CIVIL WAR 150 - History

CIVIL WAR 150

EDUCATOR'S GUIDE

CONTENTS

4-5 Introduction

6-8 History Activities: Middle School

9-12 History Activities: High School

13 Geography Activities: Middle School

14-15 Geography Activities: High School

16Map: Battle and Siege of Vicksburg, MS

17-18 English/Drama Activities: Middle School

19-20 English/Drama Activities: High School

21 Art/Music Activities: Middle School

22 Art/Music Activities: High School

23-24 Civics Activities: High School

25 Math Activities: Middle School

26 Math Activities: High School

27 Science & Technology Activities: Middle School

28 Science & Technology Activities: High School

29 Library of Congress: The Last Full Measure Exhibition

30 Recommended Civil War Resources

Introduction: over THE COURSE OF four years, starting in April 1861, the American Civil War shook the nation to its core, leaving more casualties than all other American wars combined. In 2011, the nation startS a four-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the war. HISTORY? is proud to be working with organizations throughout the country to help educators and their students engage with the history of the Civil War and assess the legacy of this critical chapter in our nation's past. The Civil War has a complex history, and it is important to explore the era from multiple perspectives. In every state in the U.S., students examine the history of the Civil War. The 150th Anniversary gives us all the opportunity to think more deeply and carefully about the people, places and events that shaped this intense conflict. HISTORY has created this guide to provide educators with helpful supplementary activities and resources connected with Civil War curriculum and sesquicentennial plans. Across the curriculum, there are meaningful ways for students to learn about the Civil War and the historical context in which the conflict transpired. History, literature and drama courses are expected areas in which students study the Civil War. The inclusion of math, science and technology activities in this guide will allow educators to bring Civil War topics into the classroom in STEM subject areas as well. National and State Standards: These activities meet many of the national and state standards. Visit us online at classroom for standard correlations.

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Our understanding of the Civil War has transformed in the past few decades. Historians have expanded what we know about how the events of the war transpired, how individuals and communities were changed by the war, and how it was experienced on the ground by everyday Americans. New scholarship has afforded students a richer view of how diverse groups of people including slaves, free blacks, soldiers from all backgrounds, women, children and immigrants experienced the war. The enormous consequences and legacies of the Civil War are still matters of great debate today. The pivotal issues of slavery and freedom resonate in our society and send us back to the past to explore the contours of American race relations and the terms of emancipation.

Throughout this guide, you will find information about how to find Civil War resources at , our premiere website featuring original articles, short videos and spectacular info-graphics geared toward today's visual learners. Two great starting places to locate Civil War content and to find information about History? programming are the following sites: topics/american-civil-war and classroom.

One of the best ways for teachers, students and families to learn about the Civil War in a hands-on way is to visit battlefields and historic sites. HISTORY is proud to be leading a national effort to encourage all Americans to visit these sites, and to help protect them for future generations. The Give 150TM campaign invites the public to give contributions to help preserve Civil War sites and stories. These donations will go directly to the National Park Foundation and the Civil War Trust, two non-profit organizations actively involved in maintaining and preserving Civil War sites and lands. To learn more about this campaign, visit us online at .

In addition to the Give 150 campaign, HISTORY will be collaborating with organizations including the Library of Congress, National History Day, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, the American Association of State and Local History and many others in commemorating the Civil War. You can find links to these organizations throughout this guide and online at .

Visit us online at Classroom for updates on our Civil War commemoration. Questions or comments? Email us at classroom@

We look forward to hearing from teachers and students as we work together to assess the meaning and on-going significance of the Civil War to our nation's past, and its future.

Do you have an iPad? VIsit us online to download HISTORY's innovative Civil War App at interactives/civilwar-today.

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History: Middle School

Introduction: The American Civil War is an enormous topic with a rich set of primary source documents,

images and narratives for students to explore. The activities in this section are intended to supplement Civil War lesson plans and course units. Educators can gear these activities to fit the skill level of their middle school history and social studies students. If your students are particularly advanced, you may want to consult the high school sections of this guide to find additional ideas and resources.

The goals of these activities are to build an understanding of the chronology of the Civil War and to explore key people, places and events in the history of the war. Students should also gain a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of the Civil War in American history.

Activity 1

Terms to Know

Below are some important terms related to the American Civil War. Before or during your Civil War course units, ask students to define these terms. You can have students add additional terms to this list to define. For a fun classroom project, ask students to create illustrated dictionaries of Civil War terms with related quotes and images.

abolish civil Confederacy Fugitive Slave Law mini? ball regiment secede slavery Underground Railroad Union

Activity 2

Timeline: Prelude to War

In order to understand why the U.S. exploded into Civil War in April 1861, students should examine the key events leading up to the firing shots at Ft. Sumter. One engaging way for students to prepare for their Civil War units is to create an illustrated timeline of key events which helped provoke secession and war. Students can present these timelines in PowerPoint format, on poster board or using another creative format such as a quilt or colorfully designed map.

To get started, ask students to include the following events on their timeline, and to use their course readings or lectures to add other relevant events to their projects: Missouri Compromise, Fugitive Slave Act, Compromise of 1850, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision, Lincoln/Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, election of President Abraham Lincoln.

