2. CIVIL WAR MUSIC- Students research and select music/songs of the Civil War era. They are to analyze the music, lyrics, and other information they can gather about it. Then they are to interpret how the song or music can express emotion. They can share this with the class by oral presentation, written summary, etc.

3. FIELD WORK/ CEMETARY EXPLORATION- Students can determine if there are Civil War soldiers buried in your area at local cemeteries. They may need to work in cooperation with local libraries or archives to complete research. The students can then seek out the burial sites, take pictures or make a chalk marking of the stones to share with the class in an oral presentation on their hometown heroes.

4. QUILT PICTURES- Students can work in conjunction with their math classes to create tessellations that create quilt patterns. They can then create their own quilt square which may be collectively added to a classroom version.

5. DRUMMER BOYS AND GIRLS- Students may be able to create Civil War Drum replicas in your class or in conjunction with an art or music class. Containers such as Oatmeal canisters, coffee tins, peanut cans, or even small vegetable cans can make great drums. Discuss with the students what it might be like to be a young person serving with the military by playing musical instruments. What would it have been like? You may also want to instruct students that long rolling beats meant to march into battle. There were also other signals to rally and retreat. You may want to teach them individualized beats and see if the students can interpret them correctly.

6. VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP- There are many websites that are accessible via the internet to connect with scenes from the Civil War. Take your students on a virtual fieldtrip by using Google Earth to show what the areas look like today and compare them to Civil War era photos. Take a journey through the photo galleries that are available through the Library of Congress or University Libraries such as Bentley Historical Museum at the University of Michigan.

7. DRILL EXERCISES- Students who are kinesthetic learners may have some fun with this one. Line up your class in rows of six. Have them call of numbers one and two, alternatively. Call out “right face” . At this time, all those who are number two’s should take a diagonal step forward and face right. The students are now in rows of four for marching. As students practice marching, you make halt them and call them into line. The number two’s reverse their original action, falling back into rank.

8. PLAYING THE BONES- Soldiers without musical instruments would save the remains from the day’s meal, clean the bones, and tap them together to help create a beat. This was commonly done with rib bones and can be duplicated in the classroom. If animal bones do not agree with you, this can also be done with spoons, pencils representing bones, etc.

9. MEASURING WATER DEPTH- When soldiers on the march came across rivers and other bodies of water they needed to cross, they would attempt to measure the depth of the water. You can recreate this with your students. Have the students tie string around a rock or heavy object that will sink to the bottom of a body of water. Then tie a knot every foot from there. Gently toss the rock in the water and measure the wet part of the string for approximate depth.

10. BUILDING A LEAN-TO- Troops on the move didn’t always have time or the equipment to set up camp. Instead, the soldiers would have to improvise using branches and blankets to create a lean-to. Have students gather branches and compete to build an adequate, sturdy, and big enough lean-to to fit themselves or them and a partner.

11. MAKING HARDTACK- Hardtack was a common food eaten by the soldiers. It was a cracker like food that was very hard to eat. Often soldiers would have to soak the hardtack in water to soften it enough to eat it. However, the hardtack would last much longer in camp conditions than breads and other floury foods. Recipes can be found online. Essentially 2 cups of flour and a half cup of water mixed, kneaded together, flattened, and baked at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

12. BANDAGING BRUISES- Students may learn how to put arm injuries in slings or how to bandage-wrap extremities damaged during battle. All that is needed for this activity is a bandana or equivalent sized piece of cloth. This is strictly for reenactment purposes. Students should know that first aid training should be completed before treating such actual wounds.

13. CIVIL WAR TIMELINES- Have students research the significant dates and events of the Civil War Era. Students can create a timeline using symbols and illustrations that briefly describe the timeline.

14. WORD WEB ACTIVITIES- Students can create word webs perfect for a unit review. Begin the word web with the major vocabulary terms of the Civil War. Students will be required to have a certain number of secondary web words, tertiary web words, etc. The purpose of this activity is to refresh students on their vocabulary and how certain words and phrases relate to one another.