The Battle of Gettysburg
Spilled Blood on Sacred Ground
GRAPHIC NONFICTION
objectives:
content:
•
•
•
•
•
• The Battle of Gettysburg took place July 1–3,
1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg
is located in south central Pennsylvania, 50
miles (80 km) northwest of Baltimore,
Maryland, and close to the Virginia border.
General Robert E. Lee was the leader of the
Confederate forces. He and Confederate States
of America president Jefferson Davis created a
plan to solve some of the problems they faced
against the Union soldiers. General Lee
thought they should fight a major battle in the
North to preserve the Southern crops for food
for the Confederate troops. Davis and Lee
thought a battle close to Washington, D.C.,
would be effective because Union troops
would have to be moved to defend the Union
capital. Lee was confident that his army was
strong and could win the battle. The
Confederacy’s General Jeb Stuart agreed.
Gettysburg was not chosen to be the site of a
battle. The Union’s General John Buford was in
the area to maintain control. The
Confederacy’s General James Pettigrew had
orders for his men in the area to withdraw, but
decided to occupy the town because his men
needed new shoes. While there, he made the
decision to attack the Union troops in
Gettysburg. The Union army fought back. Both
armies soon sent for reinforcements. The
battle raged on, with both sides winning and
losing ground and accumulating casualties. On
July 3, General Lee ordered General Pickett’s
brigades to attack, even though some of the
other generals disagreed. Pickett’s men were
defeated. On July 4, the Confederate army
withdrew from the Gettysburg area and
returned to Virginia. The Union army sent
95,799 soldiers to Gettysburg; 14,503
were wounded, 5,161 were missing or
captured, and 3,149 died. The Confederate
army sent 69,700 soldiers; 12,391 were
wounded, 5,846 were missing or captured,
and 4,637 died.
Use context clues in the text to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.
Write the meanings of words containing prefixes found in the text.
Identify examples of irony in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Determine causes and effects of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Write a sentence and draw a picture depicting an important event on a page of text.
vocabulary and word Study:
• Using Context Clues: Write the word skirmishers on the chalkboard and read aloud the text box on page 8
where the word appears. Ask students to use the context and the graphic illustrations to determine the
meaning. Then have them read the meaning that appears in the Glossary on page 46. Repeat the procedure
using the following glossary words: foragers, p. 8; dispatches, p. 10; deploy, p. 17. Encourage students to
use context clues to figure out other unknown words. Post a large sheet of chart paper on the chalkboard.
Tell students to write their unknown word, the context clue, and the meaning on the chart paper. Remind
students to refer to the chart as they are reading.
• Identifying Prefixes: Remind students that many words have prefixes that change the meaning of the base
word. Write the following words from the book on the chalkboard and underline the prefixes: Confederate,
p. 8; reinforcements, p. 8; proceed, p. 9; converge, p. 11; retreat, p. 11; reversed, p. 16. Explain the
meaning of each prefix and have students figure out the meaning of each word. (Examples: con–with;
re–back; pro–forward.) Have partners look through the book for more examples of words with prefixes.
Write the words on the chalkboard. Have students underline the prefixes and discuss the meanings.
comprehension:
• Identifying Irony: Explain that irony is the difference between the normal or expected result of something
and the actual result. Reread the last paragraph on page 7 and also pages 8–10 with students. Ask them to
explain the irony of the Battle of Gettysburg. (The irony of the Battle of Gettysburg was that there was not
supposed to be a battle; the Confederate soldiers only wanted to get new shoes.)
• Determining Cause and Effect: Review with students the definitions of cause and effect: A cause is an event
that makes something else happen. An effect is what happens. Have students reread page 11. Ask them to
find (in the third frame) the cause of General Meade’s decision to go to Gettysburg. Model examples of
identifying cause-and-effect signal words: President Lincoln wanted the army to be aggressive, so they went to
Gettysburg. Because President Lincoln wanted the army to be aggressive, they went to Gettysburg. Have
students mark other examples of cause and effect in the text with sticky notes. Ask them to discuss them with
partners, using the correct signal words.
• Determining Important Details: Encourage a debate among students about which event is the most
important on each page. Work on pages 8 and 9 together, analyzing both the words and the illustrations.
Then distribute index cards with 1 page number written at the top of each. Ask students to look at their
assigned page and write the most important event on their index card. Tell them to draw a picture on the
opposite side of the card illustrating the event in the graphic style. Ask students to read their card aloud and
explain their picture to the class. Then collect the cards, put them in a container, and make them available for
student reference.
Text Features of Graphic novels:
• Use of Ellipses: Focus students’ attention on the use of ellipses in the speech bubbles on page 11. Discuss the reasons why ellipses are used. Ellipses are used to
indicate a pause in speech or an unfinished thought. They are also sometimes placed at the end of a sentence to signal the speaker’s voice trailing off into silence.
Ask students what they think the sentences with ellipses mean. Ask them what they think the character may be saying before or after the ellipses. Have students
take turns reading orally to demonstrate what their voice should do when they get to sentences that have ellipses. Look through the rest of the book with students
to find other examples of ellipses in speech bubbles. Have students practice reading aloud the dialogue with the appropriate expression.
10
Copyright © 2007 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
The Battle of Gettysburg
Spilled Blood on Sacred Ground
GRAPHIC NONFICTION
Social studies connections:
• Create a graphic organizer such as a Venn diagram. Have students complete the graphic organizer by comparing and contrasting the Union and Confederate armies’
stategies during the Battle of Gettysburg. Then have students use the information to write a 1-page paper that compares and contrasts the advantages and
disadvantages of the 2 strategies for each side.
• Read the Gettysburg Address given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, with students and discuss why it is considered to be one of the most
famous speeches in history. Ask students to write a 1-page paper describing what they think the speech means and why it was important at the time it was given.
Have students share their papers in small groups.
Writing about history:
• Like many of the Civil War battlefields, the battlefield at Gettysburg has been preserved and is now under the direction of the National Park Service. Guide students
with using the Web sites for the organizations shown on page 47 of the book as well as travel brochures to find out how the history of the battle has been
preserved and how it is presented now. Have them write a critique telling their impression of the preservation efforts, including what they like, what they don’t like,
and improvements they would like to see. Have students share their critiques with a partner.
Cross-curricular activities:
• Math: On page 41 of the book, statistics are given regarding the number of soldiers who fought for each side, as well as the numbers killed, wounded, and missing
or captured. Work with students to calculate the percentages of wounded, missing/captured, and killed on each side. Have students work in small groups to create
a graphic organizer to present their results. Ask each group to explain their calculations on the graphic organizer.
• Science: Discuss the fact that both the Confederate and Union armies had to solve the problem of feeding soldiers during the Civil War. Have partners research one
of the following: the kinds of food that were grown in the Northern and Southern states; which foods were given to the soldiers; how the food was preserved; how
the food was transported to the armies; how the food was prepared for the soldiers. Tell partners to create a poster showing the results of their research. Display
the posters for the class.
Additional Resources:
Books:
• Gaines, Ann. The Battle of Gettysburg in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2001.
• Gillis, Jennifer Blizen. Robert E. Lee: Confederate Commander. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books, 2006.
• Hale, Sarah Elder. Gettysburg: Bold Battle in the North. Peterborough, NH: Cobblestone Publishing, 2005.
• Rice, Earle. Gettysburg. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002.
Web Sites:
Due to the changing nature of Internet links, the Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., has developed an online list of Web sites related to the subject of this book. This site is
updated regularly. Please use this link to access the list: http://www.rosenlinks.com/gbcw/gettys
Copyright © 2007 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
11