Civil War Unit study

The American Civil War is a turning point in history. Not just for Americans, it was the start of modern warfare, and dignitaries from Europe came to observe the American war. That of course means it’s a vitally important war to discuss with your kids, so of course you need to makes sure you have a Civil War Unit Study at some point in your homeschool history lessons.

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Resources for your Civil War Unit Study

• Civil War picture books– there’s a wide variety of books in here with many different viewpoints. I love using picture books for our history lessons
• Civil War Timeline– this has all of American history, but we’re focusing on the Civil War
• US History Pinterest board– I’ve got a slew of ideas saved here, so if you’re looking for some ideas to make your Civil War unit study hands on, this is the place to go
• Time Travel: Civil War– If you like lapbooks, then you should pick this up
• Across Five Aprils file folder game– I LOVE this game!

Some Civil War novels for kids

• I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly– the diary of an enslaved girl, who is set free at the end of the Civil War
• A Light in the Storm– the diary of a Union girl during the Civil War
• The Journal of James Edmond Pease– the diary of a Union soldier
• The Journal of Rufus Howe: Witness to the Battle of Fredricksburg– the closest I’ve seen to a book from the point of view of a Confederate soldier
• Across Five Aprils– the story of a family in a border state during the time of the Civil War, if you only read one novel, read this one, it’s a great look at the difficulties many families had during this time

Civil War Battles

• How the Civil War hurt more than the soldiers– based off “The Promise Quilt,” a touching picture book on the Civil War from the point of view of those left behind
• Civil War Battles Shown Visually– I firmly believe we need to show kids how lessons go
• First Battle of Bull Run– Try out this simulation

The wide effects of the Civil War

• Civil War nursing– The Crimean War and the American Civil War are the two wars that launched nursing from random people helping, to an actual career
• Little Women book club– The first part of Little Women takes place during the Civil War, and is the reason their father is missing
• How to make a haversack– okay, this isn’t an effect, but this doesn’t go in with the battles

Okay, that’s all the posts I have written so far. I see a lot of gaps I need to remedy and put more fun posts up here to round out this Civil War unit study. I need to get some writing topics, talk about the whys and what happened afterwards, and how the Civil War shaped what happened afterwards.