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Grades 8-10: How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability

Wounded from the Battle of the Wilderness, some standing, most lying under a tree next to a brick house.
Wounded from the Battle of the Wilderness. (1864). Photo by J. Gardner. Library of Congress.

Unit Overview

How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability

The Unit Overview features a grid of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies and tools employed, standards, and a list of nearly 100 primary sources used in the unit with thumbnails for each, and 50 secondary sources. (Lists of primary sources in lesson plans include hyperlinks to sources as readable text. Lesson plans detail the UDL strategies and tools that they use.) The Unit Overview also lists all secondary sources and background materials for teachers used in the unit.

This unit could stand alone or integrate with study of the Civil War and Reconstruction, especially on impacts on soldiers and on the government. Link to Grades 8-10 Civil War Veterans Unit Overview. 

Online Exhibit: How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability

Profiles of nurses and disabled veterans, institutional profiles, maps, video recordings, and more materials that support this unit. Link to the exhibit. 

 

Lessons

Grades 6-12 - Intro Lesson: Introduction to Disability History 

Introductory lesson slides call students to use words about disability with respect. The slides include a definition of disability and photos from the Library of Congress that show tools for access. 

Grades 8-10 - Lesson 1: A Nation Shocked by War

Lesson 1 slides offer a compelling battlefield drawing as a question focus for the Question Formulation Technique. 

Grades 8-10 - Lesson 2: Care for Wounded and Disabled Soldiers

Students discuss the Union's ability to care for injured veterans. Students predict how disability might impact veterans and the nation. Lesson 2 slides provide data and historical context. 

Grades 8-10 - Lesson 3: Stories of Men and Women Who Served

The class analyzes a story of care for a disabled veteran. Pairs or groups analyze one of seven stories and share the main points for discussion. Lesson 3 slides share images and words of veterans. 

Grades 8-10 - Lesson 4: Agents of Care

Students analyze and discuss profiles of ten institutions that served veterans. In the unit assessment, students explain how the experiences of nurses and veterans changed views about the responsibilities of government.  

Grades 8-10 - Lesson 5: Veterans Today

Students examine experiences of disabled veterans through video interviews from the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Students may research veterans' needs and organize a project to support them. 

 

Screen shot of the cover of the unit plan for How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability
Grades 8-10 Unit Overview: How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability
Link to a google doc of the grades 8-10 How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability Unit Overview.
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A photograph of President George H.W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. He is seated at a table outside, there is a fountain in the background. Four other people surround the table, three men and one woman, two men are using wheelchairs. Justin Dart sits to the president's left, wearing his trademark cowboy hat, a suit, and a button that supports the ADA on his lapel.
Grades 6-12 Lesson: Introduction to Disability History

Link to a google doc of the grades 6-12 lesson: Introduction to Disability History. 

Includes slides. 

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In this sketch, four men in civilian clothes and hats carry a soldier with a bandaged leg, perhaps toward a covered wagon which has a U.S. flag. Two surgeons in shirtsleeves are cutting off the leg of a soldier lying on a table table. One surgeon grips the man’s leg. The thigh bone and stump are clearly visible. The other leg dangles, still wearing a boot. There are buckets on the ground. Four other men also attend the operation, including one working on a shelf at the back of a medical wagon. Two men in un
Grades 8-10 Lesson 1: A Nation Shocked by War

Link to a google doc of lesson 1 for the grades 8-10 Civil War unit.  

Introduces and sets up the context for the unit. 

Includes slides. 

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A print of a drawing of the fairgrounds for the Great Central Fair. The skyline of Philadelphia is in the background of the image. In the center, a large American flag flies over the fair buildings, including a central hall and a large white circular tent. People are lined up to enter the fair from the surrounding streets.
Grades 8-10 Lesson 2: Care for Wounded and Disabled Soldiers

Link to a google doc of lesson 2 for the grades 8-10 Civil War unit.  

Includes slides. 

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A Black Union soldier in a sergeant's uniform proudly cradles the United States flag that he carried at Fort Wagner. He uses a cane. He stands in front of a false background of army tents.
Grades 8-10 Lesson 3: Men and Women Who Served

Link to a google doc of lesson 3 for the grades 8-10 Civil War unit.  

Includes slides. 

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A picture of a sprawling campus fo the National Soldiers Home shows residences, workshops, fields, and woods.
Grades 8-10 Lesson 4: Agents of Care

Link to a google doc of lesson 4 for the grades 8-10 Civil War unit.  

Study institutions that served veterans. 

Includes slides. 

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Screen cap from an oral history interview with Jim Munroe. He wears his priests' collar. He is balding and wears glasses. He sits in front of shelves of books.
Grades 8-10 Lesson 5: Veterans Today

Link to a google doc of lesson 5 for the grades 8-10 Civil War unit.  

Includes slides. 

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A bearded young man stands in an unbuttoned sergeant's jacket, showing the three chevrons of his rank. Both his sleeves are empty. His right upper arm is raised, resting on the staff of a tattered United States flag.
How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability - Exhibit
Nine stories of nurses and disabled veterans and ten profiles of institutions created to aid veterans–plus maps, a background essay, and more.
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Upcoming Workshops

Building Access to DBQs for Multilingual Learners - ILC
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The Multilingual Learner Collaborations project of the Massachusetts Council for the Social studies is presenting in the Immigrant Learning Center public educat…
Teaching Disability History Conference - July 8, 2025 - Keene, New Hampshire
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Keene State College (KSC) received a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) project grant in October, 2024. Link to the project announcement.