Index of Ancient Egypt Projects for Kids

Egyptian Reed Boat

The Nile River (Drawing)

Cartouches

Mummification

Death Mask

Canopic Jars

Clothing

Weapons

Scribe's Box and Papyrus

Egyptian Feast

History and Geography Fair

Egyptian Reed Boat Model

Since we are beginning our study of Ancient Egypt with the Nile River, we made a model of their reed boats.

At our time spent at Turner's Creek park last week, we gathered some willow branches.

We wanted to make some Egyptian-style reed boats for our study of Ancient Egypt. This pile of branches made two small reed boats, so you need to collect a good amount of them to make the boats.

We followed the directions from Creekside Learning.

We stripped the leaves off the branches and cut them into 12-14 inch pieces in order to make them Playmobil size. Using one of the branches, we tied a bundle of them together, and then bent the bundle by using a rubber band to hold them into a "U" shape, and left it for a few days to dry in that position. We added a couple of zip ties to them to make sure they keep together.

Once dry, you can remove the rubber bands and the boats are ready for display and play.

Originally posted Nov 22, 2013

Halloween Week History: The History of Halloween and Turnip Jack O' Lanterns

“Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,

When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!

When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,

Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!” 

-John Greenleaf Whittier, "The Pumpkin" (1850)

Pumpkin carving is thought to come from the British Isles, where turnips, mangelwurzel or beets were used.

Turnip lanterns, sometimes with faces carved into them, were made on the Gaelic festival of Samhain (31 October–1 November) in the 19th century in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. Samhain was a time when fairies and spirits were said to be active.

The purpose of these lanterns may have been to light one's way while outside on Samhain night or to protect oneself and one's home from the spirits and otherworldly beings,

Comparison of a small pumpkin (back) and a carved turnip (foreground).

 although I can't imagine too much light being produced by a turnip with a candle.

Immigrants from Britain and Ireland brought the tradition to North America. There, the pumpkin replaced the turnip as pumpkins were more readily available, bigger, and easier to carve, which Sam can attest to this being a fact.

In keeping with this tradition, Sam decided to carve a turnip this year instead of a pumpkin.

Some tips in case you ever decide to try it. 

Begin with the largest turnip you can find.

Start by slicing a little off the bottom to make it sit evenly, and slice a bit off the top to make a surface to begin digging out.

Use a melon baller or a heavy ice cream scoop to dig out the center of the turnip.

You don't have much surface to make a face with, so keep that in mind when you decide on the design you will make.

Sam's Owl lantern made from a turnip, 2012

Source: Wikipedia

This post was originally posted October 31, 2012

Civil War, Part 4: 1863

Readings

Part IV: When Abraham Lincoln was a Lawyer from Illinois

Kingfisher, pgs 346-353

Monday: Timeline

1848-1861
Franz Josef
First World's Fair
Napoleon III
Richard Wagner
Mark Twain
Nana Sahib
Florence Nightingale
Oil Well
Jenny Lind
Stephen Foster
Japan and Perry
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Victor Emmanuel II
Woodrow Wilson
Wilhelm
Theodore Roosevelt
Hans Christian Andersen
Stephen Douglas
Jefferson Davis
Willie and Tad Lincoln

Tuesday: Telegraph Office

President issues proclamation to free slaves.
Lincoln signs first Draft Law.
Lee wins Pyrrhic victory at Chancellorsville.
Gettysburg is crucial to victory; Lee retreats.
Mississippi fortress of Vicksburg falls to Grant.
Draft riots erupt in New York City.
Confederates win savage battle at Chickamauga.
President issues Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Lincoln delivers address at Gettysburg.
Union forces win Chattanooga.

Field Trip

Gettysburg, PA

Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center is open 8 am - 6 pm April - October and Park Roads are open 6 am - 10 pm and Soldiers' National Cemetery is open Dawn - Dusk.
From November - March, the Museum & Visitor Center is open 9 am - 5 pm, the Park Roads are open 6 am - 7 pm and the Soldiers' National Cemetery is open Dawn - Dusk.

