Unit Study of the American Civil War

The Civil War of the United States of America (also known as "The War between the States") was a very traumatic time for our country. I believe it is something that needs to be covered more fully in our educational system. As a homeschooler, you have the perfect opportunity to study this event with the respect it deserves. Issues that affected the average American family then, still affect us today.

I have included resources and links for all age/grade levels. As a parent/educator you will need to decide what you believe that your child is developmentally ready to cover in regard to this subject. For the younger person, you may just want to focus on the generalities - geography, families of that era and how they lived, the basic concept of slavery and its economic causes, military uniforms, and the famous people in that era, fiction and non-fiction from that era. For the older student you can additionally cover more in-depth issues such as the social reasons for slavery, the issues of states' rights, social differences in the groups of people involved, abolitionism, more graphic works of fiction and non-fiction, being a soldier, the realities of war, etc.

GENERAL RESOURCES:

TS Denison Publications has a series of colorful timelines that go along with their Time Traveler Series. The one useful to this unit is The Civil War (Cat. No. TSD 2310-0) and it goes along with The Civil War: North and South (ISBN0-513-02259-7). The activity book was originally written for grades 4 through 8 but is scaleable for use with other ages/grade levels. However, this series focuses heavily on thinking skills and may be beyond the developmental stages of the young elementary student.

Instructional Faire/TS Denison has a series called Eye On History. One of the selections in this series is The Civil War (ISBN 1-56822-777-9). It is written for the middle and highschool levels. Some of the activities covered can be used by younger students; but, many require thought-provoking discussions that are about topics the younger student isn't prepared for.

For a complete, pre-packaged unit study on the American Civil War, I recommend The Civil War by Pat Wesolowski (ISBN 0-9646685-1-3). The advertisement that appears in the front of the book states a unit study complete with a timeline, charts, puzzles, graphs, newspaper assignments, fun facts, and more. The only problem I had with this is that some of the more interesting activities require a group...such as publishing the newspaper. On the other hand, I scaled and modified many of the activities for in-home use with my own unit study. This study is available through the Rainbow Resource catalog as well as from Christian Book Distributors.

Life During the Civil War by Bob Rybak (ISBN 0-7647-0016-2) is a Frank Schaffer publication. It was written for middle school students but most of the activities are easily scaleable for other age/grade levels.

Civil War Days: American Kids in History by David C. King (ISBN 0-471-24612-3) is a really good addition to a Civil War study. This series follows a fictional family for a year in their lives. Discovering the past with exciting projects, games, activities, and recipes.

Teacher Created Materials has a thematic unit entitled Civil War (ISBN 1-55734-290-3). As with the whole TCM thematic unit series is uses an across curriculum approach to teaching and has sample lesson plans. The two literature selections is uses to frame the study are: Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty, and Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit. TCM materials are available through your local teacher supply store or can be purchased direct from the company at their website at www.teachercreated.com

TCM also has several good literature units available that would make great additions to this unit. A couple of them cover Across Five Aprils and Rifles for Watie. Check their website for more selections.

The Civil War Era Activity Book which is part of the Hands-On-Heritage series by Edupress is a wonderful addition to this unit (ISBN 1-56472-108-6). Experience an era through art, crafts, cooking, and historical aids. Well worth the $5.50 I paid for it through the home school supplier Rainbow Resource.

The Dover Coloring book series has several that would be useful in this unit: Abe Lincoln, Civil War Fashions, Civil War Uniforms, Famous Women of the Civil War, From Antietam to Gettysburg, Naval Battles of the Civil War, and Story of the Civil War

Prepare your own puzzles with the Puzzle Maker:

http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/

I know I've spoken before about using paper dolls for demonstrations and simulations, well here is a link on amazon.com specifically for one of the paper doll series that I use. It is by Tom Tierny: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/048624833X/106-0487075-4901249 Some others you may consider are: Abraham Lincoln and His Family, Union Army Paper Dolls, and Confederate Army Paper Dolls.

PREPARED LESSON PLANS:

The Headbone Zone's online interactive game on the Underground Railroad: http://www.headbone.com/derby/escape/

Mr. Donn's Civil War/Reconstruction site with links: http://members.aol.com/MrDonnHistory/American.html#CIVIL

Civil War Personal Journal: A Webquest: http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/hcarter/webquest.htm

http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst020.html

http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Social_St/US_history/USH0028.html

http://atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/AbeLincolnsLogCabin.shtml

http://www.courses.dsu.edu/eled360/publish/patr.htm

http://www.smplanet.com/civilwar/civilwar.html

http://atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/UndergroundRailroad.shtml

http://www.successlink.org/great/g152.html

http://www.courses.dsu.edu/eled360/publish/wendys.htm

http://www.successlink.org/great/g178.html

http://www.track0.com/canteach/elementary/wsoccult6.html

http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/fecga.htm

http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst008.html

http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/tlgunit.htm

WEB RESOURCES:

When searching the internet for links on the American Civil War, you can get lost on the information highway. Below are links that I've reviewed and found helpful....but, these are just a few of the many offerings available.

