Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plans: High School
The following lesson plans have been created by educators, leading historians, and the American Battlefield Trust Education Department for classroom use in high school grades ten through twelve.
The High School Civil War Curriculum is a set of eight standards-based lesson plans, that utilizes a mixture of traditional and modern teaching methods. Below are the 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 Curriculum:
Pre-1860: Disunion
Students will be able to identify the causes of the American Civil War.
- Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Pre-1860: Disunion (High School)
The Country Goes to War - 1861
Students will be able to describe the state of the nation and sequence the first events of the Civil War.
Antietam and Emancipation - 1862
Students will be able to state the meaning and impact of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Life at War
Students will be able to describe the day-to-day life of a Civil War soldier.
- Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Life at War (High School)
The Home Front
Students will be able to list examples of work done on the home front and describe how news traveled to the home front.
- Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: The Home Front (High School)
Shifting Tides 1863
Students will be able to discuss the effects of the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, paying particular attention to the Gettysburg Address.
- Civil War Curriculum Lesson Plan: Shifting Tides (High School)
Bringing the War to an End - 1864 & 1865
Students will be able to list and discuss the sequence of events leading to the end of the Civil War, paying special attention to the election of 1864.
Effects of the Civil War - 1865 & Beyond
Students will be able to discuss the effects of the Civil War and the importance of the Reconstruction Era.
Optional Lesson Plans
- Transcribing Historic Documents
- The Civil War Animated Map
- 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 (Coming Soon)
- The Gettysburg Address (Coming Soon)
Additional Resources