Entry to the park and visitor center is FREE OF CHARGE
There is a fee for the film "A New Birth of Freedom" at the Museum and Visitor Center, and there are additional fees for Licensed Battlefield Guides and the David Willis house.

Hands-On Activity

Reenactment of Pickett's Charge

If you have enough people, you can reenact this will actors, if not, your student can use plastic soldiers and either take pictures or a video. There is a beginning monologue, but the rest of the action should be described by the student. He should write his script in advance.

Narrator: It is July 3, 1863. For about two hours Southern gunners have sent a firestorm of artillery shells against the Union at a point called The Angle. These guns, however, have not fallen silent. Union Commander George Meade thinks the imminent attack will be a frontal assault on The Angle. He and his men are ready. The stillness is ominous. 

1. Confederate troops start moving forward. (If using actors, start the Confederates 175-200 yards away and have them move at a rate of about 1 yard every second.)
2. All Rebs release their best rendition of the Rebel yell and yell it several times over the course of the battle.
3. Two or three Rebel soldiers are hit and fall to the ground dead; one Union man falls dead.
4. Two or three more Rebs are hit and fall to the ground dead. One is carrying the colors. Another Red picks up the flag and moves forward.
5. A Confederate officer with his sword drawn says, "Home, boys, home. Remember home is over beyond those hills." Two Union boys fall dead.
6. One or two more Rebs fall, one is shot in the chest, another receives a fatal head wound.
7. All Union troops chant several times, "Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!"
8. One Union officer yells, "Glory to God! Glory to God! See the Vermonters go at it!"
9. One Union officer yells, "See 'em! See 'em!"
10. One Union officer yells, "Fire! Fire! Another says, "Come on, boys. Give them the cold steel! Who will follow me? One Union soldier falls dead.
11. The remaining Rebel army turns around and retreats quickly to the woods where they began.
12. General Pickett puts his hands to his forehead and shakes his head in disgust and grief.
13. All Union troops cheer enthusiastically for several seconds to several minutes.
14. General Lee flits back and forth, telling his troops as they return to the woods, "It's all my fault...all my fault."

Culture

Wednesday: Poetry

Research and read poetry composed during the Civil War. (Walt Whitman 's O Captain, My Captain is an example.) Can you write a poem with a Civil War theme?

Thursday: Delivering a Speech

The Gettysburg Address

Have your student deliver this speech, hopefully in costume.

Civil War, Part 3: 1862

Readings

PART III: When Abraham Lincoln Kept Store in Illinois

Kingfisher, pgs 340-345

Field Trip

Antietam /Sharpsburg

Monday: Timeline

1830-1848
Andrew Jackson
Chicago
William Lloyd Garrison
Charles Dickens
Postage Stamps
Black Hawk
Texas
Boers Great Trek
Oregon Trail
China, Hong Kong
Victoria
Louis Philippe
Clipper Ships
Rubber
Telegraph
Ether
Matches
Bathtubs
War with Mexico
Zachary Taylor
Winfield Scott
Gold
Steamships
Photography

Tuesday: Telegraph Office

Battle between ironclad ships ends in a draw.
Grant wins decisive battle at Shiloh.
Admiral Farragut captured New Orleans for Union.
Federal Homestead Law signed.
Stonewall's classic offensive highlights Shenandoah campaign.
McClellan loses Seven Days 'Battle;  Lee could seize momentum.
Confederates win Second Bull Run battle.
Sioux uprising put down in Minnesota.
Bloody Antietam gives Union victory.
Union disaster at Fredericksburg;  Burnside replaced.

Wednesday: Journal

Write a one page narrative describing a chance encounter your character had with someone  (or something ) famous during the Civil War. Perhaps you were at Ford's Theater, or  you ran into a congressman with a box lunch at the first Battle of Bull Run or perhaps you heard Lincoln deliver his Address...use your imagination. You will need to do some research before writing this entry.

