Check out the winning lesson plans from our 2012 Best Lesson Plan Contest. Sponsored by HISTORY (TM).  

Emancipation 1861 to 1863 Lesson Plan, by Karen Richey (Middle School) »
Emancipation 1861 to 1863 asks students to view excerpts from the Sacramento, California newspaper from 1861 to 1863 to gain an understanding of the public opinion about slavery and emancipation from the beginning of the war to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. 

Jeremiah Handley Lesson Plan, by Todd Searing (Middle School) »
The Jeremiah Handley lesson has students review primary source materials written by the average soldier during the war, then they read a fictional character’s, Jeremiah Handley, story, all the while deciding what path Jeremiah should take.  

Joshua Chamberlain Lesson Plan, by Carolyn Dupee (Grade 5, Middle School, High School) »
This Joshua Chamberlain lesson has students review writings by and about Joshua Chamberlain, then they are asked to analyze his label of “hero” based on the documents. 

Contraband Camp Lesson Plan, by Connie Lambert (Middle School) »
The Contraband Camp lesson presents material on the little known topic of contraband camps. Students are asked to analyze images and write a diary entry from a contraband point of view.