Teaching the Civil War with Technology

Just a quick list of items that I’ll be adding to the wiki.  I hope to be doing these more frequently so stay tuned.

Harriet Tubman Interact Map from Harcourt School — A cute little interactive that allows students to learn more about Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman Webhunt from Scholastic — A great resource that includes tons of links and resources related to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

Unraveling the Underground Railroad Webquest — Nice webquest where students  become individuals involved in the Underground Railroad (slaves, slave owners, conductors, Northerners) and will come together and discuss this important historical event.

Across Five Aprils Resources , Study Guide for Across Five Aprils and the Across Five Aprils Webquest — provides some good resources for those who use this book in their classroom

Free at Last: Slavery in Pittsburgh, Pa – The exhibit documents early slavery in Pennsylvania including slaves’ journeys from Africa, through the abolition movement and the aftermath of the Civil War. The website is divided into sections: the Middle Passage to Early America, The Freedom Papers, Fugitive Slave Laws and Escapes, Abolition, Civil War and Aftermath, and a Photo Gallery.

Lincoln:  Booth’s Last Days — great collection of videos and links to resources from the History channel on John Wilkes Booth

Posted under Miscellaneous, Websites

The Gettysburg Cyclorama, officially known as the “Battle of Gettysburg” Cyclorama, is a 360 degree circular painting that depicts Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. According to the Gettysburg National Military Park, it’s one of the last remaining cycloramas in the United States.

The Gettysburg Cyclorama was created by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux. Starting in 1882, Philippoteaux spent several weeks sketching the battlefield in order to accurately depict the climatic charge. Philippoteaux also had the opportunity to interview several veterans of the battle in order to obtain their thoughts on how the battle transpired.

Over the next 18 months, Philippoteaux and his assistants created the massive work and finally the “Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg” opened in Chicago in 1883. He then went on to paint a second version to be shown in Boston in 1884 again to tremendous acclaim. This Boston version of the painting would eventually come to reside in Gettysburg in 1913. The National Park Service in Gettysburg purchased the painting and placed it in the visitor in 1962. The Gettysburg Cyclorama is 359 feet long, 27 feet high and weighs an estimated 3 tons.

Currently the Gettysburg Cyclorama is undergoing restoration and will be moved to the new visitor center in 2008.

Thanks to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation, you can download hi-res TIFF images of the painting and restoration project. These hi-res images allow you to zoom in and see parts of the painting in great detail, including some of the damage and the on-going restoration.

Ideas for the classroom:

• Have your students think about if they were Philippoteaux in Gettysburg in 1882, what types of questions would you ask, what would you be sketching, what would you be looking for?
• What would be some of issues related to creating a painting of this size?

• Have your students view a portion of the painting and have them sketch a section.

These are just a couple of ideas. What ideas do you have for integrating this into your classroom?

Until next time…
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References:
Heiser, J. (2005, Dec). The gettysburg cyclorama. Retrieved July 17, 2007, from Gettysburg National Military Park Web site: http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettcyclo.htm

Posted under Lesson Ideas, Miscellaneous

The Teaching American History Podcast series has a two-part lecture that I would like to share with you.

The lecture is on the causes of the Civil War and is presented by James McPherson. You can read a description of the lecture HERE:

Here is the link to Part 1

and

Here is the link to Part 2:

Posted under Miscellaneous

Just sharing that on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. EST, the Weider History Group and American Military University will present a webcast on the Battle of Shiloh.

The following is from the website for the webcast:
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The fact that the first major battle of the Western Theater did not take place until spring 1862 indicates the difficulty both sides had in mobilizing their armies in the much larger and more rugged West. But could a decisive victory at Shiloh have changed the outcome of the war?

The Battle of Shiloh was the Confederacy’s first great effort to roll back the tide of Union success in the decisive Western Theater of the Civil War. It was also the Confederacy’s best chance for victory. For the Union, Shiloh was the first major test for Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the leaders serving under him, namely Don Carlos Buell and Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman. How were these men viewed after their victory at Shiloh? Conversely, how did the Confederacy deal with Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston’s death? Could any Confederate general have prevented Union invasion on the Cumberland or Tennessee Rivers?

Join American Military University and the Weider History Group for this live webcast event that will highlight the importance of the Battle of Shiloh and the effect it had on the outcome of the Civil War. Our speakers will also discuss what would have happened in case of a decisive Confederate victory at Shiloh.  Such an event would have removed Grant and Sherman, the Union’s two ablest commanders, and would have opened the way to probable further Confederate victories that might have changed the outcome of the war.

The webcast will also include a question and answer session.

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You can register for the webcast by clicking HERE!

If you cannot make the webcast you can still register for the recording.

On May 18th, they will also be conducting a webcast on the Battle of Gettysburg

Posted under Miscellaneous

As you know, my daughter has her Civil War Sallie project that is traveling around teaching and learning about the Civil War.  Well, my son CJ has created his own project named Patriot Pete.  As the newest member of the Follow Me Project family, Patriot Pete was created to get kids to learn more about how we as Americans show our patriotism and support our armed forces while teaching about using technology.

Pete is traveling around  looking for classrooms, famous American landmarks, military bases, and other places around the country that are important to our history.  He would love to come visit you in order to learn more about patriotism while sharing his experiences on his blog and Flickr page.

Please go and check out Pete’s home page and if you teach about some aspect of patriotism, live or work on or near a famous American landmark, military base or museum I hope you can sign up to have Pete come visit you.

Posted under Lesson Ideas, Miscellaneous, Websites