Civil War: Teaching a Defining Conflict

Antonio Aquino, right, and Angel Aviles lead a line of 6th graders from Stonewall Jackson Middle School, in Manassas, Va., as they reenact 1861 military life at the Manassas National Battlefield Park.
—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.

Primary Sources Breathe Life Into Civil War
With the help of technology, teachers are moving beyond textbooks and digging directly into primary sources to help their students better understand the past.
April 15, 2011 | Updated: December 13, 2011 - Education Week

Schools Walk Into Touchy Territory With Civil War
As the U.S. commemorates the war's 150th anniversary, debates about the conflict persist and misinformation still thrives.
April 18, 2011 | Updated: December 13, 2011 - Education Week

Federal History-Grant Program Takes Budget Hit for Fiscal 2011
The Teaching American History grants program could see its budget cut from $119 million in fiscal 2010 to $46 million in the current year.
April 19, 2011 | Updated: March 24, 2012 - Education Week


TROUBLING THE WATER
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.

Fort Sumter

Bull Run

Antietam

Chancellorsville

Gettysburg

Vicksburg

Sherman's March Through Georgia

Appomattox Court House

MORE RESOURCES

PRIMARY SOURCES
In the 150 years since the Civil War began, a broad range of primary source documents have become available to scholars – and increasingly to the public. Click on each of the battles for a sample of the original letters home, military reports, and diaries from people on both sides of the conflict that are now available to students to encourage critical thinking for deeper learning.

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?

Join the discussion >>

Most Popular Stories

Viewed

Emailed

Recommended

Commented

Sponsored Whitepapers

• E-Policy Essentials for Schools, Write a Definitive Acceptable Use Policy

• Math Intervention - From Best Practice to Next Practice

• Motivation & Personalization: Middle School Math

• Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Close the Income-Based Achievement Gap

• Can response systems improve learning outcomes?

• Unique Challenges Facing K-12 IT Professionals

• 10 Steps for Migrating Curriculum to Common Core

• The Educational Promise of Social Media

• Broad Knowledge Drives Literacy

• Using Collaboration to Impact Teaching & Learning

• Data Systems That Help Schools Make a Difference

• Great Books Programs Fit the CCSS

MORE EDUCATION JOBS >>
Post a Job >>