Lesson Plan: Turning Point at Gettysburg

A step-by-step guide to teaching this article in your classroom

KEY STANDARDS

Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, RH.6-8.5, RH.6-8.7, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.4, SL.6-8.2

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

• Use this play in a unit about the Civil War.

• Incorporate this piece in a discussion about turning points in history.

• Use this play to hone students’ oral reading and reading comprehension skills.

Before Reading

1. BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
(5 MINUTES)

Using the skills sheet Building Vocabulary: Casting Call, familiarize students with terms for key characters (protagonist, antagonist, and narrator) and for structural elements (conflict, characterization) of the play.


2. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
(5 MINUTES)

Have students preview the play by examining the title, cast of characters, images, and map. Ask: What do you think this play will be about? Who do you think is the protagonist and why?

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Read & Analyze

3. FULL-CLASS READING
(20 MINUTES)

Assign roles, then read the play aloud together as a class. Encourage students to use their voices, facial expressions, and posture to convey their characters’ thoughts and emotions.

4. CLOSE-READING QUESTIONS
(10 MINUTES)

Have students write their answers to each question, or use these prompts to guide a discussion. (Answers will vary.)

  • MAIN IDEA: What historical event or person is presented in this play? 

  • TEXT STRUCTURE/MAKING INFERENCES: What kind of information do the play’s narrators provide? What does that contribute to your understanding of the historical events portrayed? 

  • CITING TEXTUAL EVIDENCE: What problem or crisis arises for the play’s main character? How does he or she deal with it? What does that character’s personal struggle add to your understanding of the broader historical event the play is about? 

  • CAUSE AND EFFECT/CLOSE READING: Reread the play’s epilogue. What main point or conclusion does it cite? Then look back through the play. What actions or turning points in the play contributed to that conclusion? 

  • MAKING INFERENCES: How does the present-day person or event described in the play’s sidebar relate to what happened in the play? Why do you think the editors chose to pair these past and present stories? 

  • CITING TEXTUAL EVIDENCE: Which character in the play, if any, could be described as a hero or a villain? Cite evidence in the text to support your answer. 

  • INTEGRATING VISUALS: What do the photos, map, and illustrations add to your understanding of the play’s characters and events? Would they be as effective without the captions? Explain. 

  • COMPARING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES: How do the excerpts from primary sources (Cormany’s diary, Pickett’s letter) compare with the main body of the play, which is a secondary source? Is one any more effective than the other? 

  • DESCRIPTIVE WRITING: Imagine that you’ve just fought at Gettysburg. Write a letter or diary entry describing how it feels to be on either the winning or the losing side. 

  • MAPPING IT OUT: Use the interactive “Decisive Moments in the Battle of Gettysburg” map and timeline at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/A-Cutting-Edge-Second-Look-at-the-Battle-of-Gettysburg-1-180947921/ to go into more detail on events in the play.

  • DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: What is the central message of the play? How is that message revealed?


Extend & Assess

5. WATCH A VIDEO
Help students learn more about the Civil War by watching “America’s Civil War.”

6. ANALYZE NARRATIVE NONFICTION GENRES
Remind students that, although the dialogue in the play is imagined, most of the people in the play were real, as were the situations described. Ask: How does historical information presented in a play differ from what’s in history books? in biographies? in autobiographies? What are some advantages and disadvantages of each genre?

7. PERFORM THE PLAYS
Have students work in groups to rehearse and perform the play. Encourage them to design a set, scenery, props, and costumes to enhance their show. After the performance, let audience members ask the cast about the people and incidents portrayed.

8. ANALYZE NARRATIVE NONFICTION GENRES
Remind students that, although the dialogue in the play is imagined, most of the people in the play were real, as were the situations described. Ask: How does historical information presented in a play differ from what’s in history books? in biographies? in autobiographies? What are some advantages and disadvantages of each genre?

DIFFERENTIATING

Lower Level Before students read the play, go over terms and concepts that may be unfamiliar, such as artillery, Rebs, Yanks, and stalemate.

Higher Level Have students imagine they are one of the characters in the play, then ask them to write a diary or blog entry describing a challenge or crisis that character faced and how he or she overcame it.

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