Did the Confederate Army really consist of southern volunteers? Using primary sources, historians examine the story behind the "Twenty Negro Law" and realities of conscription during the Civil War. A letter and a lithograph (included as...

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...

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...

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...

Scholars watch videos, study an animated map, and read a firsthand written account to explore the impact of the Battle of Franklin during the Civil War. Academics analyze images, complete worksheets, and create journal entries to...

Before the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, FDR's executive order helped promote fair employment. The activity uses primary documents to explore FDR's executive order to help minorities gain equal employment and pay during the...

Was the Civil War fought only due to slavery? Using an interactive web tool, scholars investigate the four main causes of the Civil War. Gathering evidence and data to support their claims, they present a final statistical breakdown...

Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...

Alabama voted to secede from the Union preceding the Civil War. What did women think of the decision? The lesson plan uses letters and newspaper articles to explain women's views on the secession and how they participated in the...

Students evaluate websites after gathering information from various search engines.  For this Civil War lesson, students browse the web and find strategies for rating websites.  Students choose the best sites in their opinion...

Students explore the Civil War. Using computer technology, they create informational flash cards about the Civil War. Students use artwork to depict Civil War activities. They examine topics such as battles, leaders, tactics, prisoner of...

Eighth graders examine the role of Indiana soldiers in the Civil War. In this American Civil War lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the involvement of Indiana soldiers in the war and then analyze letters written home by the...

Students design a quilt. In this Civil War and Underground Railroad lesson, students discuss the Civil War and Underground Railroad. Students look at quilts from the Civil War and discover how they were used to help slaves escape....

Fourth graders research soldiers in the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson plan, 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...

Students gain historical background on the Civil War era from textbooks, encyclopedias, or supplemental material. Assign at least two photographs for each student to analyze using the Photograph Analysis Worksheet which is imbedded in...

Young scholars synthesize the concepts of scarcity, supply, and demand, pertaining to the Civil War time period. In this economics lesson, students gain understanding of economic terms through read-alouds, Venn diagrams, (comparing...

Fifth graders research the Civil War through the use of primary documents. In this historical events of the Civil War activity, 5th graders write about the information gotten from the primary document. Students answer critical thinking...

Students research a human aspect of the Civil War and prepare a written report, skit, project board, or computer slide-show about their findings. They focus on how the war affected families who had members on opposing sides of the conflict.

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...

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....

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.

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...

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...

Fifth graders discover the Civil War as taught by their peers. In this Civil War activity, 5th graders create their own lesson plans to teach the class about the Civil War. The students are monitored by the teacher but are given lectures...