Curated OER
The Civil War Experience
Eighth graders study the Civil War. In this Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders read and analyze primary sources. Students complete handouts in relation to the primary sources.
Curated OER
Who Was Contraband?
Students examine the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. Using primary sources, they analyze the material and formulate their own opinions about the past. They write journal entries to share their opinions on photographs from the...
Curated OER
Freed Slaves
Students are given the identify of a newly freed slave at the end of the Civil War. Students participate in a discussion to explore some of the difficulties and decision making freed slaves had to consider. Students present their...
Curated OER
On Deck of a Union Warship
Students examine role of Naval blockades in Union war strategy, and analyze primary source image "On Deck of a Union Warship" and make detailed observation about people and activities shown.
American Battlefield Trust
Fredericksburg 360
Urban combat long preceded today's video games. Pupils today experience the battle of Fredericksburg—a major Civil War engagement in an American city—using a 360-degree interactive app. Users explore the battlefield online, using a...
Curated OER
The Civil War Through a Child's Eyes
Middle schoolers focus upon the Civil War era using research methods of drawing information from primary sources. Literature and photographic images reflect, communicate, and influence human perspectives of historical events. The lesson...
Curated OER
Ladies, Contraband, and Spies: Women in the Civil War
Students use primary sources - diaries, letters, and photographs - to explore the experiences of women in the Civil War. By looking at a series of document galleries, the perspectives of slave women, plantation mistresses, female spies,...
Student Handouts
Working with Primary Sources: The Spanish-American War
Examine the introduction to Our Islands in Their People, written by Major-General Joseph Wheeler. The excerpt, which is about two-and-a-half pages long, is included here along with six questions about the text. Pupils can learn about the...
Curated OER
Civil War Photography Lesson Plan
Students explore photographs from the Civil War Era. In this Civil War instructional activity, students consider how photography impacted public opinion of the war as they analyze the provided photographs and discuss the evolution of...
Curated OER
The Civil War Through a Child's Eye
Students use primary and secondary sources to observe a child's view of the Civil war. In this Civil War lesson, students understand that different people had different perspectives on the war. Students recognize the difference between...
Curated OER
Letters, Telegrams, and Photographs Illustrating
Students research the factors that are important in winning a battle in the Civil War. In a second activity they are assigned the role of a specific type of person during the Civil War and asked to describe what it's like being that person.
Curated OER
The Economic Differences Between the North and the South Prior to the Civil War
Seventh graders identify and explain the economic differences between the North and the South incorporating photographs and a Venn Diagram to interpret the two sides. They complete a KWL and T-chart to assist them with their task for the...
Curated OER
Music of the Civil War
Students gain insight into the Civil War era by exploring the art, music, and literature of the time.
Curated OER
Civil War: Matthew Brady Photos
Fourth graders read background information on Matthew Brady and examine photographs of the Civil War taken by him. They fill in worksheets based on their research.
National History Day
“Saving the Bear”: The Russian Expeditionary Force of World War One
How have Russian politics affected countries on a global stage? The discussion of the Russian Revolution and World War I begins with an analysis of primary resource letters. Learners finish with a project where they create a timeline of...
Curated OER
Weapons Of War: The Monitor
Learners investigate the building of the first warships of the Civil War. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students compare and contrast two battleships of the era using a graphic organizer. They also compose a journal...
Curated OER
When Johnny Went Marching Off...
Eighth graders explore Civil War campaigns. In this Civil War activity, 8th graders collaborate and conduct research to create presentations that focus on specific Union or Confederate generals and battles. Students take on the roles of...
Curated OER
Before Brother Fought Brother: People and Places in the North and South
Students use census records to research and compare the population and economies in two counties within the same valley (Franklin Country Pennsylvania (North) and Augusta County, Virginia (South) in the pre Civil War era.
Curated OER
The Massachusetts 54th Regiment: Honoring the Heroes
Students use art and images analyze the Civil War. In this lesson on the Shaw Memorial, students engage in 3 activities, discussion, and art analysis to better comprehend the events of the Civil War. This lesson includes web resources,...
Curated OER
“Will I or Won’t I?” Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, 54th Massachusetts Regiment
Students discover the story of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. In this American Civil War lesson, students study the life of Robert Gould Shaw and the regiment he led. Students research primary and secondary sources to learn about the...
K12 Reader
Elegy for Lincoln: Walt Whitman’s Poem
Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" is one of the most famous and emotional tributes to Abraham Lincoln. Guide readers through the evocative elegy with a reading comprehension worksheet, complete with the poem's text and a photograph...
Center for History Education
Continuity or Change? African Americans in World War II
While World War II was a pivotal moment in history, historians debate its importance to the civil rights movement. Class members consider the implications of segregation and the war using a series of documents and a jigsaw activity....
Curated OER
James Hopkinson's Plantation. Planting Sweet Potatoes
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students analyze the photograph that features freedmen planting sweet potatoes. Students respond to 1 short answer question about the photograph.
Curated OER
What price Freedom! Civil War and Reconstruction
Fifth graders become familiar with the events of Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. In this reconstruction lesson, 5th graders work in pairs where each student creates a building with blocks and draws it. Their...