As the Civil War began, many difficult decisions needed to be made.
Each student will take turns being the "decider" in a series of dilemmas that people actually faced at the beginning of the war.
In order for this exercise to work well, you have to do your very best to entirely forget what you know happened during the war. Some of you know the story very well, but you have to pretend that you have no hindsight whatsoever. The goal is not always to make the same decision that was made in history, but perhaps a better one!
1. Each student will be the military/political leader in charge of one decision needed to be made. Other students will play the role of "advisors."
2. As the leader, you are responsible for managing the discussion. If any student advisor is disruptive or inattentive, you should warn them, then eventually begin to deduct points from their weekly score.
3. After fully understanding the decision you need to make, go around the room and ascertain the opinion of every one of your advisors.
4. Once you’ve heard everyone’s opinions, announce your decision, saying “that’s my final answer.”
5. The teacher will click to the next link revealing what the actual historic decision of the leader was.
YOU WILL BE ASSESSED ON FIVE FACTORS:
1) your understanding of the issue
2) your management of the discussion
3) involving everyone
4) the wisdom of your final decision
5) the amount of FUN during your turn
A video clip will be provided to portray the actual historic decision.
CLASS DISCUSSION: Compare your decision with the actual history. Do you think your decision was better or worse than that which actually happened?
Click here to experience the challenges.