Mr. Donn's Civil War/Reconstruction Site with links

http://members.aol.com/MrDonnHistory/American.html#CIVIL

The Civil War -- This site has a very large number of links, all of which would be useful in planning a unit study of the US Civil War. The links are listed alphabetically by subject, making it even easier to use.

http://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/civilwar.html

The Civil War for Kids (has some interesting clipart to use in conjunction with the unit study)

http://www.jewish-history.com/Clipartgallery/clipart.htm

KidInfo's page on the Civil War

http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Civil_War.html

Kid Links for the American Civil War

http://www.wc4.org/civil_war.htm

The Civil War For Kids (another site geared specifically for kids)

http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/civilwar/cwar.htm

The Kid Konnection - the American Civil War
http://www.hinsdale.lib.il.us/kc_civil_war.htm

The History Beat - the American Civil War
http://searchbeat.com/Society/History/UnitedStates/Wars/CivilWar/

Outline of the Civil War with links

http://members.tripod.com/~greatamericanhistory/gr02006.htm

This is Yahoo's list of US Civil War information. While it duplicates some of the links that are mentioned in this article, it is useful in that all the links are in one location.

http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/U_S__History/19th_Century/Civil_War__1861_1865_/

The Valley of the Shadow Project. Two communities on opposites sides of the war.

http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow2/

The Civil War - This is a very good site. Here is their introductory statement: It was the greatest war in American history. 3 million fought - 600,000 died. It was the only war fought on American soil by Americans, and for that reason we have always been fascinated with The Civil War. Hundreds of books, movies and documentaries have (and are) being created about this war. With the advent of the internet, we now have yet another tool to study every single event in this great period of American history.

http://www.civilwar.com/

The Civil War Archive -- regimental histories, corps histories, battle summaries, rosters, reports, letters, links, battle flags and diaries.

http://www.civilwararchive.com/intro.htm

The American Civil War - another site with a long list of links. Very good and well maintained.

http://americancivilwar.com/

This site is advertised as having nearly 6000 links. I've never counted them, but found plenty of use.

http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/

Letters, Telegrams, and Photographs Illustrating Factors that Affected the Civil War

http://www.nara.gov/education/cc/civilwar.html

Civil War Literature Circle Virtual Museum

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/civwnov/civwnovtg.htm

Camp Life (Gettysburg National Military Park)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/csd/gettex/

The Underground Railroad by National Geographic

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j1.html

The Civil War at HistoryChannel.com
http://historychannel.com/military/civwar

America's Civil War
http://www.sewanee.edu/faculty/Willis/Civil_War/index.html

Attitudes Toward Emancipation
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lessonplans/emancipation.html

Civil War Women
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/women/cwdocs.html

Evaluating Eye Witness Reports
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lessonplans/eval_eyewitness.html

Civil War Gazette
http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/sbcss/services/educational/cctechnology/webquest/civilwar.html

Civil War Soldiers: Fact and Fiction
http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/@TfYOjde2AtYo6/Pages/article.html?article@CivilWarSoldiers

History of emancipation during the US Civil War
http://www.inform.umd.edu/ARHU/Depts/History/Freedman/home.html

Battle Flags of the Confederacy -- renditions of Confederate pattern battle flags with histories; also some photos of Civil War guns with histories.

http://freeweb.pdq.net/flags/index.htm

Lincoln Goes to War
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lessonplans/lincoln_war.html

Archaeology of the US Civil War
http://www.espd.com/salute/

Medicine of the Civil War
http://www.powerweb.net/bbock/war/
http://members.aol.com/cwsurgeon0/indexJ.html
http://www.rosecity.net/smallpox.html
http://www.findarticles.com/m2004/3_45/56909018/p1/article.jhtml

Civil War Poetry and Music
http://users.erols.com/kfraser/
http://www.civilwar.8m.com/
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/gourd.htm
http://www.acronet.net/~robokopp/civilwar.html

Civil War Music -- This is a great site with midi files that you can listen to

http://www.pdmusic.org/civilwar.html

Timeline of the US Civil War from the Library of Congress
http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/tl1861.html

A House Divided Against Itself
http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_civilwar.htm&lf=ls

StudyWeb's Civil War Battles website
http://www.studyweb.com/links/414.html

A Webquest on Secessionism
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry/dept/cise/soc/resources/aq/themes/7/secession/introduction.htm

Letters from an Iowa soldier in the US Civil War
http://www.civilwarletters.com/home.html

The Antietam National Battlefield
http://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm

Slavery and the American West
http://www.findarticles.com/m2004/n1_v44/20645799/p1/article.jhtml

FAMOUS PEOPLE:

You'll find biographical information on several Civil War figures at this site: http://americancivilwar.com/

Just a few of the websites dedicated to Civil War figures are:

Grant, Ulysses

http://www.mscomm.com/~ulysses/
http://saints.css.edu/mkelsey/gppg.html

Lincoln, Abraham

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/presidentsday/pages/lincoln.htm
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/lincoln/index.html

Tubman, Harriet

http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/confed/blacks1.htm
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLresources/longterm/LessonPlans/famous/tubman.html
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/puzzles.htm (this link has crossword puzzles!)