Thursday: Projects

Begin Civil War Museum display. Research something that was in important person place or thing in the Civil War and construct a display as if it were to go in a museum. It could be a diorama, a video production or a visual presentation. Visit museums to research how information is presented in a professional manner. Observe how captions, titles, models, pictures and documents are used in the displays. Plan carefully. Your presentation should be both accurate and entertaining. Think about colors, borders, lettering, labels, and the use of audio or video components. Use bright and contrasting colors.Try to limit the written word on your display, while at the same time conveying all the key elements. Use many visuals such as pictures, props or maps. Your presentation must have:

• a neat and clear title
• borders and mats around pictures, captions and maps
• precise lettering
• lots of visuals. Try to keep the word limit to about 500 words. Use pictures, drawings, maps, timelines and props to convey the information.
• Integrate into your display audio or video components.

Civil War Culture

Friday: Music

Listen to recordings of songs people sang during the Civil War. (Dixie. The Bonnie Blue Flag, John Brown's Body, Marching Through Georgia,  Battle Hymn of the Republic, When Johnny Comes Marching Home). If you are musically inclined,  can you compose a Civil War song?

Hands-on History

Baseball

If you have a large enough group to play, baseball the way it was played then would be so much fun! Gloves, masks and other specialized equipment were not used. The ball was, instead a tightly wound ball of twine and bats were long pieces of wood.

Civil War, part 2: 1861

Reading

part II: When Abraham Lincoln was a Boy in Indiana

Kingfisher,  pgs 322-329

Monday: Timeline

1815-1830
Noah Webster
Monroe Doctrine
Simon Bolivar
Sequoia
John Adams
Harriet Beecher Stowe
John James Audubon
Washington Irving
Benito Juarez
Charles Dickens
Victoria
Charles Darwin
William  Gladstone
David Livingston
George Stephenson
Naosuke II
Garibaldi
Leopold
Lion Hong Zhang

Field Trip

Manassas /Bull Run National Battlefield, Virginia

Tuesday: Telegraph Office

Research and include at least 3 supporting details for these headlines in the form of a Telegram.
Seven Southern states secede from the Union.
Jefferson Davis is the new president of CSA.
Abe Lincoln inaugurated 16th president.
Rebels shell Fort Sumter!
President Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers.
Robert E.Lee turns down Union Command
First casualties of war are in Baltimore riots.
Richmond, Virginia becomes new CSA capital.
A hero's death helps Union to secure Alexandria.
Confederates feast on Union civilian lunches after victory at Bull Run.
First income tax in US history levied in North.
Wilson Creek battle extends war in the west.
McClellan is new army chief.

Wednesday: Research

Write an in-depth analysis of your state during the war. What was this state's position and what was the war's impact on it?

Begin work on Presentations project. You may pick one from this list or come up with your own project.

Thursday: Photography

Research Mathew Brady or Alexander Gardner to find examples of Civil War photography. Then, using the style of 19th century photographers, create your own Civil War pictures by staging scenes or posing soldiers that you photograph with your own camera.

Friday: Hands-On History: Marching and Drilling

This needs to be done with a group of students,  but the group doesn't have to be that large. I have done it with three students before. It is a great activity to do in a co-op.
Organize students into two lined with each line 13 inches apart from the row in front of them. Students in each line should be touching shoulders of the persons to the left and right.
The teacher yells,"Company,  attention! "
Students are to stand straight,  facing forward, heels together and the rest of their feet at a 4-5 degree angle. Their arms are to be relaxed with  the pinky of each hand angling their jacket hem. Their head and shoulders are back and facing straight ahead. If they have a weapon,  it is resting at their sides, holding it between their thumb and forefinger along the tight side with the butt resting next to their right foot.

Teacher yells, "Company,  in place, rest!"
Students keep their left foot in place and slide their right foot behind their left in order to form a T. They hold their hands in front, left, over right, relaxed.

