this on two separate sheets that are stapled together. I have students tear off the word bank so they can have that on the side to cross off words as they use them. They WILL NOT use every word in the word bank! There is an answer key included and I grade this as a class allowing students to grade their own making sure there is nothing on their desks except the red marker I provide for them. That way they can see for themselves which ones they got right or wrong and hear the story read to see how it is put together.

This was a hit with my students and they said they did better on this type of quiz because it is actually a story and easier to follow.

6. The Road to Revolution Word Find

[Answer Key = Included]

I teach 8th Grade U.S. History and use this word find after the students take their Chapter 6 Quiz to help them from distracting others in class who are finishing their quiz.

The will find words such as:

BOSTON MASSACRE

BOSTON TEA PARTY

BOYCOTT

COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE

CRISPUS ATTUCKS

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

ENGLAND

ETHAN ALLEN

FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

GEORGE WASHINGTON

INTOLERABLE ACTS

JOHN ADAMS

JOHN HANCOCK

KING GEORGE III

LEXINGTON

LOYALIST

PARLIAMENT

PATRICK HENRY

PATRIOTS

PAUL REVERE

PROCLAMATION LINE

QUARTERING ACT

REDCOATS

REPRESENTATION

REVENUE

SAMUEL ADAMS

SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

SMUGGLED

SONS OF LIBERTY

STAMP ACT

SUGAR ACT

THOMAS JEFFERSON

TREASON

TWO IF BY SEA

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH

7. Revolutionary War Bingo – 30 Bingo Boards with 95 Detailed Calling Cards

[Answer Key = Does Not Apply}

Teaching about the American Revolution involves your students learning and understanding a massive list of names, vocabulary, and places of historic importance. To help students refresh their memories of the who/what/when/where of it all this American Revolution Bingo activity might be just what you and your students need.

Included in this activity are 30 individualized Bingo boards and 95 detailed calling cards that give the letter, the name, date, or place of something in regard to the American Revolution as well as a brief description about what the phrase is or a clue to lead their memories to the correct answer.

How you play Bingo is up to you. If you want to do traditional Bingo, four-corner Bingo, small diamond, large diamond, etc. you do what you think would be fun for your students.

8. The Original 13 States Latitude and Longitude Coordinates Puzzles

[Answer Key = Included]

As a way to incorporate geography into the study of the American Revolution here are 13 latitude and longitude coordinates puzzles that your students can engage in. Each puzzle consists of a set of coordinates that they will plot one at a time connecting the dots as they go. If everything works out right in the end they should see the outline of one of the original 13 states.

The number of coordinates for each state is as follows:

Connecticut – 34

Delaware – 37

Georgia – 40

Maryland – 51

Massachusetts – 42

New Hampshire – 53

New Jersey – 47

New York – 47

North Carolina – 50

Pennsylvania – 24

Rhode Island – 102

South Carolina – 30

Virginia - 47

INCLUDED IN THE CIVIL WAR PACKAGE:

-96 Civil War Headbands Review Activity

-Civil War Bingo

-Civil War Historical Fiction Book List with Lexile Scores

-Civil War Debates

-Civil War Review Game

-Civil War Trading Cards to be Made

-Civil War Word Search

-Civil War Cloze Reading Strategy Quiz (can be used as a pre-test)

Here are the descriptions of each:

1. 96 CIVIL WAR HEADBANDS REVIEW ACTIVITY:

If it is time to review at the end of the Civil War unit then try this fun activity with your students. Based on the popular game Headbands these cards help students review their knowledge of the American Civil War.

There are 96 cards that each have something on the front that has to do with the events, people, or places of the Civil War. One student holds a card up to their forehead and the other person gives them clues to try and guess what is on the front of their card. You can play for a minute a round, two minutes, or whatever you think will work well for your students.

Cardstock works best for printing because it is more durable and easier for students to keep in a stack. You could also print out a classroom set and laminate them to use over and over again. You could also use these cards as a way for students to create flashcards to help them study as well. I've included two pages that have blank cards to add more to the list if you'd like.

