Unit 3: Samhain
A House Divided: Civil War & Reconstruction
5 weeks (Oct 20 – Nov 21) • 2nd Principle: Justice, Equity, Compassion
Unit Overview
Samhain, when the veil between worlds thins, is a time to honor ancestors and confront difficult truths. This unit examines America's greatest moral crisis: slavery and the Civil War that ended it. We read the words of those who lived through this era—enslaved people, abolitionists, soldiers, and leaders. In physics, we study thermodynamics, exploring how energy transforms and why some processes are irreversible.
Literature Focus
Slave narratives, abolitionist writing, Lincoln, Civil War poetry
Math Focus
Rational expressions and equations
Science Focus
Thermodynamics: heat, energy, entropy, heat engines
History Focus
Slavery, abolition, Civil War, Reconstruction
📝 Note for Parents
This unit covers difficult historical content including slavery, violence, and injustice. These topics are presented age-appropriately but honestly. Consider your student's readiness and be prepared for meaningful conversations about America's past and its ongoing effects.
Weekly Lesson Plans
A Nation Divided
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Opening Samhain ritual: Honoring ancestors. Who are the ancestors of American freedom—and who was denied that freedom?
📚 Language Arts
Slave narratives: Frederick Douglass 'Narrative of the Life.' Discuss voice, authenticity, and bearing witness.
📐 Math (Algebra II)
Rational expressions: Simplifying, finding restrictions. Domain of rational functions.
🔥 Science (Physics)
Introduction to thermodynamics: Heat vs. temperature. Thermal energy and molecular motion.
🏛️ History
Antebellum America: Slavery's expansion, the Missouri Compromise, growing tensions between North and South.
🎨 Art
Quilts as communication: The Underground Railroad quilt code (historical debate). Create a symbolic quilt square.
🏃 Movement
Walking meditation: Reflect on the journeys of those who escaped slavery.
Voices Against Injustice
🕯️ Hearth Circle
The 2nd Principle: Justice, equity, and compassion. How did abolitionists embody these values?
📚 Language Arts
Abolitionist literature: Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' excerpts, Sojourner Truth's 'Ain't I a Woman?'
📐 Math (Algebra II)
Multiplying and dividing rational expressions. Complex fractions.
🔥 Science (Physics)
Heat transfer: Conduction, convection, radiation. Real-world applications.
🏛️ History
The Abolitionist Movement: Garrison, Douglass, Tubman, the Underground Railroad. Strategies for change.
🎨 Art
Protest music: Spirituals and freedom songs. Learn and analyze 'Follow the Drinking Gourd' or 'Wade in the Water.'
🏃 Movement
Conduction experiments: Metal vs. wood spoons in hot water, heat transfer races.
The Breaking Point
🕯️ Hearth Circle
When is conflict unavoidable? Discuss the moral weight of the slavery question.
📚 Language Arts
Lincoln's speeches: 'House Divided,' First Inaugural. Analyze rhetoric and historical context.
📐 Math (Algebra II)
Adding and subtracting rational expressions. Finding common denominators.
🔥 Science (Physics)
Laws of thermodynamics: First Law (conservation of energy in thermal systems).
🏛️ History
Road to war: Dred Scott, John Brown's raid, Lincoln's election, secession. Point of no return.
🎨 Art
Civil War photography: Matthew Brady's work. Discuss how photography changed war documentation.
🏃 Movement
Thermodynamics in cooking: Observe heat transfer while preparing a meal together.
War and Sacrifice
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Samhain honors the dead. Remember those who died in the Civil War—on all sides, including civilians.
📚 Language Arts
Civil War poetry: Walt Whitman's 'O Captain! My Captain!' and 'The Wound-Dresser.' Emily Dickinson's war poems.
📐 Math (Algebra II)
Solving rational equations. Checking for extraneous solutions.
🔥 Science (Physics)
Second Law of thermodynamics: Entropy. Why does heat flow from hot to cold?
🏛️ History
The Civil War: Key battles (Gettysburg, Antietam), the Emancipation Proclamation, the experience of soldiers.
🎨 Art
Letter writing: Write a letter in the voice of a Civil War soldier or family member left behind.
🏃 Movement
Entropy demonstrations: Mixing colors, ice melting, disorder increasing.
Reconstruction and Its Failure
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Closing Samhain ritual: What was lost during this era? What ghosts still haunt America today?
📚 Language Arts
Reconstruction voices: Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois (preview). The 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments.
📐 Math (Algebra II)
Rational inequalities. Graphing and solving. Sign analysis method.
🔥 Science (Physics)
Heat engines and efficiency. The Carnot cycle. Why can't we achieve 100% efficiency?
🏛️ History
Reconstruction: Hopes and failures. The brief flowering of Black political power. Jim Crow's rise.
🎨 Art
Memorial design: Design a memorial for an aspect of this era (enslaved people, soldiers, Reconstruction).
🏃 Movement
Heat engine demonstration: Build a simple heat engine or observe one in action.
🎉 Celebration
Samhain Remembrance: Create an ancestor altar including historical figures from this unit. Share stories of those who fought for justice.
📺 "Just Can't" Day Alternatives
When formal lessons aren't possible, these resources cover similar content:
- • The Civil War (Ken Burns PBS documentary series)
- • 13th (Netflix documentary on the 13th Amendment's legacy)
- • Crash Course US History - Civil War & Reconstruction episodes
- • Khan Academy - Algebra II: Rational expressions unit
- • Glory (Film about the 54th Massachusetts Regiment - PG-13)