Teacher can now roll call soldiers,  if desired. Students respond with "Here, Sir!"

Teacher commands, "Right, face."
Students, two at a time, turn right, the second set, stepping into the space left by the first set.

Teacher yells, "Front" and students move back in previous formation.

Teacher yells, "Forward,  march!" Students step out with their left feet. Teacher keeps rhythm with, "Left, right, left right..."

When marching with a weapon,  teacher should first give the command, "Shoulder, arms!" Students should hold the weapon off the ground with their index and middle finger under the trigger guard. At the command,  "Right shoulder shift, arms," and students should  bring their weapons up to their right shoulder and carry it flat against the shoulder,  holding the rifle under the bottom with their right hand.

When the students are to halt on the march, the command to slide the weapon back to the ground is, "Order, arms!"

Civil War, part 1, The Coming of the War

part 1, The Coming of the War

Reading

Abraham Lincoln's World, Genevieve Foster, Abraham Lincoln is Born, The Story Begins, and part I: When Abraham Lincoln was Born in Kentucky

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, pgs 318-321

Timeline

Make a timeline that includes the years 1800-1815. Add the following people to the timeline in the appropriate places.You must decide whether you are going to add them at their birth time, death time or when they made their greatest impact on history, or all of these.

Napoleon

Beethoven

Dumas

Wellington

Nelson Bucher

Alexander I

Victor Hugo

Thomas Jefferson

Robert Fulton

John Marshall

James Madison

Tecumseh

Henry Clay

Daniel Webster

John Calhoun

Francis Scott Key

Andrew Jackson

The Constitution /Old Ironsides

George III

Role-Play: Making Characters

For this scenario,  you will be making two characters. One will be the field army identity,  a soldier (always male), whatever rank you decide to be and the second will be a home identity, who is a wife, sister, brother,  father,  mother, son, daughter or whoever you want this character to be. The only requirement is that this character must be close to the field army identity. Determine the names, ages, relationships, rank or occupation, family, Hometown, education, character traits and opinion on slavery for both characters.

Write a one page autobiography, fleshing out the character statistics. Fabricate your character's life up to 1861 when the war breaks out.

Journal Writing

• Each entry should be between 3/4 to a full page.
• Each entry should be dated parallel to the events of the week. For example, if you are studying the year 1860, then your entry should be dated sometime in 1860 and the events in the entry should be seasonally appropriate to the month you have picked.
• You should write two entries a week, one from the field identity, and one from the home identity.
• Fill your entries with the things learned about -the events, people and life from the Civil War era. Your writing should always be historically accurate. Each entry should include at least 4 historical facts learned during the week. Highlight the facts with a highlighter pen.
• Try to write as you might write to a relative today but do not use modern slang or references to inventions and conveniences not yet in use or people not yet born. The tone should be conversational.
• Stay in character when you write, referencing the reactions to the events taking place through the character's eyes.

Vocabulary 

Use these words in this week's journal.

Abolitionist

Battery

Cartridge box

Deploy

Envelopment

Flanks

Hardtack

Main attack

Rank

Salt pork

Yank

Telegrams

Each week you will be researching information about the events of the war and condensing them into a brief and interesting telegram to include in your notebook. This week research what was going on in the year 1860 (and before, if you wish) and jot down some of your own conclusions about how what happened before the war, led up to the start of the Civil War. You will have to condense what you have learned into about three facts that you could write in a telegram form.

Map

On an appropriate map :

• Color and label the seeding states in 1861, which made up the Confederacy. Locate the capital. Draw the Confederate flag.
• Color and label the Northern states which fought as the Union. Locate the capital. Draw the Union flag.
• Label the four border states.
• Label the major rivers and mountain ranges in the Confederacy and border states.
• Label the major bodies of water touching the Confederate states
• Label Fort Sumter and add add the date of when the war began.
• Label these major battles:
• Battle of Manassas /Bull Run
• Battle of Antietam /Sharpsburg
• Battle of Gettysburg
• Sherman s March
• Appomattox Court House 

Newspaper Article

Research and write a newspaper article with the headline about the shelling of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

Pioneers, part 3: Weather and the Landforms

part 3: Weather and the Landforms 

Monday 

Timeline

Have your student add to his timeline: Late 1830's: Missionaries began developing the Oregon Trail.

