Civil War and Digital Storytelling

Recommended Children's and Pedagogy Literature: Civil War and Digital Storytelling

2010-12-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

I recommend the following books for use when teaching the era of the the Civil War era to students in intermediate-level grades:

...If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War by Kay Moore
Pink and Say by Polacco, Patricia
Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington: 1837-1865 by Cheryl Harness
Drummer Boy: Marching to the Civil War by Ann Warren Turner
My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary by Mary Pope Osbourne
Enemies of Slavery by David Adler
Young Heroes of the North and South (Cobblestone the Civil War) by Sarah Hale
Visual Dictionary of the American Civil War by John Stanchak
Discovery Kids Magazine: Civil War Issue
The Cemetery Keepers of Gettysburg by Linda Oatman High
...If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln by Ann McGovern
. . . If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier by Lynda Durrant
Hold the Flag High by Catherine Clinton
Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Warren Turner
Silent Thunder by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Abraham Lincoln by Amy L. Cohn and Suzy Schmidt
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith

Civil War: Resources

2009-10-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Myriad resources exist for teaching about the Civil War. Some of those I recommend include:

Teaching with Documents about the Civil War: National Archives and Records Administration
Civil War Related Weblinks: U.S. Civil War Center, Louisiana State University
Civil War Animated: http://www.civilwaranimated.com/
Eric Langhorst Podcast: Langhorst merges history, teaching, and technology in this incredible podcast. He has a particular interest in Civil War history so many of his episodes reflect the era.

Civil War Traveler Tours Podcast: This podcast introduces several location of major events, particularly battles, from the time of the Civil War.
Photos from the Civil War: This blog includes and links to several sites with pictures from the Civil War (including drummer boys and black soldiers)
Panoramas of Historic Sites: This resource from HistoryBuff.com includes audio- and video-based panoramic presentations about important events in American history. Many of the available panoramas relate to the Civil War era.

Civil War: Resources (Focus—Drummer Boys)

2009-10-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

The National Council for Social Studies Middle Level Learning Journal included an article in their May/June 2009 (vol. 35) edition (p. M15) titled Drummer Boys: Creating Historical Fiction and Studying Historical Documents. The article includes a handout identifying relevant online resources for studying Civil War drummer boys. It lists several websites including primary sources and a description of each site and its educational relevance. You can find those websites listed and linked below; to access the complete article and site descriptions, please access the original article (Note: You must be an NCSS member to access this archived publication).

Camp Life: Gettysburg National Military Park, National Park Service
Child Soldiers in the Civil War: Digital History
Civil War Drummer Boys: eMINTS National Center
The Union Army Uniform: Memorial Hall Museum of Deerfield
The Civil War through a Child's Eye: American Memory, Library of Congress
Johnny Clem: Ohio History Central

A Civil War Bulletin Board

2009-09-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

After seeing this bulletin board example in the April 2008 edition of OAH Magazine of History, I saw the potential for modifying it for use when teaching about wars. What a wonderful way to have students learn from while creating a bulletin board!

Listening to the Voices: Using a Child's Perspective to Teach the American Civil War to Adolescents (Delise Sanders)

2009-09-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

I recommend this slideshow presentation delivered by Delise Sanders at the National Council for History Education Conference in 2008. The conference slides overview information of interest to adolescent learners and include suggestions for integrating Civil War content into classroom activities.

Exemplary Student Work: Greenlagh's Lincoln's Pen

2008-03-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Neil Greenlagh's Lincoln's Pen

Role: Abraham Lincoln's pen
Audience: Fifth grade students visiting a Lincoln Museum
Format: An audio recorded so museum listeners can learn about the artifacts through headsets
Topic: The writings of Abraham Lincoln

Feedback of Lincoln's Pen by Gail Sabbs

Exemplary Student Work: Palen's Simpson Book Review

2008-03-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hear the attached mock KNPR book review of Brook D. Simpson's America's Civil War scripted and produced by Kristin Palen as part of this grant module.

Digital Storytelling Resources

2008-03-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

The below sites include information about digital storytelling as well as examples and links to resources (e.g., websites offering free audio resources):

Center for Digital Storytelling by Joe Lambert
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling by Bernard Robin
Digital Storytelling by Helen Barrett
50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story by Alan Levine
SITE Screening Room by the Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education SIG: Digital Storytelling [Take special note of the social studies video on Lincoln's address]
Copyright-Free Music

Jamendo

Exemplary Student Work: Modesitt's Simpson Book Review

2008-02-29T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hear the attached mock KNPR book review of Brook D. Simpson's America's Civil War scripted and produced by Monica Modesitt as part of this grant module.

