WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR?
The NORTH was known as the __________________________
and wore _____________ colored uniforms.
The SOUTH was known as the___________________________
and wore _____________ colored uniforms.
____________________________________________________
PRE-READING WEB QUEST:
Start by visiting www.civilwar.com
Check out the Interactive Battle Map. Find Virginia. Find Manassas 1.
~ What other name was the first battle of Manassas called?
~ What date did this battle occur?
~ Which side won?
Click on “Overview” on the top menu. Under “Causes,” the root causes of the
Civil War can be broken down into ___________________________________,
______________________________, _____________________________ and
___________________________________.
Click on “Weapons of the Civil War Soldiers.” What two non-injuring uses did a bayonet
have? _______________________________ and ______________________________
Why were the bullets made of soft lead so dangerous?
___________________________________________________________________
Click on “Sickness and Disease in the Civil War.”
What odd nickname did doctors in the infirmary have?
Why do you think they got this nickname?
SOLDIER’S HEART
VOCABULARY – CONTEXT CLUES & AFFIXES
INSTRUCTIONS: Throughout this novel, you are to define words by using context clues, prefixes, root
words, and suffixes.
EXAMPLE: FOREWORD, page xiii.
“War is always, in all ways, appalling. Lives are stopped in youth, worlds are ended, and even
for those who survive – and the vast majority of soldiers who go to war do survive – the mental damage
done is often permanent.”
PAGE
xiii
WORD
appalling
DEFINITION
To cause a terrible
feeling or dismay
CLUES TO THE MEANING
Lives stopped, worlds ended,
mental damage done
EXAMPLE: FOREWARD, page xiii
“What they have seen and been forced to do is frequently so horrific and devastating that it simply
cannot be tolerated by the human psyche.”
PAGE
xiii
WORD
horrific
DEFINITION
Causing horror
CLUES TO THE MEANING
Horror is the root word of
horrific
EXAMPLE: FOREWARD, page xiii
“It is called post-traumatic stress disorder by those who try to cure it.”
PAGE
xiii
WORD
post-traumatic
DEFINITION
To happen after
something painful
CLUES TO THE MEANING
The prefix post- means after.
Traumatic has the root word
trauma, which means a wound.
EXAMPLE: FOREWARD, page xiv
“They give it a technical name in the attempt to make something almost incomprehensible
understandable, in the hope that, by doing this, they will make it curable.”
PAGE
xiv
WORD
incomprehensible
DEFINITION
Not
understandable
CLUES TO THE MEANING
The opposite meaning of
understandable is placed right
next to it in the sentence.
Soldier's Heart is based on a true story about a fifteen-year-old boy in Minnesota named Charley Goddard who
lies about his age to join the First Volunteers of Minnesota to fight in the Civil War. Some of the events and time
sequences are not completely factual, but the essential elements of the book's story are true
FOREWARD READING: List the similar terms from reading the context of the novel’s Foreward section.
Modern Term
WWII Term
WWI Term
Civil War Term
Post-traumatic
stress disorder
CHAPTER 1
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
MAIN CHARACTER NAME &
DESCRIPTION
INITIAL CONFLICT
VOCABULARY
PAGE
1
WORD
hullabaloo
3
regiment
6
slogans
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 2
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A
SOLDIER?
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
7
WORD
stout
10
expend
12
formation
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 3
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
DESCRIBE THE PEOPLE HE
IS ENCOUNTERING
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
15
WORD
initially
17
sympathizers
18
conscious
19
profanity
20
infect
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 4
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
WAIT. WHAT JUST
HAPPENED?
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
22
WORD
grade
26
amid
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 5
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
WHY WERE THEY LIED TO?
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
30
WORD
ravenously
36
measured
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 6
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
WHY EAT A WHOLE PIE?
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
41
WORD
expired
43
inevitability
43
prosperous
44
forage
44
dysentery
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 7
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
WHY IS WAR “STUPID”?
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
60
WORD
morale
60
latrines
61
doled
62
dire
63
adept
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 8
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
NEIGH! 
EXPLAIN:
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
71
WORD
DEFINITION
commandeered
73
impending
75
dappled
76
foliage
76
din
79
canter
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 9
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
EXPLAIN “AT LAST HE WAS
RIGHT?”
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
92
WORD
batteries
92
barrage
93
tableau
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
CHAPTER 10
TIME
PLACE
SETTING & CHARACTER:
IS 21 “TOO OLD?”
CONFLICT / PROBLEMS
VOCABULARY
PAGE
101
WORD
corrosion
DEFINITION
CLUES TO THE MEANING
This chapter begins and ends with Charlie thinking of “all the pretty things”. Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Explain one of the themes of this story:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How does Charlie’s character drive the theme of this story?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________