Civil War: Teaching a Defining Conflict

—T.J. Kirkpatrick for Education Week
One hundred and fifty years after shots fired at Fort Sumter ignited the Civil War, a growing number of teachers are digging directly into primary sources and using technology to help their students better understand the conflict and bring it to life.
That approach may be especially important when it comes to the Civil War, educators and historians say, since public debates about its meaning are alive and well, and young people may be exposed to misinformation that original sources can dispel in compelling ways.
That approach may be especially important when it comes to the Civil War, educators and historians say, since public debates about its meaning are alive and well, and young people may be exposed to misinformation that original sources can dispel in compelling ways.
More on the Civil War:
• Watch a student-produced video of a reenactment.
• Access dozens of primary sources.
• Watch a student-produced video of a reenactment.
• Access dozens of primary sources.
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The program Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student combines movie-making with national history, engaging students in the history of the Civil War and the country at that time through reenactments and storytelling at sites throughout the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. This video, about abolitionist John Brown, was created by students from Harpers Ferry Middle School.
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Forum Discussion
Primary Sources in Civil War Studies
Have you incorporated primary sources into your Civil War studies? How so? Which primary sources do you consider most valuable when developing a curriculum based around the Civil War?
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