This unit helps children understand the tragedy of the Civil War and its underlying causes. The trade books define the time period of 1860 to 1877 as a period of war and reconstruction and provide information and illustrations depicting life in the 1860s.
The trade books for the Primary section of this unit are Thunder at Gettysburg; The Wagon; . . . If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War; and Clara Barton, The trade books for the Upper Elementary portion of the unit are Across Five Aprils; Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters; Behind Rebel Lines; and Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt. The unit does not include the actual children's literature books.
The unit’s activities show how different life was during the 1860s and 1870s. Primary students brainstorm ways to survive without some of their daily conveniences and create toys out of common household items. Upper elementary students think about the justice of the cause of each side in the Civil War and debate the actions of a deserter. Students also dance a cakewalk, evaluate the usefulness of inventions, draw political cartoons, make maple fudge, compose a memoir of important events in their own lives, record history as seen through the eyes of an older friend or relative, create a superstition and see how it spreads, make a quilt, and pretend to be spies. Although activities are organized into primary and upper elementary sections, many assignments can be adapted to suit either age group.
World War I: 1914-1925,The New Nation: 1770–1840,Colonial America: 1600-1776,Westward Expansion: 1800-1875,Civil War and Reconstruction: 1860-1877,New World Exploration: Beginning-1600,The Age of Imperialism: 1895-1930,The Vietnam Era: 1955-1975,Using Literature to Teach U. S. History,The American Revolution: 1763-1785,The Great Depression: 1925-1940,Postwar America: 1945-1970,World War II: 1935-1945
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