Registration for the June 1, 2013 National History Day in Pennsylvania Teachers Workshop at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, PA is now open.  The workshop will run from 9 AM to 4 PM with a break for lunch.  Lunch is available from our on-site café.

Thanks to scholarships provided by the Library of Congress’ Teaching with Primary Sources program, there is no cost for attending teachers.

Workshop sessions will include:

• Topic development for the 2014 contest cycle.
• Archival resources in the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center collection.
• Writing and Refining a Thesis
• Engaging students with primary sources.
• Developing evidence based NHD projects

To register, please follow this link:  http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e7ih9jjihgtg6ngd/start

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jeff Hawks at   717.258.1102 or eddirector@armyheritage.org

I received the following email the other day and I encourage you to support this terrific cause

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I hope this finds you well.  I’m writing to ask for a favor.  The museum I’ve been working on, Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office, is one of 24 finalists in a grant contest held by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  The historic site with the top vote automatically received $100,000.00!  Although we peaked at 7th place, we’ve recently slipped to 11th, which will be out of the running.  All you need to do is register at the site and vote for Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office every day through May 10.  Every time you share a post on Facebook about voting or retweet a message on Twitter that contains #clarabarton we receive extra points!  The website is http://www.preservedmv.com.

Please help me spread the word by asking your friends and family to vote for us!  Clara Barton began giving to anyone and everyone she could in need from the Civil War in 1861 to her death in 1912.  The Missing Soldiers Office is just one aspect of her extraordinary life that continues to support the military and civilians around the world today.  Winning this grant will enable us to restore and reinstall the original building’s windows.  Miss Barton deserves to have a first class museum to inspire others to continue her work.

THANK YOU in advance

Susan Rosenvold
Superintendent
Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
clarabarton@civilwarmed.org

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I interview Ginger Lewman and we talk about Project Based Learning and how it can engage students in “doing history”.

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Music is by Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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Ginger Lewman 

Life Practice PBL

Kevin Honeycutt

Just a quick post to some links that I found recently.  Remember to follow my on Twitter (@fifer1863) to get all the links I share.

Civil War Unit http://www.squidoo.com/civil-war-unit

Battles Wiki - http://lonerganpmsdhistory.wikispaces.com/Home

Civil War in the American South http://www.american-south.org/?Welcome&Welcome&Welcome

 AHA Today Blog Post on Teaching the Civil War

Seven Miles to Freedom tells the story of a young man  who was born a slave, but escaped to freedom with his family. Robert Smalls’s  story brings details of the Civil War to life through his daring adventure.  By reading Seven Miles to Freedom and completing the activities in “Full Steam to Freedom” children  can learn more about the Civil War, Robert Smalls, and maps.

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I talk about Civil War leadership and how both Armies were structured during the Civil War.  Everything from privates to colonels, regiments and corps.

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Music is by Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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From Regiment to President: The Structure and Command of Civil War Armies

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I talk about my recent trip to Kansas where I did some professional development to teachers on the Common Core Standards.

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Music is by Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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Flack Check 

Here is a tool that I have been exploring and showing teachers how to use for a while now and it’s high time I shared it with you, my readers.

Google news provides you with the ability to search their archives going all the way back to the late 1800s.  This is a great tool to let your students do some historical research.

Searching the Google News Archive

Let’s say you want to search for articles on Clara Barton from the late 1800′s through the early 1900′s.

First, go to: http://news.google.com/archivesearch and enter in your search requirements.

Now that you have entered your search criteria, click search and you can view the results.

Notice the dates of the results, the are all within our search range.  Next, let’s say you want to read the article about Clara writing to Mr. Roosevelt.  Simply click on the link and you can view a copy of the newspaper article.

This is a great way for your students to do research and interact with primary sources.

Just a quick Civil War themed Halloween post for everyone to enjoy.

Here is a photo from the October 26, 1861 edition of Harper’s Weekly.  It is called “Jeff Davis, Reaping the Harvest” and shows Confederate President Jefferson Davis standing in a field gathering crops with skulls on top of them.

If you check out the high resolution version, you can really find some cool things in the image.  Can you and your students find:

1. All of the skulls?
2. The snake
3. The noose
4. The vulture

More questions for deeper thinking:

• Why would the paper portray Jefferson Davis in this manner?
• What is the significance of the various objects hidden in the image?
• What is Jefferson Davis actually reaping?

Just another quick and easy way to integrate primary sources into your classroom.

Happy Halloween!

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Resources for National History Day Workshop

When: 5-7 p.m. Thursday, November 1

Where: At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania – 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Register online: http://nhdresources.eventbrite.com

Attend this teacher workshop to find out about the unique offerings of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, including lesson plans and primary and secondary sources that will help you incorporate National History Day into your classroom throughout the year.