Literature

Begin reading a novel or a nonfiction book of length about the pioneers. Invite your student to reflect on the readings in their notebooks.

Tuesday: Research: Weather on the Overland Route

The weather played a key role in the pioneers' westward migration. Specific weather data can be obtained from Government Depository Libraries. Have your student research what the weather was like for each of the following locations and weeks in 1844, 1852 and 1864.

Independence,  Missouri; 1st week of May

Fort Kearney; 1st week of June

Fort Laramie; 2nd week of July

Fort Boise; 3rd week of August

Fort Walla Walla; 4th week of September

Oregon City;  2nd week of October

San Francisco;  2nd week of October

Have your student find descriptions of the thunderstorms, sand storms, cold nights, hot days and snowstorms the pioneers encountered.

Wednesday: Writing

Have your student synthesize all he has learned about how the landforms and weather for each geographical region made travel easier or more difficult for the wagon trains and write his conclusions in his notebook. He will be using this information later when he begins making a Travel Guide later.

Thursday: The Progress So Far...

Math

The wagon train has been on the trail for three weeks. Have your student figure out about how many miles does his wagon travel each day? How far has the wagon gone? The wagon train went through Alcove Springs to Fort Kearney and along the south bank of the Platte River. How far is Fort Kearney from Independence, Missouri?

Journal Writing

Write about the most significant things that have happened to you, or what you have seen. Be as descriptive as possible. As well as the significant events, also describe what people do in the wagon train before they go to bed. Describe the morning activities from the time everyone wakes up until the wagon train is on the trail.

Friday: The Role-Play

You are beginning to see the need for the all-purpose weapon to a settler, the rifle. It is used for hunting,  fighting and protection. If you do not have a rifle, subtract 1 EF.

Your wagon train is having some trouble because some members did not bring along water and are suffering from the lack of it. If you have the water, do you sell some to those who do not have it? If you do not have enough water, do you decide to continue without it? Or, do you decide to pool your money with others and buy some from another wagon that brought extra water? Remember that not having the money you spent on the water may become important later when supplies are running low, when you have to pay Indians for crossing their land, or when you need other supplies.

Games-Master / Teacher: If he decides to buy the water but not share it, roll a six-sided die 1-no change, 2-add 1 EF. 3- subtract 1 EF, 4 -no change, 5- subtract 2 EFs, 6- add 2 EFS. If he buys the water and shares it, have him roll a four-sided die and he loses that number of EFs and one head of livestock. If he decides to continue without water, have him roll a six-sided die and he loses that number of EFS and 1 head of livestock.

The heat has shrunk the green wood in your wagon wheels and the iron rims on the wheels keep slipping off. You must stop and repair them. 50% 100 DP'S, 50% 200 DPs.

Sagebrush is three feet high and growing as thick as hair on a hog's back and has clogged up the trail and the wagon cannot pass. You must stop and clear the trail. 50% chance that he will get 200 DPs.

You caught your sleeve on a tree branch and tore it. If you have a sewing kit, it can be repaired,  otherwise you cannot use the shirt. Hopefully,  you have a s pare shirt.

You need to  gather some fresh greens and herbs to supplement your diet. If you have brought along a basket to collect them in, this goes quickly, otherwise it takes you some time and you are delayed.

Curriculum and Role-Play: Pioneers

I would like to introduce to you my latest Role-Play Curriculum for Middle and High School students, Pioneers. It is a twelve week curriculum that includes writing, research, hands-on projects and even a bit of math and a field trip suggestion or two. I will be linking each week's lessons to this post for your convenience.


