Battle Presentations – The Revolutionary War

 

You will be responsible for teaching the class about a battle or battles.  You will be working in small groups and will need to think of a way to divide up the tasks.   I will be meeting with each group to make sure that you are on target for what needs to be covered in your presentation.  Plan for your presentation to last one entire class period.  If your presentation is less than a class period, it might be an indication that you haven’t done a thorough job so I recommend that you practice it at home to see if you are ready for prime time

 

These are the tasks that you need to accomplish in your presentation.

 

Grading Rubric – The presentation will count as a double test grade

 

Explain what led up to the battle?  Why did the armies fight in this place at this time?

35

Discuss the battle tactics of each side and how the battle progressed. 

50

Discuss the leading military leaders involved in your battle.  What were their backgrounds in the war to this point?  What type of people were they?

35

Analyze why the battle turned out the way it did.  Did either side make mistakes that hurt them?  Think of the advantages and disadvantages that we discussed in class.  Did any of those play a role in the outcome of the battle?  What could have made a difference in the outcome of the battle?

50

Explain the impact of this battle on the course of the war.

30

Illuminate the battle by making apt use of appropriate primary sources.  I have several books that you can use, plus you can excerpt quotes from secondary sources that quote from contemporaries.  You need to work these quotes into your presentation so that the battle comes alive for the class.  Don’t just tack them on at the end. Don’t forget the British when you’re choosing relevant quotes.

40

Visuals:  Have some sort of maps to make the battle action clear to the class.  You can use posters, PowerPoint, flash, map handouts, or videos.  Use paintings and other illustrations to flesh out your presentation. These visuals are crucial to getting a thorough understanding of what happened.  I have Battle Atlases you can use to help clarify the battle for you and for designing your own visuals.   I have some books with illustrations you can scan.  If you don’t have a scanner, you can make an appointment to use mine. 

 

If you put too much text on your Powerpoint and then proceed to read it to us, thus inducing all of us to doze off, you will suffer severely in this section.

30

You use entertaining stories to keep the class’s interest as well as make the story of your battle come alive for everyone.  If either the teacher or class is bored with your presentation, your grade will suffer.

30

TOTAL

300

 

The Battles 

The dates given with each battle are tentative.  Plan to be ready then, give or take a couple of days.

 

Campaign for New York – p. 340–361 (Oct. 7)

Trenton and Princeton – p. 361–369 (Oct. 8)

Brandywine, the fall of Philadelphia, and Germantown – p. 391–401 (Oct. 9)

Saratoga Campaign – p.370–391 (Oct. 12)

Monmouth, the shift to the South, the fall of Savannah and Charleston – p. 426–434; 440-456 (Oct. 20)

Camden and King’s Mountain – p. 456–468 (Oct. 22)

Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse – p. 469–492 (Oct. 27)

Battle of the Capes and Yorktown – p. 579–590 (Oct. 29)

 

Plan of Action – Due Thursday, October 1

This must be typed.  It will count as a test grade.

 

You will be responsible for turning in the information for your presentation.  It will count as a single test grade. Please download this worksheet and type it up so that you can have as much space as you need to answer the questions fully.  Give me a detailed summary (perhaps in a bullet-point list) of the information that you will be presenting so that I can judge whether you have sufficient information for your presentation.  The possible points for each answer is in parentheses.  It totals to 300 points.

 

  1. What are you going to tell the class about important events that led up to your battle?  How are you going to make it clear to them how this battle fits overall into the narrative of the war?  Summarize this material. (35 pts.)

 

  1. What are you planning to cover concerning the battle tactics that each side used?  What will be important for you to teach them about how this battle turned out? (35 pts.)

 

  1. Which military leaders are you going to discuss?  What information are you going to give and what anecdotes will you tell to help the class form an idea of what type of men these were? Don’t limit yourself to biographical facts, but explain the analysis of their leadership qualities that you plan to include. (35 pts.)

 

  1. Why did the battle turn out the way it did?  What mistakes did either side make?  What advantages or disadvantages did either side have that influenced the outcome of the battle?  How could the battle have turned out differently?  How do you plan to explain to the class about why the battle turned out this way? (40 pts.)

 

  1. What are you going tell the class about the impact of this battle on the course of the war? (35 pts.)

 

  1. What primary sources are you using?  How do you plan to use them?   What quotes will you use in your presentation? How are you going to weave them throughout your presentation? Include them in this assignment.  (30 pts.)

 

  1. What specific stories and anecdotes are you going to tell to illuminate your presentation and make it more interesting and enlightening? (40 pts.)

 

  1. What visuals are you planning to use?  What is the format of your presentation: PowerPoint, transparencies, posters, etc.? Do you have a map?  Where is it from?  Are you going to hand it out or just use it in your presentation?  What pictures are you going to use?  Remember: the more pictures the better – it’s boring to look at powerpoints full of writing.  Be specific about what pictures you’ve found.  (25 pts.)

 

  1. Give the bibliography for your presentation.  You need sources other than the internet and the textbook.  Include the primary sources you’ve found.  I want to see that you’re taking seriously the task of researching your battle so that you can teach it to the class.  For correct bibliographical format,  I cheat and use The Citation Machine to generate my bibliographic entries.  I love it. (25 pts.) http://citationmachine.net/index.php