Help middle school students get to know both President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis. Divide the class into two groups and have each side research the two men and the principles for which they believed and fought. Set up a debate to address the issues that separated them. Have students prepare a chart comparing and contrasting the two men. Look at backgrounds, ancestry, professions, family, loyalties, principles by which they lived and the result of life and leadership decisions. Ask students to draw conclusions from the charts. Though the two men never ran against each other in a political race, pretend they did. Divide the class and ask each team to create political promotions, including a speech, posters and talking points for each candidate based on how the two men might have responded to such a campaign.
Divide the class into Union and Confederate soldiers. You might further assign each students a certain rank. Ask the middle school students to learn how to become the soldier they've been assigned. They need to find out what they wore, if they rode or drove a wagon, what weapons they used and how they survived day to day. As they share the results with the class, compare and contrast the lives of the soldiers from both North and South. Choose an important battle and ask the students to research battle strategies for both sides. What decisions led to victory and which ones led to defeat? Challenge the class to figure out ways they would have responded differently within the limits of the time period.
Medical treatment played a part in the Civil War. Emergency treatment emerged from the carnage of the battlefield as did the importance of cleanliness. Those who treated the wounded found ways to improve care. Have the middle school students research the lives of key medical persons during the Civil War such as surgeon Dr. Jonathan Letterman, Clara Barton, who brought the Red Cross to America, Dorothea Dix and Mary Ann Bickerdyke. Have them show, by quotes and examples, how these medical pioneers changed the face of medical treatment. Create a slide show showing the similarities and differences in how the South and North treated their soldiers medically.
Have middle school students study the life of Harriet Tubman. Books to read might include "Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life" by Beverly Lowry, or "Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom" by Catherine Clinton. Talk about courage and freedom. Ask middle school students what they would do to preserve or gain freedom. Turn middle school students into spies for the North or South. From Tubman's involvement in the Civil War as well that of Allan Pinkerton and other sources, have them put together characteristics, information and supplies they need to succeed in their mission. Have them study a battle and write a scenario in which they assisted the war effort due to information retrieved.