2. CIVIL WAR BINGO:

Included in this activity are 30 individualized Bingo boards and 95 detailed calling cards that give the letter, the name, date, or place of something in regard to the Civil War as well as a brief description about what the phrase is or a clue to lead their memories to the correct answer.

How you play Bingo is up to you. If you want to do traditional Bingo, four-corner Bingo, small diamond, large diamond, etc. you do what you think would be fun for your students.

3. CIVIL WAR HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK LIST WITH LEXILE SCORES:

Want your students read historical fiction relating to the Civil War but don't know what books are out there? Would you like to help your students choose books based on their reading ability and Lexile scores but don't have the time to look that up yourself? This chart has helped my students choose a book that is just right for them so I hope this will help your students as well.

This product is a chart of 41 different books that pertain to the Civil War. Included in the chart is the book title, a picture of the book cover, the author's name, a brief summary of the book, and the Lexile rating of the book.

When I teach the Civil War, this is how we start our unit. I give each student this packet of books to choose from and have them pick their top 5 choices (in case we don't have any copies left of the one they want). Our librarian pulls all of the copies of each book off the shelves for me and onto a cart that I can bring into my classroom. I like teaching with a book this way because every student gets the freedom to choose what book they would like to read and can do so based on their strength as a reader. The reason I do it this way is because when we learn about the different people, places, and events throughout our Civil War unit the students will all be able to make some connection back to their story which helps with overall understanding.

The book titles are:

Across Five Aprils

Across The Lines

Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee

Behind the Lines

The Brother’s War: Civil War Letters to Their Loved Ones from the Blue and the Gray

Bull Run

Charley Skedaddle

Dear Austin: Letters from the Underground Railroad

Freedom Crossing

Get on Board, The Story of the Underground Railroad

The Glory Field

A House Divided: The Lives of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee

In My Father’s House

Jayhawker

The Journal of Rufus Rowe: A Witness to the Battle of Fredericksburg

The Killer Angels

The Last Silk Dress

Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs

Mine Eyes Have Seen

A Nation Torn: The Story of How the Civil War Began

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (not historical fiction, but can't be left off a reading choice about the Civil War)

Nightjohn

Numbering All the Bones

Rebels Against Slavery

The Red Badge of Courage

Red Cap

Rifles for Waite

Sarny

Shades of Gray

Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?

Soldier’s Heart

Steal Away

Stealing South: A Story of the Underground Railroad

To Be a Slave

True North

Turn Homeward Hannalee

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Which Way Freedom?

With Every Drop of Blood

4. 25 CIVIL WAR DEBATES:

Your students will have a formal debate on issues that were either part of the Civil War, led up to the Civil War, or exist today but stem from the Civil War. This week-long activity is bound to ramp up your classroom discussions. I have done this type of activity for 15 years and look forward to it every time it comes around.

What I love about this lesson the most is that students get to voice their own opinions without being criticized by anyone. It provides them with a safe platform to talk about an important issue in history/today's society as well as an issue they feel passionately about.

Included in this activity are:

-25 Civil War Debatable topics on Cardstock to be displayed

-The same 25 Cardstock topics but on PowerPoint

-Debate Survey for students to figure out what they believe

-Grading Evaluation that is simple and to the point

-Tips for Your Debate sheet to help students with writing

-Lesson Plan that explains what I have done for this activity

-Take Your Own Stance sheet for students to fill out during debates

The one thing I appreciate the most about the activity is the discussion that is held after the debates are concluded. For one full week the students will hopefully be more aware of how the of issues from the past connect to the issues that are currently part the world in which they live today.

5. CIVIL WAR REVIEW GAME:

Are you looking for a fun way to review with students regarding the American Civil War? In this review game two students play at a time in front of the class with one student seated facing away from the screen and one student seated so they are facing the screen (if you're old enough to remember the $100,000 Pyramid game show it is similar to that). Each round consists of 6 random topics that have something to do with the American Civil War and will be uncovered with your click of the mouse. The team has 60 seconds (you, the teacher, are the time keeper) to complete as many as they can in that round. Sometimes the topics are connected and sometimes it is a hodgepodge of vocabulary.

