civil war websites for elementary students

A blank PDF for your “bulls eye” planning can be found here.Ī basic summary of what took place at Gettysburg is available from the Visitors Center there, or at this Civil War Trust site.įor background knowledge specifics about troop movements and battle strategies this animation is available from American Battlefield Trust. This one, from an eighth grade teacher, may help you narrow your focus about what to teach and plan some enduring themes for your students. She maintains the Gettysburg School Bus blog with posts that sometimes include lesson plans from teachers. The park employs an education specialist who oversees school tours and field trips and professional development for local teachers. The Gettysburg National Military Park is an excellent resource for a study of the battle that was the turning point for the Civil War. Compare them to similar images taken in 1863, from the Library of Congress collection. Encourage them to keep those tranquil, peacetime images in their head as your lessons unfold over the next few sessions, have them imagine how the scenes transformed into something very different during the first three days of July, 1863.

To help set the stage for an in-depth look at the battle that was the turning point for the Civil War, show students some present day photos of Gettysburg, found here. Of particular interest might be the links to primary sources, especially images, and a magazine cover project using Big Huge Labs, reviewed here at TeachersFirst. This wiki, created by a Micheal Kendra, a Civil War aficionado includes many links to sites for topics such as battles, medicine, women, and food.

Assemble resources that highlight aspects of a Civil War study that is appropriate for your students and applicable to your local curriculum and the state or national standards you have adopted.

Civil war websites for elementary students