Teaching
History Online
Number
75: March, 2003
Introduction
1.
On
This Day
2.
Sherman's March: Final Revenge
3.
Castles
4.
Schools
History Image Galleries
5.
Victorian
Dictionary
6.
History
ThinkQuest
7. National
Archaeology Days
8. Archaeolink
Prehistory Parks
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 25,600 subscribers to the newsletter.
John Simkin
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
On
This Day: This new website showcase of some of the most significant
stories broadcast by BBC News since 1950. Nearly all the stories contain
video or audio and are written as if the event had only just occurred,
drawing on archive media, old newspapers and historical reference
books. All news reports finish with an "In Context" box.
This gives a brief rundown on what happened next. There are several
ways to look round the site - you can search by date, as well as by
theme and by correspondent. The Witness section of the site provides
the opportunity for people to email details of their role in these
events.
Sherman’s
March: Final Revenge: They say that history is written by the
victors. This is one small, yet significant, piece of America's Civil
War history that the victors would have preferred not to have been
told. It is not a story of glorious battles and thousands of dead
and wounded on bloody fields of valor. It is the story of how in times
of war horrendous and militarily unjustified things can happen to
defenseless civilians and private property. February
17, 1865, is singularly the most important day in the history of South
Carolina and Columbia, the state’s capital. The
first hand accounts of soldiers and civilians, who were part of this
tragedy, paint a clear picture of events and motivations unfettered
by historical interpretation and explanations.
Castles:
The site was designed by Ruth Galbraith, a teacher of history at Sligo
Grammar School in the West of Ireland. It is aimed at Key Stage 3
in the U.K. and First Year in Ireland - i.e. ages 11 to 13. It contains
six pages, which look at Norman and Stone Castles. The site illustrates
what life was like in a castle with plenty of graphics. The training
and life of a knight are examined and there is also a page on attacking
and defending a castle. The site has plenty of visual material and
links to other sites with elements of a Web Quest, which form part
of a quiz running through the site. There is also a small amount of
interactivity to engage the student on three of the pages.
Schools
History Image Galleries: These galleries contain a combination
of photographs taken by webmaster at different sites, pictures contributed
by users of the site and images believed to be in the public domain.
Most of the images have accompanying captions. In general these are
based on information given to the webmaster at the site where the
photographs have been taken. All captions are in the process of being
checked for accuracy at the moment and any necessary corrections will
be uploaded early in the New Year.
Victorian
Dictionary: Lee Jackson's website provides a collection of first-hand
descriptions of Victorian London life. Subjects covered include architecture,
childhood, clothing, crime, death & dying, disease, education,
entertainment, food & drink, health & hygiene, houses &
housing, maps, markets, police, politics, prisons, photography, religion,
science, transport, weather and women.
History
ThinkQuest: The ThinkQuest library contains unique educational
websites that have been created through ThinkQuest competitions and
programs. The library currently contains more than 5,000 websites
to search and surf. The History section include material on the Pacific
War, Holocaust, Stalin, Nicaragua, Balkan Conflict, Cold War, Russia,
India, Aztecs and Singapore.
National
Archaeology Days: Each year the Council For British Archaeology
runs National Archaeology Days (NAD). The aim of this annual event
is for young people and their families to be encouraged to visit sites
of archaeological/historical interest or museums/heritage and resource
centres, to see archaeology in action and take part in activities
on-site. Over the years, it has been recognized as an important event
in increasing public awareness and interest in archaeology. It also
provides an excellent opportunity for the promotion of venues and
for encouraging people to join in the work of their local societies.
In past years some venues have opted for a themed day e.g.: Roman,
Saxon, Viking, medieval. Activities can be tailored to suit particular
circumstances and if necessary participant numbers restricted by pre-booking.
Activities that are very popular include: site tours, excavations,
artefact handling, surveying, writing on wax tablets, coin striking,
themed food, Roman games, pottery making, combat displays, object
identification, prehistoric crafts, basket making, weaving, flint
knapping, museum quizzes, finds washing, treasure hunts, mosaic making,
wattle and daub wall building, finds sorting, audio-visual displays,
leatherwork, runic writing, brass rubbing, calligraphy, competitions,
tile making, processing environmental samples, corn grinding, fabric
printing, wool spinning, site drawing, heritage trails and walks,
seeing Roman armour being made and excavating a dustbin.
Archaeolink
Prehistory Parks:
A valuable resource on the Prehistory of Scotland and especially the
North East is under threat by a cut in funding or worse. A possible
total withdrawal of financial support which, would lead to Archaeolink
Prehistory Parks inevitable closure by Aberdeenshire Council. The
Archaeolink Prehistory Visitor Centre at Oyne, Insch, Aberdeenshire
gives a wonderful insight into the regions Prehistoric, Pictish and
Celtic past and as an educational resource and attraction to visitors
from all over the world is an extremely worthwhile experience. For
the tourist and local alike the centre helps direct visitors to the
many hundreds of historical sites throughout the North East of Scotland
and expands our knowledge of Scotland’s historical roots and
past culture of it’s people.
Book
Section
Soldiers:
Fighting Men's Lives, 1901-2001: In this book Philip Ziegler chronicles
the lives of nine enlisted men. Ziegler paints detailed portraits
of these extraordinary yet ordinary men who now reside in the Royal
Hospital Chelsea - a three-hundred-year-old institution still serving
its original purpose of caring for military veterans. Soldiers is
military history that looks beyond the battlefield and into the family
lives, daily routines, and battle-tested values of veteran servicemen.
To read this book is to understand what soldiers fight for and how
they fit into the world today. (ISBN 0 452 28409 0)
.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
