Cheryl L. Mason and William G. Thomas
Comparative Effects of Financing the Civil War
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...
Curated OER
Kentucky in the Civil War
Seventh graders consider how Kentucky was involved in the Civil War. In this American Civil War lesson, 7th graders view PowerPoint presentations on the topic and then discuss the state's neutrality policy and eventual secession....
Civil War Trust
The Gathering Storm: The Coming of the Civil War
Take a longer look at a formative time in history with a lesson that explores the causes of the American Civil War. After viewing a series of images and explanations for various forces at play, middle schoolers choose the images that...
Curated OER
Arkansas Civil War Bandits and Outlaws
Young historians study civilian Arkansas during the Civil War. They look at the many challenges they faced to keep their homes in order while the men were at war. Learners hear stories of bands of outlaws who ravaged the state during...
PBS
Civil War: Blacks on the Battlefield
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...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Play
Raise the curtain to a class play that depicts the Civil War through both factual information and literary devices. The performance showcases the Battle of Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg) and brings attention to women's roles,...
Ford's Theatre
Socratic Seminar/Group Discussion: The Crisis of the Civil War
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.
American Battlefield Trust
The Common Civil War Soldier
If it were possible to step back in time, what would learners want to know about the Civil War? With the aid of discussion prompts, they now have that chance. Invite a Civil War re-enactor to your classroom and have all their questions...
Curated OER
Life of a Civil War Soldier
Eighth graders write about the physical hardships endured by soldiers of the Civil War. They compare the losses between two communities during the Civil War. They analyze personal letters to understand what a battle was like. They...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Civil War at Home
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.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
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...
Curated OER
Introduction to the American Civil War
Eleventh graders participate in a drill activity in which they review the political, social and economic causes of the Civil War. Individually, they complete a Civil War pretest in which they test their misconceptions about the war. They...
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...
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, students study the contributions of young Union and Confederate men to the war effort. Students also make...
Curated OER
Analyzing Civil War Pictorial Envelopes
Students explore the power of political messages contained in visual artifacts and examine the political messages conveyed by the illustrations that appeared on personal stationery used during the Civil War. They create and describe a...
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...
Curated OER
Claiming Common Ground? The Civil War and the Preservation of Claiming Common Ground? The Civil War and the Preservation of George Washington's Mount Vernon
Students explore how people viewed George Washington in the 19th Century. In this U.S. History lesson, students create a timeline of events during the Civil War, including government and court decisions. Following this...
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...
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.
Curated OER
Civil War Letters
Learners put themselves in the shoes of American Civil War soldiers. In this Civil War activity, students examine letters from the time period written by soldiers, edit the letters for grammatical errors, and then present the letters to...
Curated OER
Civil War
Fifth graders discuss the causes of the Civil War and write a paragraph summarizing each identified event. In the computer lab, 5th graders create a PowerPoint presentation explaining events leading up to the Civil War. They use the...
Curated OER
Medical War Ball/ Civil War
Eighth graders play Medical War Ball. In this Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders research the role of women in the Civil War as nurses. They play dodge ball with slightly different rules to incorporate a nurse on each team.
Curated OER
Images at War
Students examine American attitudes toward war as revealed in Civil War photographs and WWII homefront posters. They analyze and discuss photos, explore the National Archives website, and organize a statement of their findings.
Curated OER
Experiencing the Civil War
Eleventh graders examine the Civil War. In this American History lesson, 11th graders investigate the causes, effects, and the lives of people during the Civil War. Students develop a research paper using various...