Each year, more than half a million students nationwide participate in National History Day, a unique program in which students choose a topic related to the annual theme, conduct primary and secondary research and present their findings. With more than 600,000 printed items and more than 21 million manuscript and graphic items that span over 350 years, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a valuable resource for teachers and students participating in NHD.

The workshop will be conducted by Claire Frosch, teacher and Beneficial National History Day Fellow. Beneficial Bank generously supports the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s involvement in National History Day. Act 48/CEU credits are offered.

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I interview Mr. Norman Ball.  Mr. Ball is an author, musician and play write who has penned a new musical based on the Red Badge of Courage called the SIDES Musical.

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Music is by Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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Normal Ball online

SIDES Musical on Facebook

SIDES Musical Clip on YouTube

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I talk about my recent trip to Sharpsburg, MD and sleeping on the Antietam Battlefield.  I also talk about the battle and some suggestions for teaching the topic.

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Antietam National Battlefield

Antietam YouTube Channel

With the upcoming 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam you might want to go check out their YouTube Channel and learn more about the battle.

Here is one that provides an overview of the events of September 17, 1862:

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Druart who is also known as the Civil War Kid.  Andrew is learning about the Civil War and raising money for Battlefield preservation.

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Music is by Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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Civil War Kids

Civil War Kids on Facebook

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I am talking about a recent family trip to Ft. McHenry in Baltimore where we spent a some time learning about the fort and the Star Spangled Banner.

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Ft. McHenry National Park

Here is a photo of my three boys holding the 30′x42′ garrison flag after helping to fold it.

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I am talking about computer troubles, conference travels, and finding primary sources from the Kansas Historical Society and their Kansas Memory Project.

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The Kansas Memory Project

Various types of music played key roles throughout the Civil War from the fife and drum to the bugle calls which rallied the soldiers and directed them on the parade ground and in battle. There were sentimental and patriotic songs which soldiers sung in camp in order to pass the time while remembering the homes they left behind.

There are numerous activities which will expose students to some of the most popular sounds of battle and songs of camp life, thereby bringing the emotions of the period to the forefront. The following example provides combines the use of low tech audio CDs with the high tech Internet.

First, the teacher can purchase any number of Civil War music CDs. Groups such as the 97^th Regimental String Band, Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray and David Kincaid provide an excellent collection of some of the most popular songs of the period while Camp Chase Fifes and Drums is a nationally known fife and drum group with three CDs from which to choose. Some of these websites even provide sample clips from some of their more popular songs.

If you have access to iTunes, then you can search for Civil War era music. If you search for 119th NYSV within iTunes, you should get a list of songs from the 119th New York Field Music. These songs provide not only some of the more popular marching tunes of the period but also some of the camp duties musicians would have been required to play.

Second, search the Internet for the lyrics to several popular songs. The website Poetry and Music of the War Between the States has lyrics to many period songs. Then you can divide the class into several different groups, perhaps one Union and one Confederate, and assign each group a particular song. Each group can learn to sing their song and discuss the words as they relate to the context of war.

Next, provide the entire class with the words to “Home, Sweet Home.”This is a tune which both sides of the war would have known and sung. Students can then talk about the commonalties among all soldiers, such as missing the comforts of home and the companionship of loves ones.

Finally, do a YouTube search for Camp Chase fifes or even Civil war fife and drum and you will get a great collection of videos of Civil War reenactors playing period songs on fifes and drums.  Below is a sample of Camp Chase Fifes and Drums playing Frog in the Well and Old Zip Coon:

Enjoy the music…

Available online document from Western Illinois University Malpass Library of a National Union League Pledge.

The Digitization Center has been making historical documents available online. The database access is free to the public.
Civil War enthusiasts our library has digitized Charles Miles National Union League Pledge.

It is dated February 18, 1865 (originally 1863). This document from the league which began in 1862 to promote Union loyalty and support for President, Abraham Lincoln.

Loyal Leagues,comprised upper middle class men who supported efforts such as the United States Sanitary Commission, which helped treat wounded soldiers after battle. The Clubs supported the Republican Party, with funding, organizational support, and political activism. The National Union League helped appoint Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. This particular document is a signed pledge by a constituent, Charles Miles, agreeing to give unwavering loyalty to the United States government, and to support its efforts to ‘suppress The Rebellion’, of the southern states involved in the Confederacy. Additionally, to he pledged to ‘maintain the National Unity’.

You may find this document of interest.

http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/wiu_rhist

This is a cool infographic on the Civil War from the Civil War Trust

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I am talking about a recent family trip to Gettysburg where we spent a some time and visited the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting.

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The Gettysburg Cyclorama from the NPS

The Gettysburg Cyclorama from the Gettysburg Foundation

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. In this episode I am talking about a recent visit to the Army Heritage Education Center during their annual Army Heritage Days.  I had an opportunity to interview General John Buford, General Chamberlain and General Ingalls.

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Music is by Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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Confederation of Union Generals

Army Heritage Education Center