Civil War Newspaper

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Civil War Newspaper

• Objective You are to pretend you live during the
  time of the Civil War and create a newspaper as
  the history is in the making
• Using your in-class research and your computer
  lab research on the Civil War, you will write 3
  articles, draw 2 pictures (1 should be a
  political cartoon), create ads, write headlines
  and add your own creativity to a newspaper
• Dont forget the date and price of the newspaper,
  research the price of a newspaper during the
  Civil War

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Time Table

• Your newspaper MUST be sent to the presses (is
  due) on Wednesday, May 21st
• Monday and Tuesday (5/5-5/6) Introduction to
  Newspapers (Worksheet due at the end of the
  period)
• Wednesday Thursday (5/7-5/8)- research in Class
• Due Monday (5/12) rough drafts of 2 of the 3
  articles are due (each 100-200 words - must fill
  the allotted space on your paper)
• Monday edit drafts, work on newspapers
• Tuesday (5/13) Work on Newspapers all day in the
  computer lab
• Wednesday (5/14) Back in class peer review
• Thursday/Friday (5/15) Finish Newspaper in
  computer lab
• Newspaper due next Wednesday May 21st

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Ideas for Civil War Newspaper Articles

• 1. Give us the details of a battle that took
  place between the Confederates and the Union
  soldiers.
• 2. Write an article about the Truth about
  Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee,
  or Ulysses S. Grant
• 3. Give us the play-by-play of a famous speech
  given during the war and the audiences reaction
  (Example Gettysburg Address)
• 4. Write an article about how to be a perfect
  Confederate soldier what you should do, wear,
  eat, own, say, etc.
• 5. Convince us to why the Union/Confederacy
  should win the war
• 6. Write a book review about Uncle Toms Cabin
• 7. Describe Fredrick Douglas and his family
• 8. Write an opinion article on how to win a war

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Ideas Continued

• 9. Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper
  describing your view on a particular issue.
  (Example Emancipation Proclamation, Shermans
  March to the sea, Lincolns assassination)
• 10. Write a business article about the types of
  things people are selling and trading
• 11. Interview a famous hero, traitor, or regular
  Confederate or Union person
• 12. Give tips on how to fire your gun with the
  best accuracy
• 13. Write an article about the good and bad
  things about Shermans March to the Sea
• 14. Tell us about what the style of fighting
  techniques and war tactics are these days
• 15. Tell us how to prevent illnesses
• 16. Describe the new medical advances created
  during the war
• 17. Make up your own topic

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Articles

• Start with a location
• Answer the questions Who? What? Where? When? Why?
  How?
• Make the first few sentences and the headline
  catch your readers attention so that they want
  to read the rest and they want to buy the paper

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Political Cartoons

• Use symbols to represent main ideas
• Exaggerate details for emphasis
• Have a point of view
• Remember that captions, title, and labels can
  help your reader understand your main idea

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Pictures

• Let the picture tell the story WITHOUT the rest
  of the article
• Looking at the picture should make you want to
  buy the paper so that you can read what the
  picture is about
• Be sure your caption tells us who, what, why.
• Remember that the Civil War is the first war
  where photography was used

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Advertisement

• Possible reasons for advertising
• Products
• Services
• Opening of a new business
• Sales
• A good ad has a slogan and/or a catchy image

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Ads

• Flashy ads always sell things
• Make your ads colorful and full of pictures
• Dont write too much, people want you to get to
  the point FAST
• What is it?
• How much?
• Is it good quality?
• Why should I buy yours and not theirs?

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Headlines

• Again, these should make me want to read the
  article think Lincoln Assassinated!
• Short but sweet
• Use flashy, descriptive words (lots of good
  adjectives and verbs)
• Example Knights BOW DOWN to Kings in Basketball
  Game
• I know the Knights played the Kings, that the
  kings won, and this is funny because kings are
  higher than Knights

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Creativity

• Be creative in your topics, your pictures, your
  advertising and your headlines.
• While the Civil War is a serious topic feel free
  to be funny and clever in your newspaper

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Grading

• Introduction to Newspapers worksheets (5/5-5/6)
  Daily Grades
• Rough Drafts (5/12)- Daily grade
• Computer Lab participation (5/13, 5/15, 5/16)-
  Daily grade
• Final Draft of Newspaper (5/21)- Major grade

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Final Rubric
CATEGORY 10 8 5 1
Layout Headlines Captions All articles have headlines that capture the reader's attention and accurately describe the content. All graphics have captions that adequately describe the people and action in the graphic. All articles have headlines that accurately describe the content. All graphics have captions. Most articles have headlines that accurately describe the content. Most graphics have captions. Articles are missing headlines OR many articles do not have adequate headlines OR many graphics do not have captions.
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Spelling and Proofreading No spelling or grammar errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and correct the newspaper. No more than a couple of spelling or grammar errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and corrects the newspaper. No more than 3 spelling or grammar errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and correct the newspaper. Several spelling or grammar errors remain in the final copy of the newspaper.
Who, What, When, Where How All articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and how). 90-99 of the articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and how). 75-89 of the articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and how). Less than 75 of the articles adequately address the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, and how).
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Article Requirements Has 3 articles Has 2 articles Has 1 article Has 0 articles
Graphic Requirements 2 graphics (1 related to the article, 1 political cartoon), full caption 2 graphics (missing either article related or political cartoon), full caption 1 graphic with full caption 0 graphics or no captions or do not relate to the article
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Originality Several of the Graphics /articles used on the poster reflect a exceptional degree of student creativity in their creation and/or display. One or two of the graphics/articles used on the poster reflect student creativity in their creation and/or display. The graphics /articles are made by the student, but are based on the designs or ideas of others. No graphics /articles made by the student are included.
Attractiveness /Neatness The newspaper is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. The newspaper is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. The newspaper is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. The newspaper is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.