Open Wide, Look Inside

A different time…a different place…What if you were there?

If you lived at the time of the Civil War
-Would you have seen a battle?
-Did you continue to go to school?
-Was it hard to get food?

Each day, decisions are made that touch you.  Some you make, such as what you wear to school and eat for lunch.  Some are made by others, such as when your mother makes a dentist appointment for you.  You and your mother may not agree that you need to visit the dentist.  What you believe is call your “point of view.”
Having two different points of view does not mean that one person is all right and the other person all wrong.  But deciding what point of view will be used is hard.  Most problems can be solved by talking and each person giving in on some things.  This is called a “compromise.”
However, there are times in history when a compromise cannot easily be reached.  People look at the same questions about life and their answers are different.  This book is about one of those times when different point of view led to war.
It was a war that divided the nation.  People had to decide whether to support the North of the South.
The war has been called the brothers’ war because families fought both sides.  It also has been called the children’s crusade because children as young as nine years old were part of it.  It touched the lives of all who lived through it no matter what their age or where they lived.  It changed life in the United States forever.  It is known as the Civil War. (pg.6-7)

If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War by Kay Moore and illustrated by Anni Matsick is a book about what is was like to live at the time of the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.  It tells about life in the North, or Union side of the war, and in the South, or Confederate side.

Curriculum Connections

If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War can be read when introducing the causes, major events and effects of the Civil War (SOL USI.9).

Additional Resources

1) The Civil War for Kids is a website that Mrs. Huber’s students at Pocantico Hills School in Sleepy Hollow, New York composed about what they learned about the Civil War.

2) This is a civil war PowerPoint that a teacher from Mountain View Elementary School in Harrisonburg, Virginia made.

3) This civil war timeline breaksdown the events by year.

Book:  If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War
Author:  Kay Moore
Illustrator:  Anni Matsick
Publisher:  Scholastic
Publication Date:  1994
Pages:  64
Grade Level:  3-6
ISBN:   0-590-45422-6

A history book with humor? Yes, it exists!  Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner is sure to be a classroom favorite. This book is full of facts about Abraham Lincoln but it presents them in a fun way.

Students will learn many things about Lincoln in Abe Lincoln’s Hat. The book begins with Abe as a lawyer and continues through his failed run at the U.S Senate, ending with him as a President fighting slavery.  What makes this book unique is that it does a great job describing Abe as a ‘real’ person. We learn that Lincoln loved jokes but more importantly, we learn that Abe Lincoln wasn’t perfect. Lincoln was very forgetful.  “Abe had an idea. His tall Hat! He could push letters deep inside it. He could stuff notes into the leather band. When he took off his hat, the papers would remind him what he had to do.” I think it is so wonderful for children to learn that important historical figures weren’t perfect.  

Abe Lincoln’s Hat is a great resource to teach kindergarteners and first graders about Abraham Lincoln (VA SOL K.1a and 1.2).  This book can be used to teach history, a little bit of geography (Lincoln is from Illinois), and has great potential for art projects.

Additional Resources:

• This is a fun activity for a class that is learning about Abe Lincoln. The students make a log cabin out of pretzels and icing.
• I really like this printable of Abe Lincoln’s hat with lines on it. The students can either write their own facts about Lincoln or they could cut and paste statements about Abe from a separate paper the teacher prepares.
• Here is a lesson plan that uses the book Abe Lincoln’s Hat.

Book: Abe Lincoln’s Hat
Author: Martha Brenner
Illustrator: Donald Cook
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1994
Pages: 48
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN: 0679849773

If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America, written by Anne Kamma and illustrated by Pamela Johnson, is a comprehensive book that answers many of the questions students may have about slavery.

What was it like to be a slave in America?  Where would you sleep?  What would you eat?  Could you get married or go to school?  How hard did you have to work?  When did slavery end?  If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America answers all these questions and many more in language that is easy for students to comprehend.  It is written in second person language so that students are easily engaged in the information.  Each page provides an illustration that truly conveys the many injustices that African Americans faced during times of slavery.  This is an excellent book to use when discussing the Civil War and slavery.  It could be shared with a whole class by the teacher or students could easily explore it on their own.

“Where did American slaves live?”
“Most lived on farms called plantations.  Some plantations were small farms with only a few slaves.  Others were big, with hundreds of slaves.  Most were in between.”

“What would you wear?”
“Every winter, owners handed out new clothes to their slaves.  But often owners didn’t give them enough clothes to wear, even though it was the slaves’ hard work that made the owners rich.”

“What would your name be?”
“Your father and mother might name you Sally or Ned, after a favorite grandparent.  Or Kagne or Cuffy, after an African ancestor.  Some children were named after of the week they were born on, just as many children in Africa were.  Sometimes the owner gave children the names he wanted them to have.”

Curriculum Connections:
If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America really addresses all aspects of the lives of African American slaves.  This book correlates nicely with the Virginia History and Social Science Standards of Learning VS.7 which covers the issues that divided the nation and led to the Civil War, including the roles of whites and enslaved African Americans.

Additional Resources:
Runaway Slave Project:  This is a project for older students.  The goal of the project is for students to pretend that they are a runaway slave, traveling on the underground railroad.  Students must use their research to describe their path, write a journal, and create a map of their journey.  This site provides a nice list of resources for students to use for research.

Slavery Is…:  This is a project that a fourth grade class did in 1998.  It is an activity that could be recreated in a classroom or simply shown to students to encourage them to think of their own definitions of slavery.

Underground Railroad activity:  This activity from National Geographic is like a ‘choose your own adventure’ online.  Students are told that they are slaves traveling on the Underground Railroad and are given different choices to click on such as approaching a safe house or hiding in the woods.

