Carbetbaggers and Scalawags

Last week we did an activity to help review the major ideas and people involved in the Reconstruction period in US History.  The students put themselves into pairs and sat together at various 'stations' around the room.  At each station was a document that they had to analyze to figure out which phrase or term on their worksheet the document best represented and why. The documents were mostly primary sources that were political cartoons, pictures, letters, and even a poem (Walt Whitman's O Captain My Captain).

Every 5 minutes or so, I said 'switch' and they had to move to another document station.  This activity appeals to kinesthetic learners because it allows the students to get up and move around the room very often. It also appeals to the interpersonal intelligence because the students are working with others to figure out the meaning of the documents. They get to do a fair amount of socializing during this activity, which appeals to many students.

Above all, this activity challenges the students to think, interpret, and analyze when trying to figure out the meaning of the documents.  I had to tell them to exhaust all options and spend a good deal of time analyzing the documents BEFORE asking me for help.  They can sometimes be quick to ask for help before really spending time trying to figure it out on their own, which is something we are working on.

"The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher."
                                                                                     ~Eliot Woodward

Here is a little video of the activity: