Lesson Activity Choose Your Research Topic
This activity will help you meet these educational goals:
You will choose a research topic and find background information.
Directions
Read the instructions for this self-checked activity. Type in your response to each question, and check your answers. At the end of the activity, write a brief evaluation of your work.

Activity
Here’s a chance to work through the first two steps in the research process:

Choose a topic.
Find background Information.
Identify key sources.
Evaluate your sources.
Use strong sources as supporting evidence.
Cite sources correctly in your paper.
Because you are choosing a topic based on doing some background research, we’ll combine these two steps in this activity.

First, consider the suggested research topics and review the document associated with each topic:

Topic 1: The Road to Freedom: The Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation
Document: The Emancipation Proclamation

Topic 2: The Crossroads of War: The Battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Address
Document: The Gettysburg Address

Next, gather and note general information that helps you better understand these two topics. Do a simple Internet or library search to get some background on each topic. This stage of research is meant to give you a general picture of each topic, not identify specific sources.

Below are steps you should follow to do background research on each topic:

Topic 1: The Road to Freedom
Perform two separate searches, one for the Battle of Antietam and another for the Emancipation Proclamation. Note the information you come across on these topics. When did these events happen and what was the significance of each?

Topic 2: The Crossroads of War
Perform separate searches about the Battle of Vicksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Address. When did these events occur in relation to one another? What was the connection of the Gettysburg Address to the Battle of Gettysburg?

Finally, based on this initial research, choose the topic you would like to research further. Write a brief paragraph stating your choice as either topic 1 or topic 2. Explain why you made that choice and what you learned about it during your background research.