Major themes or topics: Union, Confederate, slavery, prejudice, abolish, secede, Confederacy, emancipation, proclamation, Underground Railroad, assassinate, amendment, US Constitution, activist, abolitionist, plantation

Key content: Students will investigate the Black experience during the Civil War and Reconstruction while exploring the broader complexities of these periods. Through the lens of art, they will analyze how these eras shaped the fight for civil rights and how artists have depicted the challenges of an increasingly diverse America to better understand the legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction and consider their role in addressing these ongoing impacts.

Focus questions: What factors caused the nation to be divided during the Civil War? Why did these divisions between the North and South lead to such deep and lasting conflict during the Civil War? How do the divisions and conflicts from the Civil War continue to influence issues in society today?

DCPS alignment: Grade 5 ELA, Unit 2 - Civil War and Reconstruction and Grade 5 Social Studies, Unit 2 - A Work in Progress: Civil War and Reconstruction