
Civil War Lesson Plans: Elementary
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The Elementary Curriculum is a set of nine standards-based lesson plans and one final exam. Below are the Curriculum Lessons along with additional selected lessons, all of which fit within our Civil War Goals for Elementary Students.
Sections of the Curriculum:
Pre-1861: Disunion
Students will be able to identify the causes of the American Civil War.
- Curriculum Lesson Plan: Pre-1861: Disunion (Elementary)
The Country Goes to War
Students will be able to describe the state of the nation and sequence the first events of the Civil War.
Antietam and Emancipation
Students will be able to state the meaning and impact of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Life at War
Students will be able to describe the day-to-day life of a Civil War soldier.
- Curriculum Lesson Plan: Life at War (Elementary)
- Civil War Animal Mascots
- The Common Civil War Soldier Lesson Plan
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.
- Curriculum Lesson Plan: The Home Front (Elementary)
- Civil War Literature Circle Lesson Plan
- Civil War 3-D Photography: Photography as a Primary Source
Shifting Tides
Students will be able to discuss the effects of the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, paying particular attention to the Gettysburg Address.
- Curriculum Lesson Plan: Shifting Tides (Elementary)
- Joshua Chamberlain Lesson Plan
- Gettysburg Address Lesson Plan
Bringing the War to an End
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.
Effects of the Civil War
Students will be able to discuss the effects of the Civil War.
- Curriculum Lesson Plan: Effects of the War (Elementary)
Preserving the Memory
Students will be able to illustrate ways in which they can preserve the memory of the war.
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