Use the chalkboard to draw up a list of the questions they would ask. Ask students what other kinds of historical documents they might examine to find answers to these questions. Finally, have students consider what kind of history could be based on the Alice Williamson diary. Have students use the Written Document Analysis Worksheet to evaluate their eyewitness accounts and then prepare a researcher's report explaining how their document might be used by some future historian. Though unique in this lesson plan, the diary of Alice Williamson is part of an extensive literature of recollections written by Confederate women after the Civil War.
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiencees for a variety of purposes. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. National Geography Standards 1.