4 class periods of 45 minutes each
Large Groups
This lesson was designed as a comprehensive summary of the Civil War era. It is an overview and not indepth.
emedia (@Pioneer Online Library) - "Causes of the Civil War" (This has copyright restrictions but it is ok for individual classroom use. It is not attached to this lesson because of copyright issues.)
Copy of the Emancipation Proclamation (if available)
Maps of the Civil War
Blank US Map with only outline of the states in 1860.
Social studies text.
Learner.org - "Primary Sources" workshop 4 "Concerning Emancipation"
The Civil War was fought between the northern states and the southern states.
Students will see that the Civil War was more complex than just the issue of slavery or the abolition of slavery.
Students will recognize the connection between the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement.
Students will know important historical individuals from the Civil War.
Students will be able to describe the political and economic factors that contributed to the Civil War.
Students will be able to correctly identify the geographic regions of the Union and the Confederacy.
Activity 1
Begin lesson with the KWL for the Civil War. If there is a computer (with Kidspiration) and projector, this is a whole class activity. If not, this is quiet, individual attention activity. Students should focus on the "What I know" portion.
Activity 2
Discuss the % of slave owners. Pie chart is available on p 420 of the text. Either on the computer or on the board, write 2 columns; one with the % and one with the description. Have students match them up correctly without looking at their book. As a class, look at p 420 and make corrections as necessary. Conclude with the pie chart.
Activity 3
Watch eMedia movie clip "Causes of the Civil War". There are several choices. I chose the full clip and not the segments. You can access eMedia via Utah's Pioneer Online library. You should save and download this ahead of time. It uses the typical media players (Quick Time and Windows Media player).
Activity 4
Primary Sourced documents. From Annenberg CPB (learner.org) discuss some of the primary source docs. For this lesson, I chose the 4th Lincoln/Douglas debate and the letter from Lincoln to Horace Greeley.
Activity 5
Vocabulary - give students the vocabulary sheet. Students may do the vocabulary sheet individually or in small groups. This will require the text book. Vocabulary covers the chapters in Unit 7. This may also be a homework assignment.
Activity 6
Computer lab exercise - students use Inspiration or Kidspiration if available to complete a concept map or other graphic organizer. With either an Inspiration/Kidspiration template or a list of concepts, students or groups of students will be able to make a graphic representation of concepts related to the Civil War.
Activity 7
Group discussion: The Emancipation Proclamation. Discuss the ramifications of this event including sharecropping, 13th and 14th amendments and Jim Crow laws. This is a good place to tie in the Civil Rights movement - see page 470 in the text mentioned in the bibliography.
Students can read "Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. A project is assigned where students have to relate the book to themselves. Possible projects could be a reflective paper, poster, poem or letter home from a soldier.
Students will color a outline US Map (can be done with or without state names) to show which states were northern, southern and border states.
Students will create some type of graphic organizer (concept map, outline, etc)from a set list of concepts, battles, locations, vocabulary and important figures related to the Civil War.
Pioneer Online Library - emedia http://pioneer-library.org/
Annenberg CPB http://www.learner.org
United States: Harcourt Brace Social StudiesHarcourt Brace, 2002.
Outline maps of the United States from About.com http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxusa.htm
Outline map of the US in 1860 from Eduplace.com http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/us1860_nl.pdf