Welcome to the Aurora Crew Language Arts class website for Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt.  This website is primarily intended for our students' use while reading the novel, and contains links to general information about the Civil War, as well as links to specific people, places and events mentioned in the text.  
Students may jump directly to Class Assignments or Chapter Resources for more specific links.

General Civil War Resources

The American Civil War: The Struggle to Preserve the Union  
Map of the Union & Confederacy
Other Civil War Maps 
The Valley of the Shadow Project
Frequently Asked Questions, Part 1
Frequently Asked Questions, Part 2
The American Civil War Homepage
The United States Civil War Center  
Battles (alphabetical listing at the U.S. Civil War Center)
Vermont in the Civil War
Civil War Terminology 
Civil War Quotes 
This Week in the Civil War 
This Day in the Civil War (what happened on this date, 1861-1865)
Financing the Civil War Exhibit at the Museum of American Financial History
Civil War Medicine (brief description plus extensive links with follow up information)

Class Assignments

Journal Entries

#1  On p. 41, Bill and Jethro talk about the war.  Bill explains his thoughts about the causes of the war in the paragraph beginning about halfway down the page: "The South and the North and the East and the West--we all started it."  Explain what Bill means in this paragraph, and your reactions to what he says.  200 words.

#2  On p. 104, Matt Creighton says, "This war is a beast with long claws."  What does he mean by this?  How do events in Chapter 6 in particular show this to be true?  How do the Creightons and their friends in town deal with the chain of events in Chapter 6 and 7?  How do you feel about this?  200 words.

#3  At the beginning of Chapter 9, Hig Phillips is murdered in part for avoiding the draft.  A gang of deserters takes up residence nearby, camping at Point Prospect.  Union soldiers come looking for Eb, explaining that he has deserted from the army.  Shortly thereafter, Eb returns home.  After reading the articles on the draft and desertion, and viewing the other documents on the board (poster & article), explain what two choices Jethro has as he decides how to respond to Eb's desertion.  Why is this a difficult choice for him?  How do you feel about what Eb has done?  200 words.

Living Pictures Assignment

    Living Pictures Handout

Final Group Project: Across Five Aprils Webquest

Secession Debate

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