This program is designed for students from Middle School level to High School grades. You will, therefore need to establish for yourself the level which meets the standard for your student(s) grade level(s). The highest level work is complete and has details. The writing should reflect analysis and decision making. Research assignments should be graded on both content and writing skills. They all need to have two resources. Everything should reflect the students' mastery of the material covered.

Students will need a blank notebook to record information. I ask my students to keep wide margins on the left side of their notebook pages and double space their writing  so that they can go back and add questions,  comments and reflections in the margins.



Week 1: Modes of Transportation
Week 2: The Geography
Week 3: Weather and Landforms
Week 4: Landmarks on the Overland Route
Week 5: Plants, Animals and Routes
Week 6: Everyday Life on the Trail
Week 7: Meeting the Elephant
Week 8: Indians
Week 9: On the Trail
Week 10: Rain, Rain, Go Away...
Week 11: Encounters on the Trail
Week 12: The End

Sources:

• Renaissance, Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton 
• Pioneers, Simulation of Decision Making on a Wagon Train, Interact Simulations, grades 5-8
• Westward Migrations, Doris Roettger

(originally published 3/9/`7)

Role Playing History : Patriots and Independence, part VII Presentations Celebration

Reading

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, pgs 314 -317

Shoebox Museum Displays

Now it is time for students to make small replica items and share them along with all the other things the students have made throughout this unit. Everything should fit in a shoebox and everything should replicate something that one would find in a colonial-period museum display.

Museum card includes a list of everything in the box with a description of the item and it's significance.

Students also prepare a brief oral report to accompany your Shoebox Museum Display and card. The report should include an introductory paragraph, a short paragraph on each item, explaining detailed information about each item and a conclusion that also gives three reliable research resources. For the oral report, as well as clearly explaining the significance of every item the student presents, he needs to speak loudly and clearly enough to be heard, make eye contact with the audience and use body language to effectively capture your audience 's attention.

Celebrity Autograph Gala

In addition, or as an alternative to, the Shoebox Museum Displays, you could hold a Celebrity Autograph Gala in which students take on the personalities of a person they have researched. In advance, they will create a message for each of the other participants, keeping in mind what experiences the two famous characters could have had together had fate put them together. On the night of the party, the participants will dress up in costume and mingle with each other, "signing" each other's autograph books by giving them their prepared entries. Once they are all collected, they are bound together into an autograph book. Once the books are complete, guests can mingle and enjoy period treats, keeping in character the whole time.

When students write in their autograph book entries, they are to write a paragraph that captures the essence of their person, reflecting the Era and his role in the era. They are to include references to events and phrases or slogans used during the period. They can include advice, acknowledge help, express appreciation or refer to events that you might have shared with the other characters they interact with. They can practice writing an authentic looking signature.

Sources:

• Renaissance, Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton 
• Patriots, A Simulation and Resource Notebook on the American Revolution, Bill Lacey and Terry Handy, Interaction Publishers 
• Independence, A Simulation of the American Revolution, 1763-1776, Charles Kennedy and Paul DeKock, Interaction Publishers, Inc.

Role Playing History : Patriots and Independence, part VI The Aftermath

Reading Assignment for the Week:

• Read George Washington's World,  Genevieve Foster,  part VII When George Washington was President.
• Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, pgs 310-313

Day 1: Valley Forge Writing Assignment

The winters of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and 1779-1780 at Morristown, New Jersey,  we're horrendous ordeals for George Washington 's soldiers. "These are the times that try men's souls..." Thomas Paine said in 1777. Imagine that you are in winter quarters with the soldiers. Decide how to best describe life in the winter camps using your choice of writing activities.  You could write a series of journal entries writing about the hardships you are facing while enduring the bitter cold, inadequate rations and clothing,  disease  and the heartache of being away from friends and family.  Or, you could write a letter to send to a friend or loved one from a winter encampment.  In whatever writing activity you choose, use lots of emotion to show your understanding of the ordeal of Valley Forge or Morristown for the Patriot soldier.

