Inquiry Civil War Lesson Plans: High School

The High School Inquiry Civil War Curriculum is a set of eight standards-based lesson plans. Below are the inquiry 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 High School students. 

Sections of the Inquiry Curriculum:

Pre-1860: Disunion

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

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: Pre-1860: Disunion (High School)

Life at War

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

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: Life at War (High School)

Homefront

Students will be able to discuss the importance of the contributions that members of society made on the home front to the respective war efforts. 

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: The Home Front (High School)

Antietam and Emancipation

Students will be able to describe the importance of the Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation, and their impacts on American society in the 1860s.

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: Antietam and Emancipation (High School)

Turning Point1863

Students will be able to discuss the pivotal events which occurred in 1863.

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: 1863 (High School)

Election of 1864

Students will be able to discuss the Northern election of 1864 and its impact on the Civil War.

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: Election of 1864 (High School)

Surrender

Students will be able to discuss the Confederate surrender at Appomattox and the conclusion of the Civil War.

• Inquiry Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Bringing the War to an End-Surrender (High School)

Reconstruction

Students will be able to discuss the effects of the Civil War, and what happens after the Civil War in the Reconstruction Era.

• Inquiry Curriculum Lesson Plan: Reconstruction (High School)

Optional Lesson Plans

• Transcribing Historic Documents 
• Traveling Trunk Lesson Plans
• Civil War Photography Lesson Plan
• Antietam 360: Natural and Man-made Features Lesson Plan
• Gettysburg 360: Natural and Man-made Features Lesson Plan 
• Medical Care in the Civil War (Coming Soon)
• Civil War Music (Coming Soon)
• The Battle of Antietam Field Trip Packet (Coming Soon)
• The Battle of Gettysburg Field Trip Packet (Coming Soon)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin Lesson Plan (Coming Soon)
• The Gettysburg Address Lesson Plan (Coming Soon)

Additional Resources

• The Traditional Civil War Curriculum 
• Student Research and Writing Guide 
• American Battlefield Trust Videos, Articles, and Glossaries