Along the Reading Road: Exploring the American Civil War

2011 marks the 150^th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War.  That’s the sesquicentennial, for Reading Road Trippers who like to collect impressive vocabulary words. (Click the red-highlighted word for a pronunciation hint).

A Nation Divided: After Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, eleven southern slave states broke from the United States and formed the Confederacy, or the Confederate States of America.  The other twenty-five states formed the Union, continuing to support the existing government and favoring the abolition (the end) of slavery.  After four long years of bloody warfare, the Confederacy surrendered.  Slavery was put to an end everywhere in the United States, and a long period of Reconstruction and rebuilding followed.

Civil War on Wheels in the LMC

Sounds like an important time in United States history... and sounds like a good time for a Reading Road Trip!  Let's pack our blanket rolls, load our knapsacks, fill our canteens, and join Reading Road Trip on a journey back in time: an exploration of one of the most important events in United States history, the American Civil War, with student-created historical blogging, illustrations, and written and video book reviews. 

In LMC class, Mrs. Cifrodella introduced one of our fifth grade Reading Road Trip titles, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (RL 5.6). The story follows twelve-year-old Homer as he escapes from his unhappy foster home in Pine Swamp, Maine, and sets out to find his beloved older brother, Harold, who has been illegally sold into the Union Army. This 2010 Newbery Honor book combines historical fiction, humor, and adventure.  It has quickly become a Lafayette favorite.  

Shaping a biography: Vinnie and Abraham by Dawn FitzGerald (RL 5.3).  Tells the true story of Vinnie Ream, a self-taught teenage sculptor who won the commission to create the statue of Abraham Lincoln that stands in the United States Capitol rotunda.

Non-Fiction and a Bit of Time Travel! Ghosts of the Civil War by Cheryl Harness (RL 4.7). The ghost of Willie, President Abraham Lincoln's older son, transports a young girl back to his own time, where she sees and hears many things from both sides of the Civil War.

 

Meni G. investigated the Battle of Antietam, the first major battle of the Civil War to take place on Northern soil.  The Union and Confederate armies fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with over 20,000 casualties.

The Battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War-- by Meni G.

During the first three days of July in 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia clashed near a small town in south-central Pennsylvania.  The Battle of Gettysburg, often described as the turning point in the Civil War, claimed the largest number of single-battle casualties in the conflict.  The Last Brother (RL 5.5), written by one of Lafayette School's past visiting authors Trinka Hakes Noble, follows eleven-year-old Gabe, a bugler in the Union Army, as he tries to protect his older brother during the Battle of Gettysburg.  Let's check out a video book review of this historical fiction picture book, created by Reading Road Trippers Megan C. and Ellie G.

During the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate troops made a violent, unsuccessful attack against Union soldiers  positioned on a small rocky hill south of town.  Reading Road Trippers Quinn T. and Kieran K. researched the famous battle of Little Round Top:

Check it out: Civil War Historical Fiction in the LMC!

Iron Thunder: The Battle between the Monitor & the Merrimac: A Civil War Novel by Avi (RL 4.3). Thirteen-year-old Tom Carroll takes his place as head of the family after his father dies fighting for the Union. Tom's job at the local ironworks and his loyalty to the Union come into question when he is approached by Confederate spies to sell secrets about the ship to the South. 

 

My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier by Lynda Durrant (RL 4.6). Enjoying the freedom afforded her while dressing as a boy in order to earn higher pay after emigrating from Ireland, Jennie Hodgers serves in the 95th Illinois Infantry as Private Albert Cashier, a Union soldier in the American Civil War.  

Bull Run by Paul Fleischman (RL 6.4). Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys, and worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill, and the disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War. 

A Ballad of the Civil War by Mary Stolz (RL 3.8). Weary of the war, a Union lieutenant recalls his life with his twin brother on their family's Virginia plantation and the events that led them to fight on different sides in the Civil War.  

There's much more to explore about the American Civil War. Take a National Geographic Kids Civil War Quiz, and check out Reading Road Trip Civil War books in the LMC!