Civil War Lesson Plan

Homeschool Teacher - Lesson Plan & Newsletter
April 9, 2007
History

On this day in 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. Shortly after, the Civil War came to an end. Read more about it here: http://www.helium.com/tm/263111/civil-describe-conflict-history

Discussion Questions:

1. When did the Civil War take place?

2. What was the economy of the North built on?

3. What was the economy of the South built on?


KWL
Use the following KWL chart write down what you already know about the Civil War, and then some things that you would like to learn about the war.
http://myworksheets.com/soc_studies/civil/kwl/

Timeline
Find five pictures from this website http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html to print out and use on a time-line.

Glue your printed photographs to a large piece of poster board and answer the following three questions underneath each picture.

1. What is the name and date of the event?
2. What do you see in the picture?
3. What do you think happened right after this picture was taken?


Journal
Imagine that you have been transported through time to the Civil War era. Write a story telling about the adventures you have there. First think about the geographical setting of your story -- did you land in the North or the South? Whom did you meet there? What happened next? How does it feel to be in the middle of a civil war?

Vocabulary

abolitionist
Definition: Person who worked to end slavery during the 18th and 19th centuries
Context: Abolitionist John Brown had a bold plan to strike against slavery.
Confederate states
Definition: Southern states that that seceded from the U.S. to form their own nation, the Confederate States of America
Context: Lincoln's push to end slavery angered the Confederate states.
Dred Scott Decision
Definition: Supreme Court decision that stated Congress had no power to ban slavery anywhere, including the territories
Context: While the fighting went on in Kansas, the Supreme Court issued the controversial Dred Scott Decision, named after a slave.
Emancipation Proclamation
Definition: An edict issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, making slavery illegal in the Confederate states
Context: The Emancipation Proclamation made slavery illegal in the 11 rebelling Southern states, but it left slavery in place in the states that had stayed loyal to the Union.
Fugitive Slave Act
Definition: A law passed by Congress in 1850 that required the return of runaway slaves
Context: Northerners protested the Fugitive Slave Act.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Definition: A law passed in 1854 that allowed the majority of settlers in each territory to decide whether or not they would allow slavery in the area
Context: Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
popular sovereignty
Definition: The pre-Civil War doctrine asserting that settlers within each territory should decide whether or not to allow slavery
Context: The Kansas-Nebraska Act proposed the idea of popular sovereignty.
secede
Definition: To withdraw from the nation
Context: In late 1860 and early 1861, seven Southern states seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America.
Union states
Definition: Northern states that remained loyal to the federal government during the Civil War
Context: President Abraham Lincoln asked Union states to send troops to put down the rebellion in the Confederate states.
Geography
Prior to the Civil War, our country was separated into two distinct areas, the north and the south. Here is a map that shows those divisions:

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

Create your own similar map using the data shown on the map above. Make sure to include a map key that demonstrates what the different colors stand for.

http://abcteach.com/Maps/usa.htm

Math
What did the civil war cost in lives?
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_civilwar.shtml


Don’t Forget the Math Challenge!
http://homeschoolingthemiddleyears.blogspot.com/2007/04/math-challenge-april-9.html

For more Free Homeschool Lesson Plans

http://homeschoolingk.blogspot.com/ (k-3)

http://homeschoolingthemiddleyears.blogspot.com/( 4-8)