Meade, Major General George Gordon

http://adams.patriot.net/~jcampi/welcome.htm

FICTION/NON-FICTION:

Videos to look for at your library or through inter-library loan (note -- please review these before your children for appropriateness): Gettysburg, Glory (1989), Gone With the Wind, Red Badge of Courage, and The Civil War: A PBS Documentary by Ken Burns.

There are several series now available that use the American Civil War as its time era or that has it play a part in its story line. They run the gamut when it comes to how they handle war and how graphic they are in description. My recommendation to you is to review the books first BEFORE you children read them.

Also, check your local library system, using the subject civil war in the juvenile fiction and young adult sections. Check the Dear America and My Name is America series for additions to your Civil War literature list. They have at least one diary from each side in the war... including the African American perspective. Some of my personal favorites are:

Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee in the Leaders in Action Series, The Between Two Flags series by Lee Roddy, Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt, Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit, The Boys' War by Jim Murphy, Bull Run, Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty, Clara Barton by Mildren Mastin Pace, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter, Gentle Anne: The True Story of a Civil War Nurse by Mary Francis Shura, Harriet Tubman by Ann Petry, Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman, Red Badge of Courage, The by Stephen Crane, Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith, Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty, Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington

COOKING/ARTS AND CRAFTS:

You have a wide variety of themes and options for adding activities into your unit study of the US Civil War. Aside from those found in the prepared lesson plans listed above, here are a few to experiment with:

As with the reading center that I suggested in my unit study on the Oregon Trail, you can set up a camp fire. This can also be a place where you have a debate about the pros and cons of the Civil War, leaders, North vs. South, etc. This is where the camp life soldiers of the Civil War would have taken place. You could remove the covered wagon motif and replace it with cannons, horses, or a munitions wagon. Or, add a tree with Spanish moss hanging down (for Southern troops) or have a under construction Capitol building in the background (Northern troops stationed outside D.C.).

The US Civil War was practically the first era to utilize photo journalism. I would recommend adding a short history of photography as it pertains to that era and also allow your children to experiment with photography on their own. You could do this with black and white film to give the photos a more authentic look. If you want to see actual images from the Civil War era, check out these websites:
http://www.treasurenet.com/images/
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/cwphome.html

Here's a website that helps you create your own history bingo game:
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst191.html

Geography skills can be tested in this study. This site has printable maps for all 50 states, regions, etc.
http://abcteach.com/Maps/mapsTOC.htm

Journal/Writing activity: Interview a famous person from the Civil War era. You can use the following website to help you structure the activity.
http://www.track0.com/canteach/elementary/wsoccult3.html

Examine the lives of people during the US Civil War with the help of this site:
http://www.msdpt.k12.in.us/etspages/webquest/chhendr/index.html

If you have daughters that are studying the US Civil War, I highly recommend that you visit this site. It has information showing how it wasn't just a man's war:
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/manswar/index.html

Cooking: At this website along the side bar there is a selection for recipes of the Civil War. Its worth a look:
http://www.us-civilwar.com/

As a side note, here is a site with authentic history cookbooks for sale:
http://www.mediamasterinc.com/historiccookbooks.html

Other links for food information:

http://world.std.com/~ata/cwrfood.htm
http://www.conval.edu/schools/sms/www/diamond/cwfood.htm
http://www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/hardtack.htm
http://www.hpl.lib.tx.us/clayton/ga004.html
http://www.mechanical-bakery.com/products.htm
http://members.iquest.net/~childers/maple/protest.html
http://online-cookbook.com/goto/cook/rpage/000690
http://www.herald-mail.com/news/1997/09/09/lifestyle/sept_10_food.html

Sewing: Contrary to the modern era, uniforms during the American Civil War were extremely varied. Most were real uniforms at all, but the same clothing they wore at home dyed the appropriate color ... sometimes. For women's clothing, check out the costume section of the Simplicity pattern book (available at places like JoAnn Frabrics, Mae's, etc.). Look at examples given in the Dover Coloring Books, paper dolls by Tom Tierny, and other places such as history books. You'll find that often, the clothes of the common man were the same as the pioneers and farmers.

Thank you for all the great feedback that I've gotten thus far on my unit studies. I hope that this unit is of use to you as well.

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