Curated OER
Bake, Boil, or Fry
Students write a journal entry about where there food comes from. In this Civil War lesson, students discuss journals, the crops grown within the U.S., the import/export process and what food preparation must have been like on a...
Curated OER
It Wasn't a Bullet
Students explore U.S. history by researching disease in class. In this Civil War injury lesson, students identify the different causes of death most soldiers faced while fighting in the war. Students role-play and write a diary entry as...
Curated OER
Is Seeing Believing?
Pupils study different photographers who started the concept of battlefield photography. In this media activity students explore how to "read" a photograph and relate the use of photography during the Civil War to current use today.
Curated OER
The Life of a Hoosier Soldier, based on the letters of Lt. John V. Hadley
Eighth graders take a closer look at the life of Union soldiers. In this American Civil War lesson, 8th graders read and analyze a series of letters from Lt. John Hadley to his fiancée. Students chart their findings from the letters on...
Curated OER
Deciphering Morse Code
Students write and decode messages using Morse code, as Civil War soldiers might have done. They use a worksheet imbedded in this lesson to help them experience morse code.
Curated OER
Historical Episodes
Students choose a historical book set in the Civil War. They create a flow chart of the steps involved in producing a film. They select one scene and prepare props, costumes and setting for the scene.
Curated OER
A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments
Students study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction lesson, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th, 14th, and 15th...
Curated OER
The Displacement of the Native Americans
Seventh graders comprehend the interaction and conflict between Native Americans and white settlers in the years following the Civil War. They examine how those conflicts impacted the Native American way of life on the Great Plains.
Curated OER
Reconstruction to Civil Rights
Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on the period of time from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. They analyze and interpret political cartoons and editorials, conduct research on famous civil rights places, and complete...
Curated OER
Government Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan 9
Students examine and compare/contrast the steps of criminal and civil cases. They define key vocabulary terms, develop an outline of a criminal and civil trial, and analyze the differences in standards of proof in legal cases.
Curated OER
Massachusetts 54th Raid at Darien, Georgia Shaw Letter
Young scholars examine the expectations of Civil War soldiers. For this American Civil War lesson, students analyze a letter written by Colonel Shaw to his wife in order to gain an understanding of the expectations of the 54th Regiment....
Center for History and New Media
Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s–1930s
What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...
Smithsonian Institution
Western Indian Wars
Why do many Native Americans live on reservations? An interactive resource teaches about how reservations came to be and the tragic history behind Native Americans moving from their lands. Teenagers read passages, view images, and click...
C3 Teachers
Emancipation: Does It Matter Who Freed the Slaves?
Scholars generally agree on the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. This inquiry-based lesson asks high schoolers to consider more than the claims of who freed the enslaved people but the significance of the issues...
Curated OER
Social Activism in the United States
Seventh graders explore the goals of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In this US History instructional activity, 7th graders read a newspaper article that reported a significant event during this era. Students write a...
Curated OER
Foreign War and Domestic Freedom: A Delicate Balancing Act
Students investigate civil liberties in the U.S. They watch and discuss a PowerPoint presentation, conduct research on an event from a timeline, complete a worksheet, take an ideology quiz, and conduct a debate.
Curated OER
American Literature and the Civil War
Middle schoolers prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes fourteen lessons from the American Literature, The Civil War and Its Aftermath: 1845-1880 series, each covering a different reading selection....
Curated OER
Inter / Intra Personal Lesson Plan
Students identify the causes of the American Civil War. Using the internet and print sources, they read about the causes and personal backgrounds of those who participated in the war. They choose a character from the time period that...
Curated OER
Musical & Linguistic Lesson Plan
Tenth graders study songs and music of the US Civil War period. They use technology to compose a song that highlights an event or concept from the war.
Curated OER
Photographing War
Students examine the role of Matthew Brady photographing the Civil War and compare it with the role of photographers embedded in the War in Iraq.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: The 1856 Election
Students identify the key issue in the election of 1856, they also identify some of the key people invovled in the election. Students discuss the role of propaganda in politics. Also, students discuss the significance of the election of...
Scholastic
The Rise of Railroads: Illinois
Railways not only cross the US, but they are also intertwined with the history of America. Using a timeline format, individuals explore the connections between major events in American history—such as the Civil War—and the rise of the...
Curated OER
A Flag Divided
Students explore the flags of the Union and Confederacy, explore the symbolism of those flags, and create flags of their own.
Curated OER
The Plight of Four Million Newly Emancipated Slaves: Reconstruction - 1865-1877
Students study the Reconstruction Era after the US Civil War. In this Reconstruction lesson set, students examine the problems that were encountered by the South after the Civil War, look at different plans for Reconstruction, and...