The following are detailed descriptions of what is expected from various members of the Herald's staff members.
Editor-in-Chief On the Homefront War News
People
Section Political Report
Health and Technology News
Assignment: You have two tasks - to write four articles and to oversee the production of the entire newspaper.
Articles
How did the role of women change during the time period?
Research the role of women in your assigned section of the country
from 1850 - 1865. What was expected of them, were they educated, did they
have jobs? Did they have a role in the war? Write a well developed
multi-paragraph article highlighting the changes in the woman's role in
society during that time period.
How did the role of immigrants change during the time period?
Research the role of immigrants in your assigned section of the country
from 1850-1865. Where did they come from, where did they settle,
why did they come to America, what did they do in America? Did they
have a role in the war? Write a multi-paragraph article revealing
your findings about the changes in the life of immigrants. A chart, graph,
or map might make your article more interesting.
How did the role of Coloreds change during the time period?
Research the role of Coloreds in your assigned section of the country
from 1850-1865. How many were there, where did they live, what did
they do for a living, what were their living conditions? Did they
have a role in the war? Write a multi-paragraph article revealing
your findings.
Production
Assignment: You are responsible for reporting on the day-to-day lives of the citizens of your section of the country. How did their involvement in and feelings about the war appear in the fine arts aspects of their lives? Write a column about each of the topics - music, literature, art, fashion, and photography - to reveal the findings of your research. Use illustrations and examples to enhance your reporting.
Articles
Literature
What role did the written word play in the war? How did it reflect
life at the time? What were people reading and writing? Read some
poetry, letters, journals and other written pieces of the time. Write
a column about the written word and its place in society during the War
Between the States. (Include examples.)
Art
Who were the important artists of the time? What media did they
use? How was war expressed in art - paintings, drawings, cartoons,
sculpture? Research this topic and write a column about the
types of art that were popular and how art was affected by the War. (Include
illustrations.)
Fashion
What did people wear during this period? What fabrics were used?
Who and what determined "style"? How did fashion differ from social class
to social class? What did the soldiers wear? Write a column on fashion
of the era and its connection to the War. (Include illustrations.)
Photography
The Civil War saw the growth of photography. What role did it play
in the War? What subjects were most photographed? Were there any
famous photographers or photographs? What technical advances helped the
growth of photography? Write a column about the use of photography in the
War. (Include illustrations.)
Also write a column
about which of the above (music, literature,
art,
fashion
and photography) portrayed the period most accurately? Include
examples and illustrations.
Assignment: Your job as the war correspondent is to focus on the military aspect of the war. Your responsibility is to investigate and report on major military battles that either significantly changed the direction or affected the outcome of the war. Make sure you consider the conflicts at the beginning and during the long span of the war, and not just those leading up to the end of the conflict.
You will be writing five different articles. Choose five
different battles and describe each in a multi-paragraph article for the
newspaper. You will need to explain where the battle took place, when it
took place, who was involved. In your opinion, was the battle necessary and
worth the casualties? What was the significance of the battle (how did the
battle help win or lose the war? You will also need to have a visual to
accompany each article. The visual you use could be a map or a drawing or
a photograph. Whatever format you choose, it must be appropriate and
relevant to your article. Try to bring the conflict to life for your reader by
describing was the battle was like from the soldiers point of view.
Assignment: You have the responsibility of producing a people section that not only tells us the basic facts of the selected people's lives, but also brings out the human interest side of their stories.
You will be writing five different articles.
Choose five different people to spotlight who made a significant contribution
to life during the Civil War. Make sure your research includes people
of color, immigrants, and women. As you do your research find out when
they lived, where they were from, what they believed in, and what role
they played in the war. In your articles try to include some interesting
details that, in your opinion, reveal what kind of a person they were.
Remember to reflect about and evaluate these people from the viewpoint
your newspaper represents, not just what history has said about them. Each
article should be a multi-paragraph column and have a graphic that is appropriate
and relevant to your information.
Assignment: Your are responsible for eight article. Political cartoons would be helpful in telling your story.
What were important political issues (disagreements) before the war?
Assignment: Your are responsible for five articles.
Articles
What role did the factories play in the time period? Where were most factories located? How did the location of factories affect the number of immigrants in the state? How did the location of factories affect the conduct and the ourcome of the war?
What role did railroads and the telegraph have on warfare? How was the Civil War different from past wars because of the railroad and the telegraph? Did the South and North has equal access to railroads and telegraphs. If not, how did the differences affect the conduct and the outcome of the war?
What role did new weapons have on warfare? What weapons were used in the War Between the States. Were there any new weapons used successfully? How was the civil war different from past wars because of the weapons? Did the weapons affect how soldiers and sailorsors fought. If so, then how?
What were the medical and health practices of the period? What were medical and health practices of the period. How did the practices affect the well being of people who were injured? If a person were seriously, injured, describe the probable treatment that the person would expect.
Which technological advance had the biggest impact on the time period?
Copyright © 1999-2006 Richard Levine, Lana Brozik and Kathleen Kaup
This site is for non-profit, educational use only. If you have any
comments, questions or resources you would like to
see added to this page, contact Richard
Levine, Cool Lessons Consulting,
Lana
Brozik, Eastview Middle School, Bartlett IL, or Kathleen
Kaup, formerly of Canton Middle School, Streamwood IL