University of California
The Civil War: Strategies and Battles
Was it the War against Northern Aggression or the War to Unify the Union? Scholars investigate the key battles and strategies of the American Civil War to determine just why the North was victorious in the end.
Curated OER
Civil War Perspectives
Fifth graders have a debate and defend one of the three different perspectives of the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson plan, 5th graders defend either the North, the South, or the Neutral perspectives.
Civil War Trust
Contrasting the North and South before the War
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...
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...
National Park Service
Civil War to Civil Rights: From Pea Ridge to Central High
Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning.
American Battlefield Trust
Contrasting the North and South Before the War
Fundamental differences between the North and South led to the South adopting a system of enslaved labor. These abstract ideas become concrete when class members create a standing cube using information provided in the resource. Young...
Curated OER
Role Playing the Civil War
Students role play the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students break into two groups: North and South. They complete activities that show which states belonged to each side, the reasons for the war on both sides, and the...
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
Who Fought for the Union?
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,...
Curated OER
American Journey: The Civil War
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...
Curated OER
The Civil War: Up Close and Personal
Young scholars take an in depth look at different aspects of the Civil War. Using primary source documents, they discover that people who lived during the war are not so different from them. They read about the experience of a...
Syracuse University
Civil War
What was it like to enlist as a soldier in the Civil War? By using enlistment papers, young scholars consider this question. After they've looked at the primary source and discussed it, they create a short story of a fictional soldier to...
Middle Tennessee State University
Help Is on the Way: Civil War Women and Relief Work
The role women played in the Civil War, especially in relief efforts, is the focus of this seven-page resource. Groups examine primary source materials to determine how this work reflected and expanded the traditional roles women held in...
Curated OER
Economics during the Civil War
Students 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 lifestyles...
Curated OER
The People of the Civil War
Fifth graders complete a two week unit on the American Civil War. They complete a Venn diagram, watch a video, make butter, write journal entries, write a letter to a Civil War leader, and create a newspaper.
Curated OER
Historical Events of the Civil War
Fifth graders research the Civil War through the use of primary documents. In this historical events of the Civil War instructional activity, 5th graders write about the information gotten from the primary document. Students answer...
Curated OER
Civil War Battles: The Reporter's Perspective A WebQuest
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this research skills lesson, students research the job of reporting for new agencies during the American Civil War as they complete the provided...
Curated OER
The Civil War
High schoolers, examine The Civil War, from a variety of perspectives and assignments. After taking notes, they can choose from creating a front page newspaper article describing the fall of Fort Sumter, discuss the pros and cons of...
Curated OER
American Civil War: Conflicting Newspaper Reports
Students examine the happenings at the Battle of Antietam from all sides. In this American Civil War lesson plan, students analyze newspapers accounts from different perspectives regarding the battle and then write their own accounts of...
University of California
The Civil War: Secession of the South
Was the Southern states' decision to secede from the Union protected by the United States Constitution? Eighth graders discuss the constitutionality of the South's justification for secession, particularly the secession of South...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
African American Life After the Civil War - Sharecropping
What is the sharecropping system? What role did it play in the post-Civil War economy of the South? Who were the sharecroppers? Who employed them? How were they paid? To answer these questions, kids examine a series of sharecropper...
Curated OER
Look Out My Window. What Do You See?
Students explore William D. Huff's experience during Civil War as portrayed in his drawings, express empathy and demonstrate historical knowledge through creating their own artwork, and craft drawings and captions from perspectives of...
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...