Wichita falls ISD
5th Social Studies
Unit 9: A Nation Divided / The Civil War
Lesson Planner
Time Frame: 15 Days
Objectives
Skills: The student will be able to…
…understand political, economic, and social changes that occurred in the United States during the
19th century. The student is expected to:
…identify the causes of the Civil War, including sectionalism, states’ rights, and slavery, and the
effects of the Civil War, including Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the
U.S. Constitution;
Lesson Information
Activities
Introduction
 Divide class into two groups based on pant color (Blue/Khaki). Give one group students
a ridiculous academic task that is unachievable during the social studies block. Give the
other group of students time to relax and supervise the progress of those students who
are working. After a few minutes of this activity bring students back into whole group
and discuss feelings related to the activity.
Lesson 1
 North and South Grow Apart -pg.464 - 467, Worksheet pg. 109 Two separate regions
with different societies collide economically and philosophically. Sectionalism is
heightened and both move toward confrontation.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/map.htm
interactive map graphic of comparisons
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/northandsouth.html
Civil War Trust,
Lesson 2
 Resisting Slavery -pg. 470 - 475, Worksheet pg. 111 Both whites and blacks in the North
and South looked for ways to resist slavery from working slowly to actively assisting the
movement of runaway slaves to the North.
Lesson 3
 The Struggle Over Slavery -pg. 476 - 483, Worksheet pg. 112 Attempts to avoid war fall
short and trouble begins as new states are added to the U.S. Clashes between slavers
and abolitionists occur and Bleeding Kansas is the result. Troubles continue until Lincoln
Is elected president and South Carolina secedes in anticipation of the new president
ending slavery.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YuM7MrK6tRInUowOnL5dg1PjtigUWaKvauYx
gddHDaM/edit?pli=1#slide=id.p50 Powerpoint about slavery. Download as pptx file and
preview. Select slides appropriate for your lesson. Good pictures and information
about slave ownership in the Antebellum South.
Wichita Falls ISD (2013-2014)
TEKS
Readiness:
5.4 B,E;5.8 A,C
Supporting:
5.8B;5.12B;5.1
9B
Skills
5.24D,E;5.25B,
D
Vocabulary
 Civil War
 Plantation
 Immigrant
 Compromise
 Abolitionist
 Secede
 Confederates
 sectionalism
 Industry
Lesson 4
 The First Shots Fired - pg. 484 - 487, Worksheet pg. 113 After South Carolina’s
secession , other states joined in the Confederacy. The North guided by Lincoln moves
to block the movement and War breaks out starting in Charleston, SC at Ft. Sumter.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Fort-Sumter-The-Civil-WarBegins.html?onsite_source=smithsonianmag.com&onsite_medium=internal&onsite_c
ampaign=photogalleries&onsite_content=Fort%20Sumter:%20The%20Civil%20War%2
0Begins Smithsonian Photos of Ft. Sumter and accounts leading up to the battle
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=Civil+War&N=4294939055 Globe
Trekker: American Civil War - Reasons for the War, people and Battles of the War
(52:09)
Lesson 5
 The Early Stages of War -pg. 492 - 497, Worksheet pg. 116 Both North and South enter
the war confident of their advantage over the other and certain the war will be of short
duration and end in their favor. The first battles are fought and “ironclads” change
naval warfare forever.
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/cairo/cairo1.htm U.S.S. Cairo pix, Vicksburg
Battlefield, Vicksburg, MS.
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=Civil+War&N=4294939055 1861 –
1862 (PART 1) The American Civil War: The War Years (36:32)
Lesson 6
 Life During the War -pg.498-503, Worksheet pg. 117 Life during the War was difficult
for soldiers as might be expected, but suffering of civilians was seen through shortages
in supplies, food, medical personnel, etc. as well as invading armies that pillaged and
burned everything possible. Drayton Hall, Charleston, SC, is the oldest plantation home
in the U.S. to survive the Civil War. It was spared, legend says, because Mr. John
Drayton was a doctor and hung signs on it stating it was being used for a small pox
Hospital, where as second source states, "Doctor J. Drayton posted his land as a cholera
epidemic hospital and frightened away all of the wandering thugs."
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=Civil+War&N=4294939055 Dear
America: When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson:
Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 (26:49)
Lesson 7
 How the North Won - pg. 506-515, Worksheet pg. 118 Final battles of the Civil War
and the war turns at Gettysburg, PA. are fought and the war comes to an end at
Appomattox Courthouse, VA.
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=Civil+War&N=4294939055 Gettysburg Address: The Speech That Saved America (43:33)
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=Civil+War&N=4294939055 1863 –
1865 (PART 2) The American Civil War: The War Years (32:11)
End of Unit - The students will create a poster board timeline that includes all of the
information that was gathered from the above lessons. The poster should be graded on
content and creativity with the inclusion and photos related to the event on the timeline.
Maybe you would want to suggest that the students set their posters up in the form of a
“Frayer Model” to help them to organize the information.
Wichita Falls ISD (2013-2014)
Additional Information Lesson
Materials/Resources
Coloring pages will be included for reinforcement of
information learned in these lessons at a future
date.
Notes from Council
Pictures of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, Middleton Place,
Boone Hall, Drayton Hall and Magnolia Plantations, Charleston,
SC, Gettysburg, PA and Vicksburg, MS Battlefields will be
available in the future.
Video of a slave re-enactor telling of life on Boone Hall
Plantation will also be available in the future.
Parent Resources
 Parents, primary sources are one of the most important ways to learn about a subject in history since they
come from that time period. Included below are sites you and your child may visit to help see pictures of
and hear words from the people that were involved in the war that tore our nation apart. Please discuss
with them the concepts of both the economic need for slavery in the south and the necessity of a nation
built on freedom to abolish a system that restricted a person’s right to choose their own way of life. As with
any link, preview the site first, as these are outside the scope of our control and are therefore subject to
change at any time. Since the subject is firsthand pictures of war, be aware that some photos may be
graphic.
Pictures of Civil War Times - http://www.civilwarphotogallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=6
Letters and Diaries - http://www.civil-war.net/searchlinks.asp?searchlinks=Letters and Diaries
Abolition and Slavery - http://www.civil-war.net/searchlinks.asp?searchlinks=Abolition & Slavery
Documents of the Civil War - http://www.civil-war.net/searchlinks.asp?searchlinks=Documents
Wichita Falls ISD (2013-2014)