Lesson: Women and Children of Wisconsin During the Civil War
Author: Patricia Solfest
Grade Level: Middle School
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and
secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs,
videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social
studies texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
B.8.1 Interpret the past using a variety of sources, such as biographies, diaries,
journals, artifacts, eyewitness interviews, and other primary source materials,
and evaluate the credibility of sources used
B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently depending upon
the perspectives of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians
B.8.10 Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among
groups, societies, or nations
Essential Question: What was life like for women and children from Wisconsin during
the Civil War?
Learner Outcomes – Students Will Be Able To:
Interpret diverse types of primary documents
Explain how the Civil War created hardships for Wisconsinites and Americans
beyond the battlefield
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of methods of communication families
had during the war.
Explain how the home front contributed to the war effort.
Explain important aspects of popular culture in Wisconsin and the United States
during the Civil War era
Describe how the Civil War changed roles for women and children
Procedure:
1. Print out the PowerPoint with notes prior to class. There are notes included with
the slides that can be on the printed slides, but won’t be seen by your students
during the presentation.
2. Introduction: Ask students if they know of anyone who is in the military. Ask how
the family has dealt with the absence of their family member or friend during the
period he/she had been in the military. Have students infer what similarities and
difference there would be to life during the Civil War.
3. Play and discuss the Home Front Powerpoint from the Civil War Trust with your
class, discussing different aspects of life for civilians during the Civil War. Have
students complete the Home Front Worksheet during the presentation.
4. Review worksheet as a class.
5. Break students into groups to investigate life on the home front in Wisconsin
during the Civil War Era.
6. Pass out the attached Analysis Worksheets.
7. Have students rotate through the stations for each of the activities in the museum
kit. Each station has its own analysis sheet.
a. Station One: Communication between Front and Home Front.
Each member of the group reads one of the following and completes the
analysis sheet.
i. Rufus R. Dawes’ personal narrative of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Read pp. 108-119.
ii. Lt. Edwin Brown’s letters.
iii. Photograph of Battle of Fredericksburg
iv. Painting of the Battle of Fredericksburg
v. Hospital at Fredericksburg
vi. Improving sanitary conditions
b. Station Two: Caring for Casualties. Each member examines one of the
items and completes the analysis sheet.
i. M a k i n g q u i l t a r t i c l e w i t h n e w s p a p e r c l i p p i n g
ii. Camp Randall during the Civil War
iii. Letters of Daniel Densmore
iv. Cordelia Harvey's letters
v. Orphan Home photograph and memory passage by orphan
c. Station Three: Filling the Ranks
i. Recruiting poster Poster #2
ii. Wisconsin drummer boy article
iii. D r u m m e r b o y v i d e o
iv. Warning to traitors
v. A r t i c l e o n A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n C i v i l W a r v e t e r a n
vi. Draft riots
vii. Civil War draft list - Wisconsin (scroll down)
d. Station Four: A Man’s Job
i. Photograph of woman milking cow
ii. Contributions of women to the Civil War
iii. R o l e s o f C h i l d r e n
iv. How women and children made bandages
v. W o o l w i t h c h a r t o f w o o l p r o d u c t i o n i n W i s c o n s i n
e. Station Five: Recreation and Play
i. Civil War toys
ii. Lead toy soldiers
iii. Civil War dancing
iv. H a n d k e r c h i e f d o l l w i t h e x p l a n a t i o n
f. Station Six: Civil War Clothing Fashions
i. Photograph of family and description of fashions
ii. F a s h i o n o f M a r y T o d d L i n c o l n
iii. P h o t o g r a p h o f d r e s s e s w i t h m i l i t a r y s t y l e
iv. Civil War quilts
v. Photograph of girl in mourning
vi. Children’s clothing in Civil War
g. Station Seven: Promoting Patriotism
i. Clara Barton and finding the graves
ii. Battle Hymn of the Republic
iii. Execution of traitors
iv. The Union flag in the Civil War
v. Old Abe photo and story
8. Make sure all students have passed through each station and then regroup as a
class.
9. Review important ideas and recurring themes throughout the stations as a class.
Closure: Exit pass: We are technically on the home front of a war today. Have you or
do you face challenges in your life because of a military conflict? How are these
difficulties similar to or different from those of individuals on the home front during the
Civil War? Have students each make a list of the hardships a family would face during
the Civil War.
Assessment:
1. Completed Home Front Powerpoint notes.
2. Completed Primary Source Analysis Sheets.
3. Completed Exit Pass, providing hardships civilians would face.