The Civil War ‖ Primary Sources: Letters Home

Goals & Objectives

Students will be able to identify in the primary source letter the person they are talking to
and what was the meaning of the letter.

Students will be able to come up with a response as the letter recipient.

California State Content Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.B
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible
sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.C
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.B
Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and examples.
Common Core Literacy Standards
HSS.8.10.7 Explain how the war affected combatants, civilians, the physical
environment, and future warfare.

Driving Historical Question

Was there a universal feeling towards the war?

Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior Knowledge) ‖ Time: 10 mins

I will ask the students what we have learned so far from war. I will ask them next what do
they think about the people that were not fighting in the war? How do think they felt in this
time of are especially it being in the U.S.?

Vocabulary (Content Language Development) ‖ Time: 4 mins

Homefront
Garrison
Picket
Reserve
These terms will be explained after the lesson introductions as these are common words
that they might encounter in the letters and explain these were very common words back
then.
Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) ‖ Time: 10 mins
(Lecture)The teacher will explain the environment that many of these families lived in at
this time. The teacher will also explain the importance of each member of the family how
the men of these families living for war and why they were living in the first place. The
teacher will explain how these letters are from all sides of the war Union, Confederate,
Farmer, urbanize people, and trades people. The students will read then respond to the
letters.

Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities) ‖ Time: 20 mins

For 10 minutes the students will read one of many letters that the teacher has printed out. There
will be 4 different letters A, B, C, and D. The students will read these to get an understanding of
who the writer is, who they are sending the letter to, and why they are sending the letter. The
next 10 mins will be spent writing a response to original sender as the recipient. What do you
think the response would have been from what you have read in the letter?

Lesson Closure ‖ Time: 10 mins

The teacher will then ask the students to first share what they got from the letter they got
and how they understood the letter. Next the teacher will ask how they students knew this
information and how do they the recipient felt getting these letters. They will write these
responses on a separate worksheet with these questions.

Assessments (Formative & Summative)

Formative: going around the room seeing if the students are understanding the reading and
writing a correct response to the letters.
Summative: response worksheet and vocal response on how they perceived the contents of
the letter.

Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
EL, SR, and SN: a typed-up version of the letters with the misspelling with notes indicating
that the words are misspelled with the words intended word being shown.

Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials)

(Handouts) Worksheets “Response to the writer and Context of the letters” and letters
from the Civil War.