Harriet Tubman Reader’s Theater:  This is a reader’s theater for students to act out about Harriet Tubman’s life.

General Information:
Book:  If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America
Author:  Anne Kamma
Illustrator:  Pamela Johnson
Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc.
Publication Date:  2004
Pages:  80 pages
Grade Range:  3-8
ISBN:  049567068
ISBN-13:  9780439567060

O is for Old Dominion, written by Pamela Duncan Edwards, is a wonderful children’s story that outlines major historical figures and historical sites across the state of Virginia.  The story also highlights other aspects of the state such as beaches, universities, cities, and natural resources.  Each page of this story contains a short, rhyming text in the middle of the page as well as a longer text that goes into more detail on the outside of each page.  O is for Old Dominion is beautifully illustrated by Troy Howell and each of his illustrations appropriately depicts the alphabet letter described on the page.  At the end of the story there is a fifteen question quiz about Virginia facts from the story.

• “E is for the Emanicpation Oak where they read out Lincoln’s law, saying slaves and their descendents could walk through freedom’s door.” (pg. 6)
• “R is for John Rolfe, who made Pocahontas his wife.  She changed her name to Rebecca and enjoyed colonial life.” (pg. 24)
• “Which military general had to choose whether to lead the North or the South in the Civil War?  Which side did he eventually lead?” (pg. 35)

Curriculum Connections:

O is for Old Dominion is a great way to introduce students to a unit on the state of Virginia and it’s history.  The story defines the civil war, military and government leaders in Virginia history, geographical regions of Virginia and colonial sites in Virginia.  Pamela Duncan Edwards makes great connections with the Virginia state SOLs VS.2, VS.3, and VS.10 in Virginia Studies which have students demonstrate knowledge of physical geography and native peoples both past and present, demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America and demonstrate knowledge of government, geography, and economics.

Additional Resources:

• These activities engage the students in the ways the Powhatan indians survived: fishing, farming, and hunting.  Students are taught that almost everything these indians did revolved around nature.
• This lesson plan allows students to locate the state of Virginia on a map, as well as the capital, and their hometown.  Students will also observe pictures of the city of Richmond and learn about the governor of the state.
• This map- making procedure highlights the four regions of Virginia and has the students outline each region on their own map.  They are: Tidewater, Piedmont, Ridge and Valley, and Appalachian Plateau.

General Information:
Book: O is for Old Dominion
Author: Pamela Duncan Edwards
Illustrator: Troy Howell
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Publication Date: September 2005
Pages: 40
Grade Range: K- 3
ISBN: 9781585361618

Independent Dames, written by Laurie Anderson and Illustrated by Matt Faulker, is a whimsical book that addresses all the ignored contributions that women made during the American Revolution.

The book begins by addressing the other half of history, the part that we aren’t taught in schools. Believe it or not, women actually held a vital role during the Revolutionary War and the book’s main focus is to take you on a journey through those significant roles. Women and girls supported the troops by providing them with food, clothes, and shoes for survival. They also spied on the enemy and passed on any battle plans they heard while eavesdropping. “Pioneer dames were extra tough. They fought off enemy troops by pouring boiling water on them and firing muskets from frontier forts.” Each page pays respect to the actual women  in history who preformed these jobs and provides a time line  for the Revolutionary War.

Curriculum Connections

Independent Dames should be used in teaching students about the American Revolution. It helps students understand how “everyone” was involved in winning the war against Britain. This book can be used with SOL:

USI.6 (a, d) Students will demonstrate knowledge of the cause and results of the American Revolution by: identifying the issues of dissatisfaction that lead to the Revolution and explaining reasons why the colonies were able to defeat Great Britain. 

Additional Resources

• Women of the Revolutionary War: Provides  background information on the roles of women during the American Revolution. This is a kid friendly website designed for late elementary/middle school students. It has background information on a few important women and it even provides a list of jobs women took over while the men were away at war.
• Revolutionary Women of South Carolina:Provides a lesson plan overview for teaching 8th graders about the roles of women during the American Revolutionary. Students have to compare and contrast the roles of women from today’s world vs then.
• Women in the Revolution: This site provides a 5th grade lesson plan for teaching students about the roles of women during the revolution. It includes a matching game for students to play.

Book: Independent Dames
Author: Laurie Anderson
Illustrator: Matt Faulker
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Press
Publication Date: June 2008
Pages: 40 pages
Grade Range: 3-5
ISBN:978-0689858086

The book Chesapeake ABC is a entertaining rhyming book that discusses animals and objects found in the Chesapeake Bay. David Aiken is the illustrator and the pictures are really colorful and easy to identify the main idea on the page. Each letter is presented very large for students to read easily. This book can be used to incorporate learning the ABC’s as well as learning the importance of the Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake ABC also teaches young kids new words as well:

” E is for egret,

So feathery and fair.

E also stands for eel,

Who slithers here and there.”

There are also other books in this series called Chesapeake 1-2-3 and Chesapeake Rainbow from Priscilla Cummings as well as other books that involve animals found in the bay. They can be viewed at her website.

Curriculum Connections:

Chesapeake ABC can be used to help students learn the letters of the alphabet and different aspects of the Chesapeake Bay. It discusses what animals live there, different types of boats, and even items found near the bay. It can be used to cover VA SOL VS.2.

Additional Resources:

• The VA Department of Education has a page devoted to lesson plans for teachers on the Chesapeake Bay. One is called “Captain John Smith’s Chesapeake Bay.”
• National Geographic has a lesson plan about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
• Chesapeake Bay.net has some printable coloring pages of animals found in the Bay and also two printable coloring books.

Title: Chesapeake ABC
Author: Priscilla Cummings
Publisher: Tidewater Publishers
Publication Date: 2000
Pages: 30
Grade Range: K-1st
ISBN:0870335251