Civil War Wax Museum Project
Over the next few weeks 5th grade will be studying the Civil War and all it encompasses. We will be discussing causes of the war, North versus South, slavery, important battles, life as a soldier, and life on the home front. In addition, we will be looking at many Civil War personalities that have gone down in history as major players in this conflict.
A list of possible people that can be selected is attached. Some are not specific people but are types of people that played a role in the war like carpetbaggers, army nurses, etc. Your job is to become that person. This will be done in four parts: select one of the characters on the list that interests you, research your Civil War individual, write a report about this individual, and become that individual for the Wax Museum.
Students should choose 3-5 possible people. This list should be submitted to the teacher by ______, and the teacher will confirm your choice. There will only be one of each character in each classroom so you may not get your first choice.
Research will be done at school and at home. We will use about 2-3 class periods to research at school, and the rest will be up to students to do at home. Resources will be available at school, but we strongly encourage checking the public library as well as websites suggested by teachers.
A five paragraph essay must be turned in by ______. This essay will be graded on ideas, organization, conventions (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc.), and citing of sources. The report may be typed or handwritten. Some suggested ideas to include are
- Name and family background
- Where do you live?
- Education
- Role/Job during the war
- Friends and / or Enemies
- Union or Confederate Supporter
Finally on October 3, we will have our Civil War Wax Museum. For this part of the project you need to become the character you selected and researched. You will dress in costume and have supporting props. You will prepare a one to two minute speech of you speaking as that character and sharing your experiences during the war. The presentation can be written on index cards to help you organize your thoughts, but every effort should be made to memorize your speech. Parents, teachers and students are invited to visit the museum for your performance.
Civil War Wax Museum “Characters”
Abraham Lincoln
Jefferson Davis
Ulysses S. Grant
Robert E. Lee
Stonewall Jackson
William T. Sherman
John Brown
Harriet Tubman
Frederick Douglass
Sojourner Truth
John Wilkes Booth
Clara Barton
Belle Boyd / Pauline Cushman
Union Soldier / Confederate Soldier
Northern Woman on the Home front / Southern Woman on the Home front
Northern Child / Southern Child
Slave
Slave Owner
Carpetbagger / Scalawag
Marauder
Army Nurse / Army Doctor