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
The Civil War: From Different Perspectives
Fifth graders look at the Civil War from different perspectives. In this Civil War lesson, 5th graders are divided into groups and take on the role of fictional characters with a real perspective that existed in the Civil War. They...
Curated OER
A Nation Divided: Why Couldn't They Just Get Along?
Fourth graders examine both perspectives of the Civil War as related to the differing economies. In this nation divided lesson, 4th graders view primary sources, examine paper money and a political chart, and review recruitment posters.
Curated OER
Secession: A Southern Perspective
Eighth graders determine how secession impacted South Carolina as well as the United States. In this American Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders examine selected primary and secondary sources in order to study the state's...
Curated OER
Hoosier Soldiers at Vicksburg
Eighth graders examine the role of Indiana soldiers at the Battle of Vicksburg. In this American Civil War lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the involvement of Indiana soldiers in the battle and then analyze letters written...
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...
Curated OER
Brutal British
Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...
Curated OER
5th Grade Social Studies
In this social studies worksheet, 5th graders complete multiple choice questions about immigrants, World War II, the Civil War, prosperity, and more. Students complete 25 questions.
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Causes of the Civil War
Students identify the various causes leading to the Civil War. Students create a timeline of the actual events that led to it. Students form small groups and read from one of the included paragraphs about the causes of the war to each...
Curated OER
Road to War Assessment
In this American Civil War worksheet, students respond to 20 short answer, multiple choice, and true or false questions about the events that led to the outbreak of war.
Center for History and New Media
A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama Tenant Farmers and Sharecroppers, 1865 to Present
The tenant farming and sharecropping systems that developed in the South after the Civil War, the reasons for their development, and the eventual decline of these systems are the focus of this two-day plan.
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 plan, 5th graders work in pairs where each student creates a building with blocks and draws it. Their...
Curated OER
How We Got to Kansas-Nebraska
Learners explore the causes of the Civil War. In this lesson on slavery students use primary sources to examine the evolution of the issue of slavery and in the American political system. Learners will then write a follow-up essay that...
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
Civil War: The North History Lesson
Students demonstrate their reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
K12 Reader
Two Viewpoints of the Same Event: Lee Surrenders to Grant, 1865
How did Union General Ulysses S. Grant view the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1865, which effectively ended the United States Civil War? After reading an excerpt from Grant's autobiography, your young historians will...
Center for History Education
Slavery and Civil Disobedience: Christiana Riot of 1851
When is it a moral obligation to disobey the law or to fight back? Using primary sources that document the "Christiana Riot" of 1851, learners consider these questions. The firsthand accounts tell the story of the riot, which happened...
Curated OER
The Civil War
Eighth graders engage in a instructional activity that is concerned with the Civil War and they conduct research using a variety of resources. The research is used to create the context for class discussion and a possible project as an...
Curated OER
Living History - Civil War
Eighth graders, after researching antebellum North Carolina and the role of North Carolina in the Civil War, write, edit, publish, and produce their own plays.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan on Important Citizens in the American Civil War
Students, in groups, half representing the Confederacy, half the Union, conduct research to find out about important Civil War era citizens from each side. They explore the effect these people had on the war and what effect the war had...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan on Military Leaders in the American Civil War
Young scholars, in groups, half representing the Confederacy, half the Union, conduct research to find out about important Civil War military leaders from each side. They find the answers to a variety of questions regarding their...
Cornell College
Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court Decision
Dred Scott was a harbinger of the Civil War. An enslaved man claimed freedom because his owner had taken him into free territory. Not only did the Supreme Court rule that Dred Scott and his wife were to remain enslaved, but it also ruled...