Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 12, Lesson 3

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 12, Lesson 3: War on the Home Front (pp. 355-359)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Change The war affected almost every aspect of daily life for citizens in both the North and South.

Create a cause-and-effect chain linking various government actions, like the suspension of rights, high taxes, and the specifics of draft policies, to the actions of citizens and soldiers, like riots and desertions. Be sure to include the economic hardships that most people, especially the working class, faced during the war.

Discuss the roles of young men in the war and explain why some men, especially in the South, deserted. Describe the different jobs women did during the war, and review women's contributions both behind the lines and in battle.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Ask each student to write a journal entry describing life during the war as either: a Northern or Southern woman, a 12-year-old drummer boy in either army, a New York City rioter, a Southern deserter, a teenage ranking officer in either army, or any other role that seems appropriate. Have students share and discuss.
Students can work in pairs. Have each student choose an activity that a woman might have done during the war that she had not done before and act out that activity until their partner figures out what activity it is. Students then switch roles.

Social Studies Center | Houghton Mifflin Social Studies | Grade 8 Home
Education Place | Site Index

You may download, print, and make copies of Lesson at a Glance pages for use in your classroom, provided that you include the copyright notice shown below on all such copies.