Curated OER
Hoosiers in the Civil War
Fourth graders research soldiers in the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, 4th graders listen to the story Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco and identify the main events. They read facts about "Hoosiers in the Civil War" and create a...
Curated OER
The Civil War Era
Fifth graders explore both the causes of and the actual events of the Civil War. They write essays and descriptive paragraphs and explore a variety of websites. They create a series of skits highlighting the key points of the Civil War era.
Curated OER
UN Conference on the Impact of Civil War on the Common Person
Students simulate understanding of conflict or civil war they researched, and role play character they developed at model UN conference on the impact of civil war on the common person.
Curated OER
The Civil War: On the Homefront
Eighth graders examine the role of Indiana soldiers in the Civil War. In this American Civil War lesson plan, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the involvement of Indiana soldiers in the war and then analyze letters written home by...
Curated OER
Black Kentuckians and the Civil War
Students demonstrate how the American Civil War affected black Kentuckians socially and politically. They identify and discuss the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forced the end of slavery in Kentucky months after the...
Curated OER
The Civil War—Why Hoosier Soldiers Fought
Eighth graders determine why Hoosier soldiers were willing to fight in the American Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the involvement of Indiana soldiers in the war and then conduct research about...
Curated OER
Life During the Civil War for Women and Civilians
Students follow an overview of the American Civil War from a film, the text and/or teacher direct instruction. They create a timeline with a large map of the U.S. in the 1860's available for student reference as they do the spider activity.
Curated OER
Faces of the Past: Boys in the Civil War
Students investigate the role of boys during the American Civil War. In this Civil War Research lesson plan, students study the contributions of young Union and Confederate men to the war effort. Students also make classroom...
Curated OER
What Were the Political & Social Views of People During the Civil War
Eighth graders study the Civil War. In this US history lesson, 8th graders discuss the causes for fighting for the North and the South showing that there was no good side or evil side just people believing in what they were fighting for....
Curated OER
Literature Focus Unit: Civil War
Fourth graders complete a two-week unit on the U.S. Civil War and the Underground Railroad. They read the books "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "Pink and Say," complete story maps, and dramatize a scene from "Follow the Drinking Gourd."...
Curated OER
Technologies of the Civil War
Fifth graders discover new and interesting technologies of the Civil War. In this Civil War portfolio of lessons, 5th graders analyze primary resources, develop new vocabulary, investigate websites, and create a time line of new...
American Battlefield Trust
Post-1865: Effects of the War
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...
Curated OER
US Civil Rights Movement: Beginnings through the 60s
A real find for a U.S. History teacher, this presentation could supplement many class sessions about the Civil Rights Movement. Pictures of events, major figures, and "Whites Only" signs are striking and effective for even your most...
PBS
Connecting Post-Civil War Mob Violence and the Capitol Hill Riot
Anti-democratic violence is not new in the United States. Learners watch videos and then compare and contrast the 1873 Colfax and the 1898 Wilmington massacres. They then watch a video about the Capitol Hill insurrection of 2021 and...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
Film Education
Glory
If you are previewing the film Glory for your young historians, this packet may help you spark ideas for discussion and offer some interesting facts and quotations that may add to your presentation of this Civil War narrative. It...
Curated OER
The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism
Is it possible to tell a true war story? Tim O’Brien says that fiction is for “getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth.” To get at the truth about war, class members examine primary source materials from the...
Curated OER
Post-1865: Effects of the War
An engaging instructional activity 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...
Curated OER
Sequence, Predict, Infer: Pink and Say
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...
Curated OER
Afghanistan Today: Civil War and Human Rights
Students examine the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. They analyze the role of religion and cultural identity in shaping governments. They also examine the United States foreign policy.
Curated OER
Life of a Soldier after the Civil War Lesson Plan: What's in a Name
Students explore the concept of institutional bias. In this Civil War lesson, students read case studies on the treatment of Irish and African-American veterans who did not receive their pensions from the war. Students discuss their...
Curated OER
Active Viewing: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided
Young historians consider the cause and effects of the Emancipation Proclamation. They use handouts, response sheets, and class discussion to build an opinion about the subject after viewing the PBS documentary Abraham and Mary Lincoln:...
American Battlefield Trust
1861: The Country Goes to War
While the firing on Ft. Sumter may have seemed like a sudden event, the long march to war spanned decades. Using games and a presentation, class members review the events that led up to the fateful April day in 1861 when brother turned...
Curated OER
What's Civil About War?
Students study about the Civil War through primary sources used in the PBS production of "Freedom: A History of US" based on Joy Hakim's books, "A History of US", and the companion PBS Web site.