Civil War and Digital Storytelling: Recent Episodes
Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D.
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 Bullet Poem Project + Civil War Reproduction Set + Interview with Tom Wheeler: Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails
- 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.
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article in their May/June 2009 (vol. 35) edition (p. M15) titled Drummer Boys: Creating Historical Fiction and Studying Historical Documents.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
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
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Click here to access the PowerPoint slides presented during the first session of this module.
Click here to access the PowerPoint slides presented during the second session of this module.
Click here for the course syllabus for the Civil War and Reconstruction/Digital Storytelling Module.
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.
This two-page tutorial provides an excellent overview tools within Audacity. It was provided by Craig Cuddihy of VEGAS PBS.
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.
Sites that allow you to access primary source materials are available on the Social_Studies Delicious site.
Audacity, a free, open-source audio editing application, is available at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
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.
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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.