Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

A History of the United States

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
eBook
Core Knowledge Foundation

Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Pre-1860: Disunion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using personas ranging from freed African Americans to wealthy plantation owners, young historians consider various points of view around the events in the days leading up to the Civil War including major milestones such as the Dred...
Interactive
University of Richmond

Canals 1820-1860

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
While canals are not a common mode of transportation today, they were part of the fuel for America's industrialization. However, most of them were located in the North, also feeding regional differences and sectionalism. Using an...
Interactive
Smithsonian Institution

Who Am I?: A History Mystery

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
Who Am I? Scholars go online to gather clues and evidence to uncover just who was involved in the American Civil War. They use hands-on Internet activities to come to an understanding of the roles soldiers and civilians played in the...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Life Before the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
Activity
NOAA

Make Your Own Compass

For Students 3rd - 5th
Scholars build a compass using a needle, cork, magnet, and a water-filled cup in order to locate the magnetic north and south.
Lesson Plan
Civil War Trust

Contrasting the North and South before the War

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Learners create a standing cube with four panels that display information on the North and South's economy, geography and climate, society, and means of transportation before the Civil War. Through discussion and reading...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Fought for the Union?

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Learners read New York Times articles, letters, and listen to songs written from a soldier's perspective during the Civil War in order to understand who was fighting in the Union Army. This is a great lesson, complete with weblinks,...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Compass Rose

For Students 3rd - 5th
Keep it simple and visual when practicing directions using this compass rose labeling worksheet. Learners fill in the compass themselves, using cardinal and intermediate direction abbreviations. Consider using their compass on a map to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Journey: The Civil War

For Teachers 8th
Utilize this worksheet package if you are looking for basic Civil War coverage. Much of the plan is disabled, however the worksheets contain 2 simple texts that pupils can read, mark, and respond to in 2 comprehension questions that...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Civil War Word Search

For Students 5th - 6th
In this word search worksheet, students read the words related to the Civil War. Students locate the 11 words within the word search puzzle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

North V. South And The Bank Creation

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate the economic status of America during the 1800's and the role of the bank in the early times of our country. They concentrate on the different jobs that people had in the North and South while classifying them...