Activity Overview
Creating a timeline is a great way for students to be able to understand the sequence of historical events and visualize the history they're learning. This is especially effective when studying the major causes of a war, as students are able to see how one thing leads to another and how countries and people respond to actions that are taken.
In this activity, students will create a timeline to outline and explain the major causes of the War of 1812. This will allow students to research and understand the major political and geographic causes that led to the U.S. declaring war on Great Britain. Students will be able to explain and analyze what exactly caused the war, and why the young, developing United States even considered war as an option. Furthermore, it will give deeper perspective what the state of affairs was in the early years of America.
For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options, and update the instructions accordingly.
Extended Activity
Have students research Jefferson’s foreign policy. Students should define what measures he took in dealing with other nations, especially concerning trade, the Louisiana Purchase, and his Embargo Act of 1807. This will allow students to draw deeper connections to what helped instigate the War of 1812.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a timeline detailing the major causes of the War of 1812.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify important events, legislation, and geographic changes and type them into the titles of each cell.
- Write a summary of each event, legislation, and geographic change identified in the description box.
- Create an illustration using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Events and Dates | The events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. The dates provided are correct. | Most of the events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. Most of the dates provided are correct. | Some of the events chosen for the timeline are significant. There may be missing events, or events that are irrelevant. Too many dates may be incorrect. |
| Explanations/Descriptions | The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are accurate and provide insight into the significance of the events. | The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are mostly accurate and attempt to provide insight into the significance of the events. | There are several glaring inaccuracies in the explanations or descriptions of the events. There may be little or no insight int the significance of the events, or the information provided may be too limited or missing. |
| English Conventions | There are 0-2 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | There are 3-4 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | There are 5 or more mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. |
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War of 1812
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