Using primary and secondary sources, such as letters and diaries from soldiers and civilians, learners consider why people fought in the American Civil War. A role-playing Historical Mingle activity, as well as discussion questions and...

Was it the War against Northern Aggression or the War to Unify the Union? Scholars investigate the key battles and strategies of the American Civil War to determine just why the North was victorious in the end.

Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...

Middle schoolers explore the history of the African-American troops that served during the American Civil War. After reading primary source documents that detail the controversies about permitting freemen and former slaves to serve,...

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.

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. 

Mapmaking was a very important element in successfully planning attacks on enemies during the Civil War. Guide pupils through the process of pacing to find the average length of their steps, measure the distance between one object...

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...

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. 

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...

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...

Imagine being on the front line of the Civil War —from the front porch of your own house. Scholars use visual evidence from primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of the Civil War on all Americans. They examine the research...

Confederate soldiers saw the Civil War much differently than their Union counterparts. Scholars analyze the perspective of the Civil War from the viewpoint of various key figures in the fourth installment of an eight-part series. By...

The United States Civil War resulted in the highest mortality rate for Americans since the nation's inception. Delve deeper into the causes for the drastic separation of states with a history lesson plan that features analysis charts,...

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...

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.

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...

Over three weeks, second graders listen to stories about the United States Civil War. Informational texts explore the war, slavery, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Clara Barton, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Ulysses...

"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...

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...

Learners will compare and contrast two songs from the Civil War era, one from the North and one from the South. They'll write a comparative essay on their songs, and then compare their essays and songs with others in their small groups....

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...

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.

Abraham Lincoln is responsible for uniting the states during the most tumultuous periods in American history, and for his elegant oratory that kept the Union believing in its cause. Young histoians analyze various speeches by America's...