3rd -6th Grade Civil War activity

One of my favorite periods in American History is the American Civil War.  This was another special themed day I had with my third graders. We had a week long class competition. At the end of the week, we had a dress up day and Civil War lunch. 

Classroom Competition 

On the first day of starting this unit, I divided my class into 2 teams – Confederate and Union.  I had six rows left to right with 4 in each row. Rows 1-3 were on one side of the classroom (Confederate), and 4-6 were the opposing team (Union)on the other side of the classroom. Each team member had an opportunity to earn points for their respective team throughout the day. At the end of the day, I counted the points and the total went underneath their team name on the board. I did this each day of the competition. These totals were then added together on Civil War Day, and an award was given to each student of the winning side.

I gave points for the following:

• No conduct report for the day
• Class participation
• Good behavior 
• Getting a 100% on a test or quiz
• Winning a review game

The kids were motivated and did so well both in behavior and academics.