Teaching
History Online
Number
31: 24th February, 2002
Introduction
1.
American
Civil War
2.
Child
Labor in the United States
3.
Bob
Baxter's Bomber Command
4.
At
the Court of King Edward VI
5.
The
Peterloo Massacre
6.
Coalmining
in Castlecomer
7.
Medieval
England
8.
SHP
History Revision Site
Introduction
Spartacus Educational
publishes Teaching
History Online
every week. The newsletter includes news, reviews of websites and
articles on using ICT in the history classroom. Members of the mailing
list are invited to submit information for inclusion in future editions
of Teaching
History Online. In this way we hope to create
a community of people involved in using the Internet to teach history.
Currently there are 17,460 subscribers to the newsletter.
John Simkin
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
American
Civil War: Dr. George H. Hoemann, assistant director for distance
education and independent study at the University of Tennessee, has
gathered together in one place hypertext links to the most useful
identified electronic files about the American Civil War. The page
opens a gateway to the Internet's multi-formatted resources about
what is arguably the seminal event in American history. Not only was
the War the occasion for the abolition of slavery, but by conflict's
end the re-United States had emerged as a modern, industrialized power.
The material is organised under the following headings: General Resources,
Secession Crisis, Images of Wartime, Biographical Information, Histories
and Bibliographies, Documentary Records, Local Studies, Battles &
Campaigns, Rosters & Regimental Histories, Civil War Reenactors
and Civil War Round Tables.
Child
Labor in the United States: In 1900 approximately two million
children were working in mills, mines, fields, factories, stores,
and on city streets across the United States. The 1900 census, which
counted workers aged 10 to 15, found that 18.2 percent of the country's
children between those ages were working. The census report helped
to spark a national movement to end child labor in the United States.
It took organizational form in 1904 with the founding of the National
Child Labor Committee. The movement combined moral outrage, new interpretations
of the value of childhood, and dire warnings about racial and national
decay to mobilize support for strict regulation of child labor. Equating
child labor with slavery, some argued that the country had not faced
such a serious moral problem since the Civil War. Jim Zwick's excellent
website provides a wealth of information on the campaign that took
place to bring an end to child labor in the United States.
Bob
Baxter's Bomber Command: This website provides an overall and
concise view of the role of Bomber Command in World War II. At the
press of a button can be seen the memories of the men who flew in
the bombers, and the men on the ground who kept them flying night
after night. Three main targets in that nightmare of all bomber crews
'the Ruhr' of Germany are highlighted, along with aspects of those
dark and dangerous days and more than a glimpse of the impact and
dedication of Bomber Command and its crews. The web site also has
a typical airfield layout as it was in WWII. The
most famous and productive bomber of WWII, the Lancaster is fully
illustrated with photographs and text plus a very detailed photograph
of the Merlin engines that carried the bomber to and from the target
on countless occasions from 1942 to 1945.
At
the Court of King Edward VI: An Internet Adventure! Can you survive
in the cut-throat court of Mid-Tudor England? In this new interactive
devision-making game from Russel Tarr at Active History. You will
learn a great deal about the personalities and politics of Edwardian
England and maybe even get to keep your head! Choose your course wisely,
as your performance is given a score (from 'Jeremy Genius' all the
way down to 'Dumb Duffer'!)
The
Peterloo Massacre: In this activity, produced by Learnall, students
use the Spartacus Historical Encyclopaedia to investigate the tragic
events surrounding the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. After investigating
the causes, course and consequence of the conflict, students are put
into groups representing the different types of people involved (Ordinary
people of Manchester, Radicals politicians, Magistrates, Soldiers
of the Yeomanry, National Politicians).They then use the site to produce
a newspaper report from the point of view of their characters, thereby
gaining a deeper understanding of biased reporting. Homework and extension
tasks are provided, and the entire lesson is closely targeted at fulfilling
key National Curriculum Objectives. Students and teachers wishing
to make use of the LearnAll site have to first get themselves registered
on the site and thereby gain a username and password.
Coalmining
in Castlecomer: This website is the culmination of two years work
by a small Primary School in researching and presenting an area of
Local History that has captured the imagination and interest of people
for decades. An integral part of the project was the use of Information
Technology and to demonstrate how such technology, can not just be
used in the classroom, but can enhance the delivery of the curriculum
and in particular make it more interesting for the children. The project
resulted in the production of a Website, a Compact Disc and a 320
page Book on Coalmining in the locality. Coalmining, of course, was
a way of life for so many for so long in this area. A large model
of one of the mines was also constructed.
Medieval
England: This site is targeted at 11 to 13 years old. Topics covered
include 1066 and the causes of the Norman invasion, the Battle of
Hastings, the Bayeaux Tapestry, castles, the decline of castles, glossary
of castle terms; feudalism; medieval farming and the farming year;
the lifestyle of the medieval peasant; food and drink in Medieval
England; the Domesday Book; the medieval church; Thomas Becket; Magna
Carta; Health and Medicine in Medieval England; the Back Death; the
Peasants Revolt of 1381; life in a medieval town; guilds; law and
order; Medieval Xmas; the Crusades; the First Crusade; the Third Crusade;
Saladin and Richard I; what did we get from the crusades?
SHP
History Revision Site: This web site is designed specifically
for students of GCSE history schools history project offering free
online support to all students. Features found on the web site include;
online lessons, multiple choice revision tests, exam practice with
model markschemes, top revision tips and downloadable revision notes
and links out to numerous relevant history sites and other revision
sites. There is also an ask a teacher facility for students in difficulty.
All materials are authored by an SHP examiner.
Please email John Simkin at spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
if you have information you want included in next month's edition
of Teaching
History Online.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
