ELACC5RI4 Archives

What is Fort Sumter?

Fort Sumter is an island installation that was built in 1817 as a system of coastal fortifications to help to protect America’s Southern coastline from potential attacks. The walls of Fort Sumter are between 5feet and 8 feet thick. Fort Sumter is located in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States. South Carolina would eventually become the State that felt the brunt of Sherman’s March as he cut though Southern territory in a march that drove the nail of defeat through the coffin of the Confederacy, and destroyed the Confederates will to continue the fight. But most important of all, Fort Sumter is where the American Civil War (1861-1865) official started on April 12, 1861.

Lincoln’s Inauguration as President

After Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president of the United States on March 4, 1861, of a deeply divided Union; the “divided” States. On the day of his inauguration seven (7) states had seceded. Very soon after that four (4) other states followed bringing the total number of seceding states to eleven (11). Slave holding states seceded from the Union fairing that a Lincoln led Republican Party would bring about an eventual abolition of slavery across all of the United States of America. Earlier we saw that the rate of secession was directly related to the slave population. Therefore, the issue of slavery was a primary factor for the various states to secede.

Fort Sumter and the Civil War

When the Southern States seceded, they claimed ownership of all federal property and possession in the South. However, the major in charge of Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson, remained defiant. As an incomplete coastal installation, Fort Sumter was primarily of symbolic stature to the United States, and a position that made it an enviable possession for both parties; the Union and the Confederacy.

President Lincoln was determined to retain ownership of Fort Sumter. Therefore, failed attempts were made to send food and other re-enforcements to Fort Sumter by the United States government. In the meantime, the Confederate government made repeated attempts to get Major Anderson and the United States government to give up ownership of the fort. The Confederate Army eventually opened fire on Fort Sumter after a failed attempt by the United States Navy to bring in supplies to the soldiers now encircled on Fort Sumter by the Confederate Army.

The Confederates eventually opened fire on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1862. This bombardment lasted for 34 hours. After almost two days of taking fire from all angles, Major Robert Anderson eventually surrendered Fort Sumter to the Confederate Army. The Union Army’s only casualty on Fort Sumter was due to an accidental explosion on the Fort while departing. After the Union abandoned Fort Sumter, the Confederate Army took control and held the Fort for almost the entirety of the Civil War.

After the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the eventual abandonment by Major Anderson and his men, Abraham Lincoln declared war on the Confederacy and called for volunteers. After Lincoln’s call for volunteers, the South followed likewise and called up volunteers as well. The Civil War had officially begun. The Confederate Army abandoned Fort Sumter just before Robert E. Lee Surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

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Fifth Grade Standards Code Standards Description for Reading

Reading Literature

ELACC5RL1 Key Ideas and Details: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

ELACC5RL2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

ELACC5RL3 Key Ideas and Details: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

ELACC5RL4 Craft and Structure: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

ELACC5RL5 Craft and Structure: Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

ELACC5RL6 Craft and Structure: Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

ELACC5RL7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel; multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

ELACC5RL9 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.

ELACC5RL10 Range of Reading and Complexity of Text: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Informational Texts

ELACC5RI1 Key Ideas and Details: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

ELACC5RI2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

ELACC5RI3 Key Ideas and Details: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

ELACC5RI4 Craft and Structure: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

ELACC5RI5 Craft and Structure: Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

ELACC5RI6 Craft and Structure: Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.

ELACC5RI7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

ELACC5RI8 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).
ELACC5RI9 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

ELACC5RI10 Range of Reading and Complexity of Text: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

ELACC5RF3 Phonics and Word Recognition: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

ELACC5RF4 Fluency: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

ELACC5SL1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ELACC5SL2 Comprehension and Collaboration: Summarize written a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

ELACC5SL3 Comprehension and Collaboration: Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.

ELACC5SL4 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

ELACC5SL5 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

ELACC5SL6 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation.

ELACC5L1 Conventions of Standard English: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

ELACC5L2 Conventions of Standard English: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

ELACC5L3 Knowledge of Language: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

ELACC5L4 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

ELACC5L5 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

ELACC5L6 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).