American Civil War Lesson Plans

1. A Press Conference With Abraham Lincoln - Abraham Lincoln (teacher) will deliver his First Inaugural Adress and then accept questions from the Press (students). This lesson should be used after a study of the Civil War, including the leaders.
2. Advantages / Disadvantages of the Civil War- A simple lesson I like to do to motivate students to learn about the advantages and disadvantages the North and the South had during the Civil War is to play a simple card game "WAR!"
3. An Overview of the Civil War - Examine the history of slavery in the U.S. and how it contributed to the Civil War. Students will use available technology to research and present information in response to a series of student-generated questions.
4. Civil War- A through lesson.
5. Civil War Essay Writing- The learner will be able to list the six major themes presented in class and explain one in detail as an essay answer.
6. Civil War Photos Tell a Story- Students select a photograph from the Civil War era and write a story that tells about it.
7. Civil War Recipes- Students prepare foods, including hardtack, that were among the staples of a Civil War soldier's diet.

1. Civil War Battle Map - This activity is a fun way to report geographic information. The student illustrates a blank map to identify five Civil War battles.
2. Civil War Music - Using songs popular during the Civil War, students will identify songs as rallying songs, recruiting songs, popular entertainment songs, campfire songs, sentimental songs, or patriotic songs.
3. Civil War Slang- Students explore some of the words and phrases used during the Civil War-- and their meanings.
4. Civil War Time Line- Students develop time lines of various events that took place during the Civil War.
5. Deciphering Morse Code- Students write and decode messages using Morse code, as Civil War soldiers might have done.
6. Drafting the Gettysburg Address- Students compare and contrast Abraham Lincoln's drafts and final version of the Gettysburg Address.
7. Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South - By 1860, the differences between the North and South had become so great that Northerners and Southerners felt as if they belonged to two different countries. What were some of these differences?
8. How Did Civil War Soldiers Battle Boredom?-Students create a diagram to compare things done to combat boredom today and during Civil War times.
9. Lesson Plan on the Civil War- When requested, the student will describe events leading to the Civil War that will include at least 3 of the 6 events covered as well as the impact those events had on the northern and southern societies.
10. Life Before the Civil War - In the decade-and-a-half prior to the Civil War, the United States saw dramatic changes in industrialization in the North, and a rapid increase in transportation (rail and steamship) all over the country.
11. Life During the Civil War Era- Students create a museum exhibit or a fictional journal or newspaper account about life during the Civil War era.
12. Looking Back at Pre-Civil War Slavery - Students understand the nature of slavery, the impact of slavery on African-Americans, and how slavery intensified the conflict between the North and South that eventually led to a major cause of the Civil War.
13. Myth and Truth: The Gettysburg Address - Behind every myth are many possible truths allowing us to discover who we were as peoples and who we are today. By exploring myths surrounding the Gettysburg Address, this lesson asks students to think critically about commonly believed “facts” about this important speech and the Civil War.
14. Role Playing The Civil War- The purpose of this unit is to provide a frame for the students to use in evaluating both points of view in the Civil War.
15. Songs of the Civil War- Students investigate music of the Civil War era and explore how music can be used to arouse and express emotion.
16. The Cost of War- Students study a chart showing Civil War deaths and answer questions about the information. A work sheet is included.
17. The Civil War- The following lesson plan for an upper elementary unit on the Civil War contains links to other Internet sites that can provide valuable cross-curricular materials for you and your students.
18. The Civil War: Emancipation Experience- The purpose of this inquiry lesson is to give students an affective experience of the pre and post American Civil War experience on Americans- Blacks and Whites (southerners and northerners).
19. The Complexities of Reconstruction - The students will be able to critically analyze the social, economic, and political impact of the Federalization of the South. The students will develop a PowerPoint presentation relative to the Post Civil War South.
20. The Price of War - Students identify and compare significant facts of Civil War battles.
21. The South Wins Gettysburg! -After studying the American Civil War, students hypothesize that the Union Army was defeated at Gettysburg by Lee's army. Students explore how different North America would be today if the South had won the Civil War.
22. The U.S. Civil War- This lesson is intended to help students understand some of the problems America went through before becoming a great nation. It is the hope of the authors that the students will be able to assess the causes of the war and form their own conclusions.
23. United We Stand - Students participate in a simulation of the secession of the South during the Civil War and create a compare and contrast essay discussing the similarities and differences between every day life now and then.
24. What Do We Know About the Civil War? - The Civil War was an important event in United States history. War, death, destruction, slavery and more occurred during the Civil War. We should ask ourselves, what were the negative and positive effects that resulted from the Civil War?
25. Who Killed Abraham Lincoln?- Students read an original manuscript about the investigation of Lincoln's assassination, then work in groups to write and perform a play based on the story.
26. Women's Lives Before the Civil War - Students interested in researching the lives of women before the Civil War might enjoy looking at the items in the following list. Have students describe any documents they choose and decide what aspects of the lives of women are reflected.