This 9-week unit focuses on the American Civil War. Students will read historical fiction and informational texts to learn about key events and compare how each text type depicts the war. They will also listen to Civil War-era music and examine art from that period to gain a deeper understanding beyond print. The culminating project requires students to compose a narrative set in the Civil War that includes an original character in conflict and incorporates authentic facts and media. The unit aims to help students understand how the Civil War transformed American culture and advanced civil rights.

1. Isaac School District No.5
ELAS Thematic Unit Overview Grade 5 – Unit 4
2012-2013
Unit 4: America in Conflict
DURATION: Nine Weeks
The causes and consequences of the American Civil War are revealed through literature and informational text.
Students read historical fiction and informational text about the Civil War in the United States and compare and contrast the ways in
which each type of text describes key historical events. In order to gain a greater understanding of the period beyond what is addressed
in print, students listen to music and examine art from the Civil War period The culminating activity is to compose a narrative that is set
within a historical context, includes a fictional character in conflict, and incorporates authentic facts, photos or artwork.
Essential Questions: Vocabulary:
How are fictionalized characters and real people changed ballad
through conflict? cause and effect
characterization
What are some of the outcomes of the Civil War that influenced conflict
American society? poetic terms: meter, rhyme scheme, metaphor, simile
symbolism
Essential Learning:
Stories of the Civil War help us learn more about this important
period in American history, and helps us understand how people
respond today to challenges.
The Civil War influenced a cultural transformation in the United
States to abolish slavery, unite the country, and begin the
process of Civil Rights for all Americans.
Distributed Resources Aligned to Unit 4:
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln (Fritz)
You Wouldn’t Want to Be A Civil War Soldier: A War You’d Rather not Fight (Ratliff & Antram)
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad (Johnson)
Outrageous Women of Civil War Times (Furbee)
Underlined vocabulary indicates a Tier II word. 1

2. Underlined vocabulary indicates a Tier II word. 2