The Valley of the Shadow: "The Eve of the War"
Document Analysis Assignment
The basic objective of this assignment is for you to create a document-based
lesson focusing on a primary source or sources from the "The Eve of the War" section of "The Valley of
the Shadow" Web site. The primary source or sources you choose must fit on one side of a sheet
of standard sized paper (8.5 x 11.5 inches). The instructions for doing the lesson must also fit
on one side of a sheet of standard sized paper. (In other words, the maximum length of your
document analysis is two pages, one page for the document(s) and one page for the instructions.)
You will have one class period in the computer lab to work on preparing your
lesson. The following day, you will be asked to make a brief (two to three minute) oral
presentation explaining your document(s) and your lesson. You will then be required to submit
a printed copy of your lesson for evaluation by the instructor. Your lesson will be evaluated on
the basis of the:
- significance for United States History of the primary source(s) you selected
- clarity of your instructions
- level of difficulty of your lesson, i.e., sufficiently challenging to make it interesting
- estimated ability of your classmates to complete the lesson in a single class period
To begin work on this assignment, it is recommended that you
1. point your browser to
http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/choosepart.html to reach The Valley of the Shadow Web Site.
2. In the larger image on the left entitled "The Eve of the War," click on
the section that reads
"Reference Center" to access that portion of the Web site.
3. Then click on the link that reads
"Search the Valley Databases".
4. Search any of the databases listed in the section entitled "Daily Life Databases" or the
section entitled "Census Databases" for an appropriate primary source or sources. (Do
NOT use documents in the "Wartime" or "Postwar" databases for this assignment.)