Jun
Civil War Unit Study Part 1
Our favorite study during third grade was definitely our Civil War Unit Study. Both of us learned so much and had fun while we were learning.
It all started with this book- I had just planned to have Hailey read Harriet Tubman by Maryann Weidt. While reading the book, she became very interested in Harriet Tubman, the underground railroad, and the civil war. When we finished the book she begged to learn more. So, I went with her interests. We paused our study of ancient history, that we had been working on, and I put together a unit about slavery and the civil war. That’s one of my favorite things about homeschooling- we can learn about what we find interesting.
Here is a small sampling of some of the activities we did:
These are some of the books we read during our unit. I found many living books to use, rather than text book type books. We both really enjoy the living books. Even Hunter (age 3) listened to most of the books.
After we read Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter, Hailey made her own representation of the drinking gourd, or the big dipper constellation. She learned how the slaves on the underground railroad would look toward the drinking gourd and follow it so that they would not get lost while they tried to find their way north. We also listened to the Follow the Drinking Gourd song on YouTube- it has a catchy tune and we both found ourselves singing it.
Hailey learned that slaves on the underground railroad would know a house was a safe place to stop for rest if there was a lantern burning in the window. So, she made a lantern by gluing tissue paper onto a jar.
Hailey’s finished lantern, with a battery operated tea light candle inside.
We learned about how the slaves made quilts and the patterns on the quilt were secret messages to help them escape to freedom. I found printables for the different quilt patterns and Hailey colored them while I read to her.
Hailey made this 3-D map of the underground railroad from the book Interactive 3-D Maps: American History.
Hailey really enjoyed playing Flight to Freedom, an online game where she played a slave who was trying to escape. Not only was it educational and fun, but it was actually pretty hard to make it through the journey.
We learned about how slaves could only bring a few belongings with them when they ran away. Hailey used a bandana and had to try to decide what she would have brought with her.
Hailey also designed her own quilt pattern.
She made a house with a lantern burning in the window.
I gave Hailey an assignment to build a model safe house and she came up with this all on her own. She used a box and set up some furniture inside.
There was a secret passage in the floor for slaves to hide in.
And a secret spot in the wall for slaves to hide behind a book shelf.
Then she had to write a story and pretend she was a slave who escaped to freedom. She had to write about her journey and what happened along the way. She did an excellent job bringing everything together that she learned about the slavery, the underground railroad, and what happened after they escaped.
There is so much to read, do, explore, and learn about! I couldn’t fit it all into one post, so check back soon for part 2 of our study.
