Great Civil War Projects You Can Build Yourself

Grade 5-8–This interesting collection of projects is divided into two sections: On the Battlefield and On the Homefront. Subsections include Bands and Music and Soldiers' Food; they contain background information and two or three projects. Although this is not a comprehensive history of the war, Anderson includes little-known facts that will interest children unfamiliar with the conflict and Civil War buffs alike. The more than three dozen projects and recipes range from simple to quite difficult. Readers learn how to make a lean-to, a quilt, a working telegraph, and more. Most of the required materials are household items or are easily obtainable at a hardware store. The instructions are complete, but are illustrated with only gray-and-white drawings. Some of the same activities are found in Janis Herbert's The Civil War for Kids (Chicago Review, 1999), which offers a more complete history, but has fewer projects. A useful resource for any Civil War curriculum.