National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

THEME X:

CIVIC IDEALS & PRACTICES

The Civil War: Do States Have the Right to Secede?

Description: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic. An understanding of civic ideals and practices of citizenship is crucial to full participation in society and is a central prupose of the social studies. Students confront such questions as: What is civic participation and how can I be involved? How has the meaning of citizenship evolved? What is the balance between right and responsibilities? what is the role of the citizen in the community and the nation, and as a member of the world community?

Reflection:

All students should be able to have some idea as to how civic ideas and practices affect their everyday lives from what decisions are made and legislation passed through Congress to what occurred from the past. Even though I did not provide a chance to get to this particular theme, I’ve have an example of how I might have applied this theme to possibly a Civil War Unit.

The Civil War can be characterized as being one of the greatest tragedies to occur in United States History. During the Civil War, which took place from 1861 to 1865, many lives were lost. This war put North versus South, brother against brother, and a country in civil dispute over slavery. Therefore I would have students be introduced to the reasons and causes of the Civil War by identifying economic, cultural, and social factors. The students would have also answered questions pertaining to the Civil War via a handout. For this activity, I would have divided the class into two groups. One side would have defended Lincoln’s position to keep the Union intact. The other group would have defended their right to secede from the Union because they felt as though the federal government was getting too powerful. I would have given handouts that will help them defend their respective position Students will debate their positions using a fishbowl method. Hopefully the fishbowl activity would have forced participants to actively listen to the experiences and perspectives from their peers. A student fishbowl gives pre-service and in-service educators an opportunity to hear the experiences, ideas, and critiques of current students while giving the students an opportunity to be active in the dialogue on multicultural education and education transformation. I don’t know how successful I would have been at including this type of strategy within the class since I did not afford myself the opportunity to do such as activity.

However, in the future, regardless if it’s this particular unit plan, I will use this theme to address those issues mentioned above. I thought this theme would be more effective in a government class, but it can be used in a world history class, especially events that occurred during the cold war.