Lesson Plans on "What Are the Causes of the Civil War?"

Students enjoy using hands-on activities to learn about the Civil War.

The causes of the Civil War were diverse and not easy to understand today. Various discussion and hands-on activities can help students maintain focus and improve understanding as they learn about the Civil War in textbooks.

Compare and Contrast

Students will learn to compare and contrast different viewpoints.

As students learn background information about the differences between the North and the South from their textbooks, help them form small groups of three or four. Give each group a blank sheet of paper. Ask students to fold the paper in half and then unfold it. Tell students to label one side "North" and the other side "South." Instruct groups to list reasons that each side went to war and then work together to prioritize the reasons. When groups finish, ask them to share their thoughts with the class.

Class Debate

Put the students in the spotlight with a class debate.

Students enjoy this activity which allows them a chance to interact with other students in the classroom. Tell students that they will either join the Confederacy or the Union for this activity. Begin by drawing each student's name out of a bag to determine which side she will join. Explain to students that they will debate about the reasons for the war. Students should attempt to discredit some of the other team's reasons while proving that they have a right to think the way they do. To add interest, give an award to the best debater from each team.

Map Creation

Students will work on geography skills while learning about history.

Students will be able to better understand the causes of the Civil War with the aid of a map. Many conflicts resulted from the location of factories, the use of slaves on plantations and the amount of cotton production that was going on in the South. Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Ask each group to draw a map of the United States prior to the Civil War. Explain to students that they should make a map key that will show where some of the sources of conflict were located. This map activity will give students a strong visual to help them understand why the Civil War began.

Newspaper Editors

Students will have fun creating their own newspapers.

Students can work on language arts and research skills while determining the reasons for the Civil War. Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a sheet of newsprint and black markers. Ask students to decide whether they would like to be on the Northern or Southern side. Tell students to create a newspaper that shows some bias toward the side that they have joined. Give stipulations requiring students to create two political cartoons, several interviews, drawings, advertisements and letters to the editor. Students will use higher order thinking skills for this activity and really begin to understand the two different views.

References

• Education Resources Information Center: An Action-Based Research Study on How Using Manipulatives Will Increase Student Achievement in Mathematics

Resources

• Kid Zone: What Caused the American Civil War