Constitutional Rights Foundation
Sam Houston: A Study in Leadership
Learners read a short excerpt from a speech by Sam Houston and answer corresponding questions as well as engage in additional activities, including writing a persuasive essay and discussing topics in small groups. The resource helps lay...
Smithsonian Institution
Women's Role in the War Effort
Did you know that many women were Confederate spies during the Civil War? The resource focuses particularly on the important role women played for both the Union and Confederacy. It uses exercises such as a discussion, video, analyzing...
National Endowment for the Humanities
People and Places in the North and South
North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...
Curated OER
The American Civil War (1861 -1864)
Peek back in time and learn about the North and South of the American Civil War. Discussed in full are the causes, effects, major battles, and agreements that made Civil War history. Period technology, social changes, and the ultimate...
Digital Public Library of America
Women in the Civil War
Vivandieres and cantinieres, nurses and soldiers, loyalists and unionists. A primary source set provides young historians an opportunity to investigate the many roles women played in the United States Civil War.
American Battlefield Trust
Civil War Personalities: Individual Examples of Character
What is a hero? What is character? Using biographies of figures during the Civil War, both famous and lesser known, scholars consider these questions. After brainstorming what they think makes a hero, they examine the lives of those who...
Mr. Nussbaum
Battle of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter, the site of the Civil War's first battle, taught the Union and the Confederacy an important lesson: they would both need to take stronger steps than anticipated if they wanted to win the war. History pupils read about the...
Smithsonian Institution
Comparing Confederate and Union Soldiers
The Civil War, a war that divided a nation. Comparing and contrasting the Confederate and Union soldiers is not always an easy task, but the eighth of 15 resources makes it easy to teach the concepts. Exercises include watching videos in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
K12 Reader
Two Viewpoints of the Same Event: Lee Surrenders to Grant, 1865
How did Union General Ulysses S. Grant view the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1865, which effectively ended the United States Civil War? After reading an excerpt from Grant's autobiography, your young historians will...
National Gallery of Art
The First African American Regiment
Young historians examine a memorial sculpture of the first African American regiment in the Civil War, and then compare how the experiences of the regiment are portrayed in letters and poetry, as well as in the motion picture, Glory.
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Excerpt from the Diary of Union Soldier Samuel Cormany
Young historians read and analyze a soldier's direct account of his participation in the battle of Gettysburg, as well as consider the overall strategy and tactics taken by the Union and Confederate troops.
Curated OER
Handout 4C: Reflection UFW Today
How has the UFW or United Farm Workers labor union changed? Learners go to the website and explore several articles and specific legislative actions currently in place today. The worksheet includes answers and a web link, and will allow...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South
North is to factory as South is to plantation—the perfect analogy for the economy that set up the Civil War! The first instructional activity in a series of five helps teach beginners why the economy creates a driving force for conflict....