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Activity 3

Compare and Contrast: The Blue & The Gray

As the war got underway, the Union and the Confederacy both had strengths and weaknesses. One way for students to explore the war is to compare and contrast the two sides and analyze key factors and turning points. Students can use their textbooks, and other sources to locate the information to fill out this chart.

Population during the Civil War era

UNION

CONFEDERACY

Major Generals

Key Victories

Key Defeats

Total Number of Civil War casualties (injuries and losses of life)

Activity 4

Civil War Voices

Throughout the Civil War, young people played a significant role in many battles and key events. Boys as young as 10 served as drummers and buglers, and thousands of young men (and even some women) served as soldiers. Young people were also eyewitnesses to Civil War battles, which often unexpectedly arrived in their backyards. The document below is an excerpt from an account of the Gettysburg battle by Daniel Skelly, a teenager who lived in town at the time of the battle in July 1863.

"Our town being in the hands of the Confederates and cut off from all communications with the outside world, we knew nothing about our army and were completely in the dark as to how it was located and how much of it had arrived on the field. The Confederates maintained a clam-like silence on all matters concerning the battle, hence we did not know the significance of this tremendous cannonading until after the battle was over... But for the present it sent everyone to the cellars as a matter of protection. Mr. Harvey D. Wattles lived close to my father's and under his house was a large dry cellar. During the cannonading the neighbors congregated in it as a place of safety. An incident that occurred in this house... will give some idea of what families were exposed to while the fighting was in progress. A neighbor had come into the house to take refuge and had brought with her a band-box containing a bonnet. When the cannonading began, she went to the cellar, placing the box on the chair upon which she had been sitting. When she came from the cellar she found the box where she had left it, but a minie ball had passed through the box and the bonnet." -- A Boy's Experiences During The Battle of Gettysburg by Daniel Skelly, 1932

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Document-Based Questions:

1. What do you think Skelly means when he says the Confederates "maintained a clam-like silence" regarding the Gettysburg battle? Do you think civilians were safe from harm during the battle?

2. Based on this passage, what do you think it was like for the people of Gettysburg to live through this battle? What do you think life was like in Gettysburg after the war?

Letter writing activity: Imagine you were Skelly and lived through the Gettysburg battle. Write a letter from his perspective about what it would be like to experience a Civil War battle in your own hometown.

Activity 5

Civil War Matching Review

Ask students to review what they have learned about the Civil War. They should then match the items in Column 1 with the corresponding answer from Column 2.

Column 1 1. Shots were fired at Ft. Sumter, South Carolina on this date, officially sparking the Civil War. ________ 2. Nickname for Civil War General Thomas Jonathan Jackson. ________ 3. This abolitionist was born into slavery in Maryland and later became a powerful speaker. ________ 4. She was the author of the influential book Uncle Tom's Cabin. ________ 5. Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address on this date. ________ 6. This man led an anti-slavery rebellion at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. ________ 7. She led many slaves to freedom through the system known as the "Underground Railroad."________ 8. This general led the "march to the sea." ________ 9. Generals Lee and Grant met on this date to discuss the Confederate's surrender terms. ________

Column 2

A. William Tecumseh Sherman B. April 9, 1865 C. Harriet Tubman D. Harriet Beecher Stowe

*See answer key on page 12.

E. Stonewall F. November 19, 1863 G. Frederick Douglass H. John Brown I. April 12, 1861

History: High School

Introduction: The American Civil War is an enormous topic with a rich set of primary source

documents, images and narratives for students to explore. The activities in this section are intended to supplement Civil War lesson plans and course units. Educators can gear these activities to fit the skill level of their high school history students. If you find that these activities are too advanced for your students, you may want to consult the middle school sections of this guide to find additional ideas and resources.

The goals of these activities are to build an understanding of the chronology of the Civil War and to explore key people, places and events in the history of the war. Students should also gain a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of the Civil War in American history. Students should be able to analyze and explain the social, political and economic effects of the Civil War.

Activity 1

Below are some important terms related to the American Civil War. Before or during your Civil War course units, ask students to define these terms. You can have students add additional terms to this list as well. For a fun classroom project, ask students to create illustrated dictionaries of Civil War terms with related quotes and images.

abolitionism causality Confederacy conscription emancipation Fugitive Slave Law Habeas Corpus insurrection inevitability martial law secession siege Union

Activity 2

Timeline: Why Civil War?

Part 1. On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous "House Divided" speech in which he stated, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Ask students to read Lincoln's speech and discuss his arguments. Based on what he said in 1858, ask students to discuss whether or not they thought Civil War was inevitable. (This is also an opportunity to discuss the concepts of historical inevitability and change over time.)

Part 2. Working in small groups, ask students to create a timeline of events leading up to the Civil War, from the turn of the 19th century through the firing of shots at Ft. Sumter. Students can present these timelines in PowerPoint format, on poster board or with another creative format such as a quilt or colorfully designed map. To get started, ask students to include the following events on their timeline, and to use their course readings or lectures to add other relevant events to their projects: Missouri Compromise, Fugitive Slave Act, Compromise of 1850, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision, Lincoln/ Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, election of President Abraham Lincoln.

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