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I finished the Civil War today with my students. I passed around the minie balls. We read the Gettysburg Address. We made maps coloring the free and slave states, and others showing the movement of armies. We made the chart showing the relative strengths of the North and South. We learned the names James Longstreet, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, William Tecumseh Sherman, U. S. Grant("hey, what a great name for a general on the Union side!" one student said brightly). We wrote an essay on the life of a CW soldier.("The life of a Civil War soldier was quite complicated." began one essay).
The centerpiece was making a papermache relief map of a Gettysburg like battlefield. I then divided the class into two groups, gave each side wooden tiles representing units of cavalry, infantry and artillery and they fought a battle using a simple set of rules, rolling dice for combat results.
I thought the two sides were going to kill each other. You gained an advantage by entrenching your men(it took a turn) and the yell, "I'm entrenched" preceded most rolls of the dice. Days afterward, "are you entrenched? I'm entrenched" became a class injoke.
The last activity before the test was watching "Glory." As the 54th Massachusetts advances on Fort Wagner, and we see the Confederates preparing to defend the fort, the cry rang out in warning from one student, to the 54th,
I finished the Civil War today with my students. I passed around the minie balls. We read the Gettysburg Address. We made maps coloring the free and slave states, and others showing the movement of armies. We made the chart showing the relative strengths of the North and South. We learned the names James Longstreet, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, William Tecumseh Sherman, U. S. Grant("hey, what a great name for a general on the Union side!" one student said brightly). We wrote an essay on the life of a CW soldier.("The life of a Civil War soldier was quite complicated." began one essay).
The centerpiece was making a papermache relief map of a Gettysburg like battlefield. I then divided the class into two groups, gave each side wooden tiles representing units of cavalry, infantry and artillery and they fought a battle using a simple set of rules, rolling dice for combat results.
I thought the two sides were going to kill each other. You gained an advantage by entrenching your men(it took a turn) and the yell, "I'm entrenched" preceded most rolls of the dice. Days afterward, "are you entrenched? I'm entrenched" became a class injoke.
The last activity before the test was watching "Glory." As the 54th Massachusetts advances on Fort Wagner, and we see the Confederates preparing to defend the fort, the cry rang out in warning from one student, to the 54th,
"THEY'RE ENTRENCHED!"
entrench |enˈtren ch | (also dated intrench)
verb
1 [ trans. ] (often be entrenched) establish (an attitude, habit, or belief) so firmly that change is very difficult or unlikely : ageism is entrenched in our society.
• establish (a person or their authority) in a position of great strength or security : by 1947 de Gaulle's political opponents were firmly entrenched in power.
• apply extra legal safeguards to (a right, esp. a constitutional right, guaranteed by legislation).
• establish (a military force, camp, etc.) in trenches or other fortified positions.
2 [ intrans. ] ( entrench on/upon) archaic encroach or trespass upon.
And did you happen to mention whose 200th birthday it is tomorrow?
Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Happy Birthday to... you!
Sounds like a good ole' time! Sounds tome like you're making the best with what little time you have. Keep up the work and maybe not ALL of the future will be without a clue!
__________________ "In mortal combat, a man may and will become so infuriated by the din and dangers of a bloody fight that his heart will turn to stone and his every de sire [be] for blood."
John Hadley, 7th Indiana after the battle at Port Republic
That's "good ol'time," Dred. And I concur. We have far too few Matthew McKeons in charge of our kids.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
__________________ "In mortal combat, a man may and will become so infuriated by the din and dangers of a bloody fight that his heart will turn to stone and his every de sire [be] for blood."
John Hadley, 7th Indiana after the battle at Port Republic
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Let me add my "well done" and thanks for the job that you do. I had a history teacher in High School that really opened my eyes. Would that there were more like you and him.
__________________ "There must be more historians of the Civil War than there were generals figthing in it... Of the two groups, the historians are the more belligerent." David Donald, Lincoln Reconsidered (1961)
Well done Mathew, thats the way to bring history to life. I just wish my schooldays had been as interesting. History lessons in my day made everything from the Vikings to the battle of Hastings dull.
A good teacher is very valuable to a young mind. I'm glad those young minds have a splendid teacher.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
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"They're Entrenched" 
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