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Becky Parker
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My ds is doing MODG syllabi and has already finished that which is required for 6th grade history. He finished it quickly because, when he said he really wasn't interested in studying about Ancient Egypt I said that if he did a good job and finished early, we would go onto the history study of his choice. Well, he really finished early! Now he wants to study about the Civil War and I don't know where to begin. He has read some books about it but there hasn't been any organization to it. I don't know if we should do a notebook about the Civil War or what. Any suggestions? Do you know of any on line units? I have checked and there are millions of Civil War sites. I just don't have the energy to go through them all!
Becky
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momwise
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Willy Finds Victory, A Blessed Francis Seelos Story by Joan Stromberg is a Catholic book with a unit study included. I have it but we haven't used it yet, so I don't know anything about it.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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MaryM
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We have used Civil War: Literature Units, Projects, and Activities a couple times and really like it. My oldest was a Civil War enthusiast for many years and this is what got us started. It's not an online unit study so don't know if you would be interested.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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teachingmom
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Hi Becky,
Please share what you find out! We did Ancient Egypt this fall. The girls were less than thrilled with that topic -- there was applause here earlier today when we finished our last read aloud on the topic and began our Christmas break. 
Now we are on to the Civil War too. Since we will take the rest of the year, I am thinking about expanding the topic to cover all of 19th century American history, except the pioneers, which we studied in depth two years ago. Has anyone ever done that? Do any of you have suggestions for the War of 1812? I already know about Lissa's Charlotte books. 
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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ALmom
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For the Civil War, here are a few book ideas:
The American Heritage New History of the Civil War by Bruce Catton. It is not a assign to read for a 6th grader but a great reference with lots of pictures. My 5th grader likes browsing through it.
Lincoln, A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
Amos Fortune, Free Man (I cannot find the book so someone has it in their room reading it and I don't remember the authors name).
Chaplain in Gray (about Abran Ryan, poet priest of the confederacy) an American Background book (might be out of print)
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
There is one other book I know my son liked (you may want to preview it for yours as I don't remember if he read it all the way through or just the interesting parts - an older sister read it all the way through and it was very good but had some romance in it too). It had a lot in it about the Indians siding with the confederacy and pilfering and injustice in the fighting on both sides. It dealt with the traitorous treachory of the main characters superior officer and the hanging death of the girl (from the confederacy) that he loves brother at the hands of this officer. It deals with the main characters struggle about whether to remain with the union or not and does deal with the situation in Kansas (Bloody Kansas) prior to the outbreak of war. We all enjoyed it and learned quite a bit from it. As soon as I can find it in one of the dc rooms, I can get its title and author for you. It might be too much for a 6th grader depending.
Janet
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Becky Parker
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Thanks Everyone! I'm getting really excited about this Civil War study. I think I am as happy about it as ds who couldn't wait to be done with Ancient Egypt. Before I go on, I do need to say that I totally understand the need to study Ancient History and I like the way MODG does it - lots of good literature!  It just wasn't ds's "cup of tea". So now on to the Civil War. American History is his passion and I think I am excited because he is excited! The last time we really had fun with history was when he was in 4th grade and we studied the Revolutionary War in depth. That kid knew about every battle - in detail. I'm talking number of casualties, names of all the generals etc. We went to Williamsburg and he thought he was in Heaven! He was actually fighting tears as we drove into the parking area!!  I'll check out the sources you all listed. Thanks so much! I want to add that my husband found his copy of This Hallowed Ground, A History of the Civil War by Bruce Catton. It is actually a version written for "Young Readers" and I'm hoping it will make a good spine. It's really cool too because it has a note written in the front cover to my husband when he was 10 by his Grandmother who died at 100 years old. Ds thinks it is great to be reading one of his dad's favorite books on a subject they both love. Well, on to put together some sort of organized semi-unit for ds.
Becky
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ALmom
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The other book was Rifles for Waite by Harold Keith.
The Catton book we have comes highly recommended by a college professor friend who teaches history at university and his specialty is the Civil War. He also does not care for post-modernists. It is really neat that you have the version he wrote for dc.
