Middle schoolers explore the history of the African-American troops that served during the American Civil War. After reading primary source documents that detail the controversies about permitting freemen and former slaves to serve, class members design a historic site to commemorate the contributions of these troops to a specific battle.

Concepts

the united states civil war, civil war, african american history, african americans, famous african americans, battles of the civil war, abraham lincoln, prejudice, primary source analysis, primary source images

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Include the project in a study of the American Civil War or part of Black History Month
• Create a gallery display of the projects either in the classroom or around the school

Classroom Considerations

• Requires extra prep time to makes copies of required materials
• Designed for North Carolina schools but appropriate for any study of the American Civil War

Pros

• The carefully scaffolded plan includes information about the issues the Lincoln administration had to consider when deciding whether or not to authorize the enlistment of black troops

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.5.1.a SL.5.4 SL.5.5 SL.6.1.a SL.6.4 SL.6.5 SL.7.1.a SL.7.4 SL.7.5 SL.8.1.a SL.8.4 SL.8.5