The U.S. Civil War | Pausing Point 87Cotton
Materials: Image Card 2; various objects made from cotton
Show students Image Card 2 (Cotton). Ask them what this plant is
called. Ask if cotton was an important crop in the North or the South.
Ask students to recall who gathered the cotton from the plantation
fi elds.
Place various objects on a table (cotton balls, cotton swabs,
clothing, yarn, towels, sheets, pillowcases, etc.) and allow
students to look at them and touch them. Ask students what they
think life would be like without cotton. Tell them that many people
all over the world depended on cotton at the time of the Civil
War and still do today. Reiterate that this was why cotton was so
important to the South. Ask students to think of other things that
are made from cotton.Research Activity: Evolution of Flags During the Civil War
Review the Union and the Confederacy and what caused the states
that formed the Confederacy to secede, thus causing the Civil
War. Review the images of the Union and Confederate fl ags from
Lesson 5. Review the states that are a part of the Union. Likewise,
review the states that seceded from the Union at different points and
how that corresponds to the number of stars on the two Confederate
fl ags. Have students research images of the Union and Confederate
fl ags during the time of the Civil War and how they evolved
throughout the Civil War, including different battle fl ags. Encourage
students to share their fi ndings in groups or as a class presentation.