Class Session II Lecture Slides

2008-02-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

Click here to access the PowerPoint slides presented during the second session of this module.

Primary Sources

2008-02-27T18:50:00.001-08:00

Sites that allow you to access primary source materials are available on the Social_Studies Delicious site.

Seeking Financial Resources for Your Classroom?

2008-02-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

Consider Donors Choose as an option for writing grants to accrue funds for your classroom. You could discuss your experience during this module and request several iPods and digital voice recorders for your class.

The organization matches teachers with donors. In return your must include pictures of your students using the items you received and your students must send thank you notes to the donor. Clark County teachers are encouraged to participate in the current Clark County Teachers Unite Challenge on Donors Choose.

Another option is Digital Wish.

Clark County Education Association also awards small grants (up to $500) to classroom teachers in Clark County. You do not need your principal to sign off with any of these three groups.

Using iPods in the Classroom

2008-02-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

Below are links to several websites that offer suggestions for how you can use iPods educationally.

Apple's iPods in the Classroom: This is the portal for Apple's information about using iPods educationally. Click on the "Learn More" links on the bottom of the page.
iPod and iTunes for Teaching and Learning: This document introduces new users to the basics of iPod use. It provides a step-by-step guide to educators who are just beginning to use iPods and digital voice recorders.
Learning in Hand/iPods: This website, developed by Tony Vincent, provides suggestions for teachers wishing to integrate iPods into their instruction.
Springfield, Illinois' iPods in the Classroom: This site provides examples of how teachers and students use iPods educationally.

Session I Class Slides

2008-02-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Click here to access the PowerPoint slides presented during the first session of this module.

PhotoStory 3 Tutorial

2008-02-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

The linked document provides a tutorial for teachers wishing to use PhotoStory 3 in their classrooms. It provides step-by-step instructions and screen shots to guide educators through the process. It was compiled by Craig Cuddihy of VEGAS PBS.

Audacity Overview

2008-02-13T13:44:00.001-08:00

This two-page tutorial provides an excellent overview tools within Audacity. It was provided by Craig Cuddihy of VEGAS PBS.

Audacity Slideshow

2008-02-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

This slideshow was developed by Craig Cuddihy of VEGAS PBS to train teachers in the use of Audacity, an audio editing program available for free on both PC and Macintosh platforms.

Audacity

2008-02-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Audacity, a free, open-source audio editing application, is available at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Assignment: Digital Story

2008-02-13T13:41:00.001-08:00

Click here for the assignment sheet for this module's digital story assignment.

Assignment: America's Civil War Book Review

2008-02-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

Click here for the assignment sheet for this module's book review.

Course Syllabus

2008-02-13T13:40:00.001-08:00

Click here for the course syllabus for the Civil War and Reconstruction/Digital Storytelling Module.

Introduction to the Civil War/Digital Storytelling Module

2008-02-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Audio Introduction to the Module

This podcast was developed as part of an elementary-level Clark County School District Teaching American History Grant. The three-year grant will fund six modules per year with each module focusing on a different era of American history and a different pedagogical theme. This podcast focuses on the the Civil War and Reconstruction and Digital Storytelling. Participants in the grant are third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers in Clark County (the greater Las Vegas area), Nevada. Teaching scholars include Drs. Michael Green and Deanna Beachley of the College of Southern Nevada and Dr. Christy Keeler of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As part of this five week module, teachers meet on campus on two occasions and the remainder of their work is completed online. The posts appearing hare also available via the iTunes podcast: “Civil War and Digital Storytelling” (http://feeds.feedburner.com/CivilWarAndDigitalStorytelling).

During this module, teacher participants will complete three projects:

Teachers will use the R-A-F-T (Role-Audience-Format-Topic) strategy, video iPods, and digital voice recorders to record a book review of Brooks Simpson's America's Civil War. The review will be a simulated KNPR broadcast.
Teachers will develop their own R-A-F-T strategy projects relating to the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. They may work alone, collaboratively with other teachers, or they may submit work their students develop as part of a classroom unit on the Civil War era. The final project must included edited audio features such as the inclusion of music and voice modulation.
Teachers must review and evaluate digital stories created and posted by their colleagues. The evaluations must attend to content as well as digital storytelling elements.