Tired of textbooks? Tired of trying to learn but losing focus when boredom takes over? Me too. As a first year teacher, my main concern in teaching the Civil War is keeping my students interested and engaged. After thinking long and hard about ways to maintain their interest, I came up with a wonderful solution. Let’s use literature! By using literature that is relevant to the Civil War, not only will I have the ability to better keep their attention, I will also be able to instill knowledge in them.
However, after making a trip to my school library to try and get my hands on a resource like this, I was unsuccessful. My school’s library does not have the resources I needed. Not a person to be deterred, I thought about my options and knew I had no other choice. I had to get my hands on a piece of Civil War literature. As I pondered which piece might be best, I soon remembered a book I once read as a child entitled "Across Five Aprils."
"Across Five Aprils" is a wonderful book that tells the story of a young boy coming of age during the Civil War. Great descriptions of battles and events from the Civil War fill the pages while at the same time telling the story of a child close in age to my students. With this book, my students will be able to relate to the protagonist, and their interest in the Civil War will be sparked. They will be superbly informed of the major happenings of the Civil War, as well as what it was like to grow up during such tough times.
Help me help my students by contributing to their success in becoming both excellent readers and Civil War buffs. I know my 8th grade students would love the chance to learn about the Civil War from the perspective of literature, and I am confident that these books will make an enormous difference in my students' learning.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Jones and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.