Have students read a series of poems written about the Civil War, such as those by Walt Whitman. They should compare the the poetry to the information about the Civil War in their textbooks. Ask the students how these two sources differ and are the same in their accounts of the Civil War. Have the students write an essay on how the accounts are alike or not.
After a unit of study on the Civil War, have the students write their own poems about the Civil War. They should take the perspective of a student living in current times and looking back on the war. Assign them different topics (how the slaves felt during the war, how the soldiers felt, etc.) or allow them to pick their own topics.
In this activity, tell the students that they must pretend that they were alive during the Civil War and were keeping a journal of events. The journal could be written in poetry form or you could ask the students to include poems and other written samples in the journal. Assign each student a different individual from the Civil War, such as a slave on a plantation or Abraham Lincoln, to pretend to be.
Bring in a series of magazines, newspapers, out-of-date dictionaries and/or encyclopedias. Have students cut out words from these different sources and create a found poem about the Civil War. A found poem is much like a collage. Students find words in different mediums and rearrange them to create poetry. After the students finish their poems, whether in groups or by themselves, have them share the poems with the rest of the class. Keep track of how many times words with negative connotations appear to explain the hardships of war or how many times words with positive connotations appear to explain the freedom gained from this war.