There are 16 rounds with 6 topics in each round for a total of 96 vocabulary terms regarding people, places, events, and quotations from the time period of the American Civil War.

My students loved playing this and it gave each student a chance to take part in the review. You can divide this into a winners and losers bracket for more repetition over two days to help them develop ways to explain the topics. I always believe that when students are actively involved they are thinking, engaged, and developing a better understanding.

6. CIVIL WAR TRADING CARDS TO BE MADE:

Looking for a way for your students to discover facts about some of the major names of the Civil War? Here is a way your students can discover these historic figures that allows them to find out some basic facts, but also allows them to identify what they think is important about each person. Each trading card has the same format and allows students to gather a very brief snapshot of who these people were and what they did that contributed to the history of the Civil War.

This file is in .pdf format and can be printed on standard 8.5x11 inch paper. Each trading card is on a half sheet of paper and will need to be cut out by students to write on and fold to make into front/back trading cards.

For each person students will identify the following:

Date of Birth

Date of Death

Cause of Death

Role in the Civil War

Fun Facts

Legacy

There isn't a lot of room for students to write so they'll have to be brief and to the point, thus contributing to the brief snapshot of each person's life.

Each trading card is set up to be folded into a front and a back and could be stapled together or left unfolded to see both sides at once. Included on each front side is a picture of the person, their name, and their signature.

The historic figures for this activity are:

Clara Barton

John Wilkes Booth

Matthew Brady

John Brown

James Buchanan

Ambrose Burnside

John C. Calhoun

Henry Clay

John Clem

John Crittenden

Jefferson Davis

Dorthea Dix

Stephen Douglas

Frederick Douglass

Nathan Forest

John C. Fremont

William Lloyd Garrison

Ulysses S. Grant

Joseph Hooker

Stonewall Jackson

Robert E. Lee

Abraham Lincoln

George McClellan

George Pickett

Dred Scott

Robert Gould Shaw

William T. Sherman

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Roger B. Taney

Harriet Tubman

Daniel Webster

Eli Whitney

This has worked well for my students so I hope yours find the same success!

7. CIVIL WAR WORD SEARCH:

Here is an activity you could use after a Civil War test or as a way for students to become familiar with the terms they will use in a Civil War unit. I have used this activity in the past after a Civil War test to keep students occupied during the last 10 minutes of the class period while students who take a little longer on their test can finish without any distractions. Works like a charm every time and I believe any time students are exposed to vocabulary it is a good refresher for them.

8. CIVIL WAR CLOZE READING STRATEGY QUIZ

This is a story about the Civil War I created that uses the "Cloze" reading strategy where students fill in the 61 blanks within the story using a word bank provided. There are more words and dates in the word bank than students will use. The story is rather lengthy and takes about 30 minutes for a student to complete (some more some less of course). This would be a great pre-assessment quiz to give if you knew you were going to have a substitute teacher that day.

I teach 8th grade U.S. History using the Creating America: Beginnings through World War I text book and this goes along with Chapters 15, 16, and 17. My classes are comprised of general education, special education, and gifted and talented all together. This quiz lets me see how well students are connecting to the main ideas of the Civil War after we learn about it or some years I use it as a pre-assessment to see what connections they can make using deductive reasoning. You could also use this as a warm-up before they take the test that you normally give.

This story needs to be printed on 11" x 17" paper and is one page (front-back if you just print pages 3 and 4). The answer key and the word bank are also on 11"x17" paper with the word bank having four word banks per page that get cut out to save on paper. I grade this as a class allowing students to grade their own making sure there is nothing on their desks except the red marker I provide for them. That way they can see for themselves which ones they got right or wrong and hear the story read to see how it is put together.

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