+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Soldier's View of the American Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The activity includes several options to...
+
Lesson Plan
Cheryl L. Mason and William G. Thomas

Comparative Effects of Financing the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How do countries fund wars? Learners examine the economics of warfare through a comprehensive study of what measures were taken to fund wartime activities during the American Civil War. They'll start by reading a newspaper article from...
+
Lesson Plan
Ford's Theatre

Socratic Seminar/Group Discussion: The Crisis of the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers work in four different groups to examine the many factors that led to the American Civil War. They research an assigned topic, prepare questions, and finally engage in a class discussion using the Socratic Seminar method.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Civil War: Conflicting Newspaper Reports

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners examine the happenings at the Battle of Antietam from all sides. In this American Civil War activity, students analyze newspapers accounts from different perspectives regarding the battle and then write their own accounts of the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Women Before and After the Civil War: Slavery and Freedom

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students listen to data on African American women in Texas before the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students compare and contrast the lives of slave and free women, and discuss case studies, locating areas on a map. Students...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
PBS

Civil War: Blacks on the Battlefield

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Park Service

Civil War to Civil Rights: From Pea Ridge to Central High

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning. 
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What This Cruel War Was Over: Slavery and the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Can't travel to Richmond for your Civil War unit? This plan creates an authentic experience, using primary sources and the essential question: Over What Was the Civil War Fought? Historians examine the Appomattox Marker, the site of Gen....
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mark Twain: Straddling the Civil War

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain to...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...
+
Lesson Plan
Civil War

Civil War Medicine: Fact or Fiction

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Young historians compare the presentation of medical care during the Civil War in passages from fictional and nonfictional texts. They examine passages from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen, and...
+
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Civil War Photographs

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
One of the first photographed images of the Civil War give historians a glimpse of the realities of war. By viewing images from the war—including pictures of those killed in the bloodiest battles—learners experience the war's impact...
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

Free, but Not Free: Life of Free Blacks Before the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Using the family stories of a famous comedian and singer-songwriter, learners consider what life was like for African Americans who were enslaved and free before the Civil War. To complete a concluding activity, they write about the...
+
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

The Civil War at Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To conclude a study of the 4 C's (cause, course, consequences, and characters) of the Civil War, young historians examine personal letters that reveal the effects of the war on those at home.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lincoln and His Generals

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore Abraham Lincoln's role as Commander in Chief. In this American Civil War lesson plan, students listen to an instructor-delivered lecture on Lincoln's leadership and then analyze 8 pirmary documents to determine what...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil War Battles: The Reporter's Perspective A WebQuest

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this research skills instructional activity, students research the job of reporting for new agencies during the American Civil War as they complete...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Faces of the Past: Boys in the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students investigate the role of boys during the American Civil War. In this Civil War Research lesson, students study the contributions of young Union and Confederate men to the war effort. Students also make classroom presentations...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans after the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the events of Reconstruction after the Civil War.  In this US History instructional activity, students complete several activities and worksheets that reinforce challenges and social upheaval experienced in the South...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women in the Civil War: Ladies, Contraband and Spies

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this American Civil War  lesson, students research diaries, letters, and photographs of women involved in the war.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"In Defense of My Race and Country": African-American Soldiers on Why They Are Fighting

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Why would an African-American slave fight in the Civil War? Read and analyze primary source documents to understand the ex-slave perspective on fighting in the Union Army. Everything to complete this lesson is included.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource launches a...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans in the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the contributions of African American soldiers during the Civil War. In pairs, they complete Civil War timeline worksheets. They use character cards to assume the identities of African Americans and determine whether or...
+
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

From Alabama Farmer to Civil War Soldier

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of the Civil War, class members conduct a WebQuest to create a timeline of battles fought by the 10th Alabama Infantry Regimen. They then use Google Earth to pinpoint these battles of the Civil War on a map of Alabama.

Other popular searches