Inquiry Project

Problem Based Learning

The Emancipation Proclamation

Quinton Bell

W200

Driving Question

11^th grade US history students will attempt to use methods of research and prior knowledge to understand a very important social and cultural issue of the 19^th Century. Students will be looking back on history and asking themselves the question; How did Abraham Lincoln’s decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation effect the outcome of the Civil War? Students must be able to examine this question from all angles, and take into account how both the North and the South were effected, and, depending on how they are assigned, take the side of it being positive or negative. This will test all facets of a student’s knowledge, from prior knowledge in regards to the Civil War to the information that they can glean from sources both on the internet and in written materials. 

Grabber

              In order to ensure that all students are vested in their project and remain interested throughout, a video will be shown to grab everyone’s attention. The video highlights the immediate issues surrounding Emancipation, and Lincoln’s path there. However, the video also raises questions, such as: How did the country go to war in the first place? How did the war drag on as long as it did? What battle convinced Lincoln to issue the proclamation? How did freeing the slaves in the states Lincoln had no control over change the outcome of the war? All of these and more can be found in the video. These questions lead the students to broader questions about the cause and effect that revolves around the actions of Lincoln during the war, and the issues his actions cause after the war. The video I have chosen is The Emancipation Strategy, a video by National Geographic. The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVkXthLz4w. With this video, the students will have the basis of knowledge they need and be able to incorporate the new knowledge into their projects.

Culminating Activity

Following the Grabber, all students will set out to answer the driving question. Half of the groups, with groups containing 4-6 students, will focus on the Proclamation having a positive impact, and the other half will focus on the Proclamation having a negative effect. Multiple groups from both sides will research their side, and present to the class in some multimedia way, preferably Google Slides or Power Point or a Prezi, why their opinion is the more accurate one. This problem that they are solving will further help them to understand how these types of questions can lead to even further questions, and not only a greater understanding of the topic, but also of the education process as a whole.

All groups, regardless of their groups sides, will present their ideas and opinions in a 5 minute presentation. These should be organized in some sort of easily understandable format; for example, as a Power Point or a Prezi. The project will be graded as according to the attached rubric.

Things that would merit study include; the long and even bloody history of keeping the balance of free and slave states, the pressure Lincoln felt from his political party to make the war about slavery, the advice Lincoln received from his generals to not make the war about slavery, the backlash he felt from Northerners and Southerners for making it a black man’s war, and how the symbolism of the Proclamation set the stage for the reality of the 13^th Amendment and even future Civil Rights issues.

Inside of the groups, students will assign themselves tasks and complete their work in Google Docs, so that all members can work together and share in a constructive manner, while also ensuring that this collaborative process is being used by all of the students. This will also help to evaluate students, as their effort and abilities will be easy to see as they work, and also easy to see in their finished product, as graded by the rubric.