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The Role of Women in the Civil War
Students, in groups, research specific websites to find what roles women filled during the Civil War. They discuss the roles and create a multimedia presentation for a slide show.
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The Civil War--Reading on the Internet
Students grasp how to read from text and retain it. They use reading comprehension strategies specific to the Internet. They search for answers to questions related to the Civil War.
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Speaking Out Against War
Students discuss the affect the Iraq War has had on citizens taking advantage of their right to express themselves through non-violent protests and pledges of resistance. They research and discuss local community and school events and...
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Civil War Letter
Students develop a question they are interested in researching about the Civil War. After completing a webquest on the war, they write a letter to their partner using the information they gathered. They use peer editing to check for...
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Red Legs: A Drummer Boy of the Civil War
Students identify and interpret the life of a drummer boy during the Civil War as well as about a reenactment. Students listen to a fictionalized story or a Civil War reenactor and compare ot with the life of the drummer boy the story...
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American Literature and the Civil War
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes fourteen lessons from the American Literature, The Civil War and Its Aftermath: 1845-1880 series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading...
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Lesson: Allison Smith: What Are You Fighting For?
Trench art is a nontraditional art form created by soldiers in trenches during wartime. Artist Allison Smith connects her art to the American Revolution and the question: "What are you fighting for?" Kids examine her art, how it connects...
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Palms and Literature
Learners read and analyze the Civil War novel, 'Charley Skedaddle.' They define key vocabulary terms, develop a story map, create a concept web for a character, and take vocabulary tests.
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Historical Fiction: A Wealth of Interpretations
How can understanding the genre of historical fiction help your language arts class with literary analysis? Use this instructional activity to help young readers learn about historical fiction. After reading a selection from the "Dear...
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Pink and Say
Read Pink and Say and discuss the Civil War with your upper elementary learners. They create a KWL about the Civil War and record words relating to the Civil War as they read the book. Then they work in groups to create an ABC...
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Building Background Knowledge: The Lost Boys of Sudan
Get deep! Teach scholars how to make connections between texts to deepen their understanding of a topic. Using the resource, pupils read and annotate a short informational text about Sudan's Civil War and refugee crisis. Next, they...
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Memorials and Meaning
Learners explore the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students collaborate to research the war. They examine Matthew Brady photographs that inspire them to create a memorial to honor those who served in the Civil War.
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Robert Smalls: Warrior and Peacemaker
Students research the events that led to the Civil War and the Reconstruction. In this Civil War history lesson, students study images of Robert Smalls and research his role in the Civil War. Students review the South Carolina...
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Cover the Music
Young scholars explore U.S. history by listening to musical pieces in class. In this Civil War era instructional activity, students discuss the types of musical instruments that were available to soldiers during the war and the themes of...
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It Wasn't a Bullet
Students explore U.S. history by researching disease in class. In this Civil War injury lesson, students identify the different causes of death most soldiers faced while fighting in the war. Students role-play and write a diary entry as...
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Across Five Aprils
Eighth graders are introduced to the novel "Across Five Aprils" written by Irene Hunt. They become familiar with the people, places, and events referenced in the story and comprehend the story of the Civil War. Students are given a...
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Bridges for All
Learners describe how the brave word of one female Quaker served as a lifeline for fugitives before the Civil War. In this research lesson, students research several examples of the philanthropic work of individuals and organizations...
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Twain: Icon and Iconoclast
Students examine work by Mark Twain in the context of pre- and post-Civil War America. In this cross curricular lesson, students gather biographical information about Twain, use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast him with...
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Bridges for All Lesson 1: Fighting Chance (1850-1877)
Students study how a Quaker woman, Laura Smith Haviland, served as a lifeline for fugitive and freedmen during the American Civil War era. They research other philanthropic organizations and the associate vocabulary of this era.
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Historical Episodes
Students choose a historical book set in the Civil War. They create a flow chart of the steps involved in producing a film. They select one scene and prepare props, costumes and setting for the scene.
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Firestorms: The Bombing of Civilians in World War II: War, Ethics, Guernica, Precision Bombing
Students explore the history, rationale and ethics of civilian bombing in times of war. They consider war strategy, the laws and conventions of war and international implications.
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The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism
Students research the Civil War and make connections between the war and the interpretation of the war in the novel The Red Badge of Courage to help them understand realism. In this Civil War recounting lesson plan, students complete...
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Free Blacks in the North and in the South
Eleventh graders research the different lives of free blacks in the South and the North. In this Post Civil War instructional activity, 11th graders analyze primary sources that illustrate their lives. Students create posters that...
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Civil Liberties And National Security
Students experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties