Talking to 6th grade class about CW - Help needed!

[kbear]

I will be talking to my daughter's 6th class about the CW and need some help narrowing the discussion to fit into a class period. So, I'm asking for your help. If you could teach these kids ONE thing about the war, what would it be? Thank in advance - can't wait to see the suggestions!

 

[Barrycdog]

HardTack, bring a sample and mention it had worms in it.

 

[dlofting]

Sixth graders will probably be more attentive and retentive if they can actually see and touch something. Do you have access to anything like uniforms, equipment, flags, medical tools/supplies, etc.....these can be authentic or replicas. I'd build my presentation around what I could show them. Barry's suggestion of hardtack could be expanded to include other foods that soldiers typically consumed.

 

[Billy Yank]

There's a very nice film entitled, "A New Birth of Freedom," narrated by Morgan Freeman that they show at the Visitor's Center at Gettysburg. It's about 22 mins. long and you can find it on "Youtube." Very moving and certainly informative. Definitely get their attention. If you can get your hands on a laptop computer and a projector, this would be a great introduction to a 6th. Grade Class.

 

[Northern Light]

Sixth graders will probably be more attentive and retentive if they can actually see and touch something. Do you have access to anything like uniforms, equipment, flags, medical tools/supplies, etc.....these can be authentic or replicas. I'd build my presentation around what I could show them. Barry's suggestion of hardtack could be expanded to include other foods that soldiers typically consumed.

I agree this these suggestions. Pick a theme like "Life in Camp" and stay away from anything controversial. Drummers and Buglers might be a good topic to, as some of those would be around the same age, and you could explain some of the different calls and drum beats and what they meant, and have pictures of Johnny Clem and others

 

[TerryB]

I'm with those who say make it a show and tell about flags, uniforms, drums, bugles, etc.

 

[JerseyBart]

I will be talking to my daughter's 6th class about the CW and need some help narrowing the discussion to fit into a class period. So, I'm asking for your help. If you could teach these kids ONE thing about the war, what would it be? Thank in advance - can't wait to see the suggestions!

Head over to the U of ACW forum for pages and pages of good ideas.

 

[samuel orris]

The first thing that came to my mind was exactly what Barrycdog suggested. Make some hardtack and share with the class.

 

[kbear]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep them coming!

 

[Drew]

There was a similar thread a week ago, with some pretty good advice on how to approach this age group. I don't really have an answer to the question but wanted to bring that back up. I would probably tell 11 year-old children about growing pains that lead to a conflict so great that lead to war and that Americans South and North fought for what they believed was right. I'd let the kids ask me about the conflict and try and explain it. There really is no "ONE thing" about the war I'd impart to 6th grade students, wormy hardtack notwithstanding (they will appreciate that). Good luck to you.

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/need-advice-on-a-lincoln-lecture.105900/

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

I did a few programs for younger Cub Scouts and my son's 3rd grade class.....Since I am a reenactor, I went in uniform....Discussed life in camp, living in various weather conditions....maybe I'd have food, maybe I wouldn't..... (bring Hardtack with you),....Discuss the contents of my haversack, marching. I have hand-outs of Civil War trivia that we would discuss, song lyrics, the recipe for hardtack....I had major battles/casualties listed (since I live in a small town, I told them that 5 times more people were killed/wounded at Shiloh than people living in our town). Handouts also included major people in the war, a crossword puzzle, etc....

 

[leftyhunter]

I would ask them is it right to own a human being or not? In simple terms show them what slavery was about. The movie Roots is not a bad place to start. Read them a few lines from the various Ordinances of Secession plus a few from autobiographies of soldiers of the Union and CSA. The CW was not about just hard tack and rough camping conditions.
Leftyhunter

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

I would ask them is it right to own a human being or not? In simple terms show them what slavery was about. The movie Roots is not a bad place to start. Read them a few lines from the various Ordinances of Secession plus a few from autobiographies of soldiers of the Union and CSA. The CW was not about just hard tack and rough camping conditions.
Leftyhunter

Geeze, he only has about an hour to condense the War....not a week!!.....I say that "tongue in check", to a point....Of course, include slavery as much as State's Rights, BUT keep it interesting for the audience to whom it is presented.....Consider their attention span vs. amount of time you have to spend....My "Trivia Sheet" addresses the things that you mention, without belittling "rough camping conditions".....The Life of A Soldier is something that they can relate to, as many may have brothers, sisters, mothers or fathers who have been deployed over-seas recently.....

 

[leftyhunter]

I said the CW was more then just hard tack and rough camping . In one hour one could ask the children is it ok to own slaves. This is what Southern leaders per the secession ordinances had to say about slavery. Yes what I wrote can be done in under an hour. The OP asked for suggestions I offer mine he will make his best judgement.
Leftyhunter

 

[ole]

Ooooph! I wouldn't want to have to do that.

I've been here 12 years and one hour just won't work. You're on your own here.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Let us know what you decided, and how it turned out.

 

[Cumpston1862]

I have been doing these classroom discussions for about 5-6 years myself. Much like Barrycdog mentioned...hardtack. I brought some hardtack in the second year I did this and the kids were very excited to try it. So much so that was what the next class was looking forward to trying/hearing about more than anything the next year...go figure. So if you can make enough hardtack for all the kids to try it I would highly recommend it. It does seem to make a big impression. I would highly recommend that you discourage the kids wearing braces to have some though as one child broke a bracket trying to bite through it.

I am a reenactor as well so I presented everything to the class in uniform. I came in fully outfitted and than stripped off my gear explaining what everything was called and what it was for. Than of course I ran through the firing procedure. I was fortunate enough to have access to both a model 1842 and an 1861 Springfield muskets. I explained to the kids the difference between smooth bore and rifling muskets so that they would understand the tactics and the horrible casualties. This of course led the discussion to the medical procedures of the day and the disease problems as well. With this part of the discussion I had the teacher queue up a short youtube video from "Who Do You Think You Are?" The clip where Ashley Judd finds out how her Civil War ancestor's leg would have been amputated.

I mean there are so many things you can discuss it is difficult to cover the "highlights" in just an hour. It might be helpful to make a list of everything you want to present and than organize them with some pictures and historical passages. Be prepared for some glazed eyes and indifferent expressions. Some kids will have no interest no matter what you say or present.

Good luck!

 

[JerseyBart]

I will be talking to my daughter's 6th class about the CW and need some help narrowing the discussion to fit into a class period. So, I'm asking for your help. If you could teach these kids ONE thing about the war, what would it be? Thank in advance - can't wait to see the suggestions!

http://www.hcsv.org/education/educational-programs/
When I taught 5th grade, I used Cold Spring Village's distance learning program on the daily life of civil war soldiers, #6 on this link. It was really comprehensive and my class loved it...very kid friendly.

 

[kbear]

Thanks everyone! What I've done before is to bring the war much more to a personal level and help them relate. I've taken the class list and found soldiers with the same last names as a good majority of the kids and given them what info I can find on them (very minimal). I've also given them pictures of a soldier so they can look into the eyes of someone who was there. To me, you can really capture them, when we make history something they can relate to instead of just some dates and places in a textbook. I also try to touch upon the women's role, USCT, and the immigrant's role. This way, everyone (maybe?) can relate in one way or another. The kids also are amazed by the uniforms and the impact that had on the soldiers life. Thanks again for all the ideas! What would be one fact you'd want them to understand?

 

[Patrick H]

I'd avoid discussion of controversial or political issues. With anything even remotely controversial, you would only be begging some disgruntled parent to raise hxxx with the school board at their next meeting. Stick to some sort of show and tell format. The students will be very comfortable with that and they'll get plenty out of it.