Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plans: Elementary School

The following lesson plans have been created by educators, leading historians, and the American Battlefield Trust Education Department for classroom use in elementary school grades three through five.

The Elementary School Civil War Curriculum is a set of eight standards-based lesson plans, that utilizes a mixture of traditional and modern teaching methods. Below are the curriculum lessons along with a selection of optional lessons, all of which fit within the Common Core and National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) standards for Elementary School students.

Sections of the Curriculum:

Pre-1860: Disunion

Students will be able to identify the causes of the American Civil War.

Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Pre-1860: Disunion (Elementary School)

The Country Goes to War - 1861

Students will be able to describe the state of the nation and sequence the first events of the Civil War.

Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: The Country Goes to War (Elementary School)

Life at War

Students will be able to describe the day-to-day life of a Civil War soldier.

Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Life at War (Elementary School)

Antietam and Emancipation - 1862

Students will be able to state the meaning and impact of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Antietam and Emancipation (Elementary School)

The Home Front

Students will be able to list examples of work done on the home front and describe how news traveled to the home front.

Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: The Home Front (Elementary School)

Shifting Tides 1863

Students will be able to discuss the effects of the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, paying particular attention to the Gettysburg Address.

Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Shifting Tides 1863 (Elementary School)

Bringing the War to an End - 1864 & 1865

Students will be able to list and discuss the sequence of events leading to the end of the Civil War, paying special attention to the election of 1864.