Slavery and Civil War Plans

Wow.  We’re on our last planned history unit of the school year.  It feels great to be ahead of schedule!  (At least in history, anyway!)

I’ve sketched out the main topics I hope to cover in a unit on slavery and the Civil War.  I think we’ll plan to make this mostly a literature and writing unit, with project choices for both parts of the study.

We’re using bits and pieces of the Slavery in North America lapbook from In the Hands of a Child.  I guess you could say this is sort of our spine curriculum.  All other information will be gleaned from the laundry basket full of books I’ve checked out from the library!  I’ve listed some of my favorites in the side bar, but needless to say, I can’t begin to name them all.  When I come across some new favorites, I’ll be sure to post them.

The basic concepts of the unit are listed below.  After reading about, researching or discussing each topic, I’ll ask the kids to either make a notebooking page, complete a lapbook activity or do a writing assignment that we can put in some sort of notebook at the end of the unit.

Here’s the order in which I hope to cover the topics…

  • What is slavery?
  • When did slavery begin?  How did it begin in America?
  • What was is like to be a slave in America?
  • Who played major roles in the abolition movement?
  • What were major events of the abolition movement?
  • What was the Underground Railroad an who were some major figures in helping slaves escape to freedom?
  • What was the Civil War?
  • For what reasons did the Civil War take place?
  • What were several major battles and who were several major figures of the war?
  • What was the war like in Kentucky (a divided state)?
  • What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
  • What was life in America like directly after the war?
  • How did life change for former slaves after the war?
  • What struggles did former slaves still face after the war and for many years to come?
  • Where is slavery still taking place in today’s world?

When I come up with project ideas, I’ll be sure to post them in case they might help you, too.

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