Louisa May Alcott longed to fight in the Civil War to end the scourge of slavery, but like most nineteenth-century women, was relegated to the ranks of wartime nurses and seamstresses. Learners watch a short dramatization of Alcott's experience during the Civil War, and discuss how the events influenced her future writing.

Concepts

louisa may alcott, the united states civil war, slavery, abolitionists, the abolitionist movement, the underground railroad

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Have class members watch the video before reading Little Women, and have them compare Alcott's personality traits to those of Jo March
• Use as an interdisciplinary bridge between a Civil War unit in social studies
• Pair the video with the writings it references

Classroom Considerations

• Video is a dramatized account and documentary, which may be engaging for some learners but off-putting to others

Pros

• Provides auxiliary materials for implementation

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.11-12.7 RL.11-12.9 SL.7.2 SL.8.2 SL.9-10.2 SL.11-12.2