The United States Civil War

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Teaching Ideas and Lessons about the Civil War, Slavery, and Abraham Lincoln

Civil War
Posted by: Bec ky #67103

Not sure if this will help you, but here it is. I did this with my 2nd grade class this year and they really enjoyed it. We focused on the Underground Railroad during our study of The Civil War. First I told the students that we would be studying about the Underground Railroad and asked them to draw their prediction of what they thought the underground railroad was. As you can imagine most drew a train going underground. Then we read a book on the life of Harriet Tubman. We either changed or confirmed our predictions with another picture. We then drew off a map of the Eastern United States and "traced" a slave's road to freedom on the map. The students made homes, barns, stores, etc.. from paper to show where a slave might have stopped along the way. They showed details in their drawings ...

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Civil War unit
Posted by: Julie #37243

My kids did a diary as if they actually were in the Civil War. They could tell it from the point of view of a Confederate or Union person, from a civilian standpoint or a military. It was interesting to see what they came up with.

They also did election posters for Abe Lincoln, since he was elected president at the time. They did cute posters which described why people wanted to vote for Lincoln at the time. They included relevant pictures and slogans.

lessons for children about slavery
Posted by: Carolyn #36084

We are covering the Civil War right now in the Southern state where I teach. I am treading very lightly and carefully, although I still managed to offend some. I brought in a piece of a cotton plant to talk with the children about how important the cotton gin was to cotton production. I randomly asked an African-American child to come to the front of the room to demonstrate how difficult and time consuming it was to remove the seeds from the cotton. The African-American children (some of them) started to say something like I was treating her like a slave. That bothered me, because 50% of my students are African-American and the likelihood was equal that I would call an African-American child to the front of the room. I had not thought of race at all when I did this activity. I suppo...

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teaching about slavery - Civil War
Posted by: Carolyn #36076

I have not yet gotten to the point this year where I teach about slavery and the Civil War, although I taught it to fifth graders last year. I did not feel comfortable teaching the issues of the Civil War last year, for the very reason that you describe: the fact that the textbook does speak of slavery of African-American people. I had a class of 50% African-American students, teach in a southern state (SC), and realize that most of my students are descended from slaves. With these kids already thinking that some white people are racist, it is difficult not to give them the feeling that we are pouring salt into their wounds, so to speak.

One thing I did do to help the situation, I think, was to help the children, both white and black, realize how wrong slavery was. I also focused ...

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Civil War Historical Fiction
Posted by: Lori 2 #44204

Hi Tabitha,

You might try some of these for your Civil War Historical Fiction --

In My Father's House by Anne Rinaldi -- but it is long for lit circles

With Every Drop of Blood by James Collier

Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story by Andrea Davis Pickney

Who Comes with Cannons? by Patricia Beatty

Across the Lines by Carolyn Reeder

Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty

Turn Homeward, Hannalee and Be Ever Hopeful Hannalee by Patricia Beatty

Jayhawker by Patricia Beatty

If You Please President Lincoln by Harriette Robinet

Bull Run by Paul Fleischman -- makes a great reader's theatre

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt -- for your more able readers

These books take place just after the Civil War but are very good --

Bigger by Patricia Calvert
Shades of Gray by Carolyn ...

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