About the
Civil War: North South Life
Lesson
Summary
The student analyzes how people in different parts of the United States earned a living during the Civil War.
Lesson Objectives
• The student understands past patterns of work in the United States.
Suggested Grades
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade
Lesson Excerpt
1. Teacher discusses the life of Americans during the Civil War with respect to the economic situations in the North vs. the South by reading the book, “If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War”.
2. Teacher reviews/explains the key economic concepts: scarcity, and supply and demand.
3. Students read aloud as selected by the teacher while the students take notes uring their reading session.
4. Students compare the life in the North and the South during the Civil War by completing a Venn Diagram using the notes from the “If You Lived…” book. Additional research may be necessary – may need to integrate a one day computer lab for additional research information. Students learn the differences between the Northern industry machinist worker versus the Southern plantation farmer worker.
Continued...