Janet
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TracyQ
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This is an excellent unit study for free online. I used this wonderful homeschool mom's Iroquois Indian unit study and it was one of the best I've ever used! It was excellent, and free! Civil War Unit Study
I met the author of these unit studies at our state homeschool convention, and thanked her for sharing these for free, and told her how talented I thought she was! 
Here's the website's main page. The free studies are on the left side toward the bottom (just click on the title of the study):
Homeschool in the Woods
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Tracy Q.
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 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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teachingmom
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TracyQ wrote:
This is an excellent unit study for free online. . . . It was excellent, and free! Civil War Unit Study
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This looks great, Tracy. Thanks so much!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Becky Parker
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Thanks Tracy! This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. I can't wait to get started on it!
Becky
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TracyQ
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I'm glad I could help, Becky. She doesn't have lots of free studies, she just shared the ones she wrote for her unique family, but wanted to share them for anyone who might be interested. Her son is a Civil War crazed boy! So that's to your advantage!
Glad it could help you.
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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Mary G
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Here's a great living history book for high schoolers reading about the Civil War. Cotton and Bones by Paul Barra. This takes an interesting slant -- it's a mystery set in Charleston on the brink of Civil War. What makes it particularly compelling is its inclusion of why the Bishop of Charleston (one of the oldest diocese in the country, by the way) spoke for slavery. Which has caused all kinds of repercussions down the ages since.
Barra does an excellent job of weaving this subplot into the mystery. If you can find a copy it's well worth the read.
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MaryG
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my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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Kelly
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There is a unit study available for about $20 from DP & K Productions called...(drum rolls, please)... a "Civil War Unit Study" by Pat Wesolowski. Although I haven't seen this particular resource, I HAVE seen other projects of hers, such as "Information, Please" which is very well-done, an intro to teaching children to use reference materials. I imagine this Civil War unit study is just as well-done, and thorough.
Kelly in FL
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momwise
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I don't know if I'm supposed to resurrect this thread or start a new one?? Anyway, we have used some very good resources over the last couple of weeks that I wanted to add to the Civil War living history list:
Heroes in Blue and Gray is about the best children's war book we've seen. It is set up in chronological order from Ft. Sumner as the 1st chapter and it covers the major battles, emphasizing one commander or general (as the MVP, so to speak) in each chapter. There is a very good map for each chapter. There isn't a dry story here, no sort of "documentary" or text feel to it; it's a great story telling book for ages 8 or 9 and up. You've got to read it aloud.
Yankees & Rebels: Fighting Men of the Civil War Wow.....these are great books! Pricey, but we found a whole set at the library. There's one for battlefields and generals. There are tons of pics; for instance there is a section devoted to the paper money of each Confederate state.
The Civil War: its Music and its Sounds includes the music of the North and South and the battle sounds, divided into before and after Gettysburg.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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TracyQ
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Thanks Gwen!
We'll be studying this time period at the end of the year, and so I ordered Heroes in Blue and Gray used! I'm looking forward to seeing it.
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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lapazfarm
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I rented the movie "Gettysburg" starring Jeff Daniels, from netflix and it was awesome!It is 4 hours long, and dh and I started watching it at 10 pm, thinking we'd just watch a bit that night and finish it later, but dh and I ended up staying up til 2 am to finish it! It is not gory like some modern war movies tend to be, but it is VERY powerful emotionally. What I liked about it was instead of focusing on the causes/issues of the war (although some of that is addressed) it really focuses on the people and their incredible bravery on both sides.I think it is rated PG 13 for violence, but I believe I will let ds (10) see it (with me)when we get to that topic, because, truthfully, war IS violent and ugly and I want him to understand that as he tends to have that romanticized version in his head at times. I would not let a very young child see it, though.
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Theresa
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LaPaz Home Learning
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momwise
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We've just watched Gods and Generals and Gettysburg (teens and me) over the last month. Excellent movies! We just can't seem to get off the Civil War. I'm trying to find help on the net for paper mache rifles or pistols. Couldn't find much but I did find these civil war toys.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Looking for a Civil War Unit
