Child Soldiers

Did you know that many women were Confederate spies during the Civil War? The resource focuses particularly on the important role women played for both the Union and Confederacy. It uses exercises such as a discussion, video, analyzing...

Everyone has a role to play. Young scholars step into history by taking on the roles of soldiers—both male and female—during the Civil War using a fictionalized play of what life was like on the battlefield. Pupils also examine the roles...

Using primary and secondary sources, such as letters and diaries from soldiers and civilians, learners consider why people fought in the American Civil War. A role-playing Historical Mingle activity, as well as discussion questions and...

"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...

Science, engineering, and United States history? Pupils research collections of artifacts from the Smithsonian to learn about historical scientific innovations. At the end of the lesson, they write an essay to discuss technology's...

The American Civil War was a complex test of a relatively young democracy in the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss the events and factors that led to the Civil War with a thorough slideshow presentation.

As part of a study of World War I, class members read newspaper articles from the time that urge American involvement, non-involvement, or neutrality. Using the provided worksheet, groups analyze the articles noting the central argument...

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...

Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...