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...

A unit focuses on the Civil War. Second graders follow along with an informational reading about the war—why it started, how it ended, and essential individuals such as Harriet Beecher Stow, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Ulisses, S....

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...

Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...

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...

How do you teach the Civil War and all its intricacies within the time limits of an average school day? Using a three-part plan, teachers easily integrate coverage of key Civil War battles into the unit. The lesson includes activities to...

Ironically, science was the reason why the Civil War was so deadly. Despite the use of medical practices now considered barbaric—such as conducting surgery with bare, dirty hands—developments in weaponry meant that more men died on and...

American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...

What part did Kentucky play in the Civil War? A constructed response essay assignment tests to ensure scholars understand the concepts and the arguments for the causes of the Civil War. Learners must read a primary source quote and then...

What did Lincoln want? Historians still debate this question, and perhaps people will never fully know. Class members examine the legacies of the war, including the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The lesson plan also...

Practice sequencing with your 2nd graders via Patricia Polacco's Civil War book Pink and Say. Begin with a blindfold and a bag of mystery items. Connect their use of clues to identify what they can't see with the skill of making...

Young historians explore life on the home front during the Civil War with primary documents and a series of writing prompts. They also watch a presentation and use a worksheet to compare how communication methods have changed over time....

An engaging lesson focuses on the impact of the war and Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction had on the United States. Historians analyze primary documents, such as Constitutional Amendments and newspaper experts. They also participate in...

An interesting lesson plan explains the last battles of the war and the terms of the Articles of Surrender. It also analyzes the election of 1864 with copies of the Baltimore and Chicago platforms. To conclude the lesson, academics...

Students apply critical thinking skills to war strategy. In this Civil War map lesson plan, students use their knowledge of latitude and longitude as well as scale to respond to questions regarding Civil War battle strategies.

Women and children played key roles during the Civil War, even if their voices are often lost in history. By studying letters and personal testimony from them, budding historians get a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civilians during...

The victory at Gettysburg is forever immortalized in the famous speech given by Present Abraham Lincoln. Designed for secondary pupils, an interesting lesson plan explains how 1863 was a pivotal year for the Union. Academics explore the...

Students answer Civil War questions. In this Civil War United States history instructional activity, students copy Civil War vocabulary and phrases onto squares on a Bingo card. Students cover a Bingo square in response to each question...

An interesting lesson plan uses a hands-on-activity and group discussion to explore the 1864 presidential election and Lincoln's plans for ending the Civil War. Designed for high school, the resource also requires historians to...

Eighth graders discuss and analyze Civil War data, manually graph data on handout, work with partners to enter data into spreadsheets, and create charts on spreadsheet for each data set.

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...

Eleventh graders examine the presidency of Lincoln.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders watch various videos on Lincoln and the Civil War.  Students read and answer questions. 

Learners will read the story "Battle of Stones River" and define a set of vocabulary words. In this Civil War lesson, students complete a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary activity after reading the story and defining the words.

Fourth graders study the American Civil War. They read and analyze information regarding the casualties of the Civil War, fucusing on Indiana soldiers. They graph the information and then write in their reflective journals responding...