Civil War Battle Scavenger Hunt

The essential question for this lesson is, who was the ultimate victor in each of the theaters of war- East, West, and Naval and what are some commonalities you can identify in the reasons for the results of the battle. To start off this lesson each person was given a battle description. I had to figure out what battle I had and had to research it once I figured it out. Once I researched my battle I had to create a Google Docs including the Battle name, location, date of the event, the victor, theater (East, West, or Naval), an image, and at least two bullets explaining the reasons for the results. Then, I created a QR sign that linked straight to my Google Docs that provided the information on my battle and decided where I was going to hang my sign. Each of the battles was given a number so that when the QR signs were posted around the school you could go in numerical order. Once the QR sign was done you had to ask the person who had the battle after yours where they were putting their sign so that you could add to your Google Docs the directions to the next location on the scavenger hunt. When all of the groups were ready we each took our QR signs and brought them to our designated locations. From there we went on to complete the scavenger hunt! We were only supposed to stay at each stop for about 5 minutes and record all of the same information that we put onto our Google Docs. Finally, we used Padlet to collaborate on the answers to the essential questions. Overall I really enjoyed this activity because it was hands on and a very fun way to learn a lot about the Civil War Battles.

My QR sign

                I got battle number 12 and it came with this description, “This battle took place between July 1 & 3, 1863. The Union leader was George Meade and the Confederate leader was Robert E Lee. This battle is widely considered the turning point of the war.” I then created my Google Docs including all of the necessary information.  Next, I created my QR sign and decided to put my sign outside of my homeroom teacher’s classroom.   I posted my sign outside of her room and moved onto number 13 and then went on to finish the hunt.  After the scavenger hunt was completed, as a class we used Padlet to collaborate on the answers to the essential questions. The Padlet was divided into 3 column-like-sections Western Theater, Eastern Theater, and Naval Theater.

Created with Padlet

Everyone in the class had to post (at least twice) onto the Padlet and answer who was the ultimate ‘victor’ in each of the theaters and what some of the commonalities we could identify in the reasons for the results of the battles. The Union was overall the ultimate victor in the Western Theater during the war. The commonality I identified in the reasons for the result of the battles was the Union greatly outnumbered the Confederacy which allowed them to win battles. The Confederacy was the overall victor in the Eastern Theater. The commonalities I identified were that they had powerful attacks and suffered fewer casualties. The ultimate victor in the Naval Theater was the Union and the commonalities I identified were that they were very strategic and had a stronger naval fleet.