Valley Forge Trip, 2016

Optional: Field Trip to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Drill Procedure with and without weapons

Beginning drill procedures without weapons, 2009.

In February of 1778, in the depths of that bleak winter at Valley Forge,  Pennsylvania, Baron Frederick von Stuben arrived at the Continental Army's encampment. Baron von Steuben had fought with the Prussian Army for Frederick the Great during the Seven Year's War (1756-1763), and so was hired to be Inspector General for the American Army.

When Baron von Steuben arrived,  the American Army was starving,  ill clad, and low in morale. They were also poorly disciplined and inadequacy trained.  He immediately selected and trained 100 men in the drill techniques proven so effective in earlier wars. These soldiers returned to teach their comrades the new drill techniques.  By June, when they went again into battle, the  British faced a vastly improved Patriot Army. Pretend that you are among the 100 Baron von Steuben initially trained. Your teacher will act as Baron von Steuben and teach you drill techniques with and without weapons. You, in turn will teach the techniques to others just as the original 100 soldiers did.

Day 2

Hands-on Gunnery Drill

You serve on an American Privateer ship. As part of your continuing practice for battle, your watch must drill on effective gunnery techniques but first you must construct a cannon model. Gunnery drills begin by clearing the ship for action. Crew members extinguished all lanterns and cooking fires. The Tars drilled for hours until loading and firing became second nature. Learning to fire a large cannon quickly and safely took hours and hours of practice. Speed of loading and accuracy when aiming in a pitching sea spelled the difference between success and fortune,  or defeat and death.

All gunners stand around the cannon. Usually there were 6 people on each gunnery team. The gunnery captain stands at the back of the cannon. The powder monkey stood behind and to the right of the captain. The firer is on the left and loader is on the right, both at the rear area of the cannon. Toward the front of the cannon are two more gunners, one on the right and one on the left. When ready, the Captain gives the order to "Commerce Firing!" The Gun Captain gives the following commands. (When a gunner completes a task, he always returns to attention, facing the enemy awaiting the next command.):

"Run out your guns." The gunners at the front of the cannon pull back the gonna from the firing holes in the ship.

"Sponge your guns." Front left gunner sponged by ramming home the plunger twice and then calls, "Ready."

"Load" The gunner in the back eight position  gets the powder cartridge from the Powder Monkey, runs up to the front of the gun and places the powder cartridge inside the barrel. The front right gunner then rams home the cartridge to the back of the barrel. While this is happening,  the gunner in the back left position must close the vent with his thumb to prevent venting of the barrel, in case there are sparks left from the last firing.

"Shoot your guns." The front left gunner loads the cannonball into the barrel of the cannon. The front right gunner rams home the cannonball to the back of the barrel.  The rear left gunner continues to close the vent with his thumb.

"Run out your guns." The gunners pull the gun back up to the firing holes in the side of the ship.

"Prime" The gunner in the rear right position pushes a pick through the vent hole to break the powder bag inside the barrel.  The gun captain places a fuse inside the vent, then aims the gun, getting help from the gunners.

"Fire" The rear left gunner blows on the end of the linstock to get the match hotter, brings the end of the linstock to the vent hole and touched the fuse with the slow match, igniting the powder and firing the cannon.

Everyone covers their ears as the cannon fires and then the process begins again.

Jack Tars and Landlubbers Role Play

It is late October and the privateer ship Pilgrim lies anchored in the harbor at Salem, Massachusetts, twenty miles northeast of Boston. The much larger British Royal Navy has dominated the sea war with most of America's small official navy captured or destroyed. The Americans have had some success with privateers, private ships fitted out with cannon, that prey on British merchant ships. In one fierce battle, the now famous A John Paul Jones, with his ship the Bon Homme Richard defeated the British ship Serapis off the English coast.  His victory gave the Americans a needed boost. With both France and Spain entering the war on America's side, the British navy must now protect their possessions in the West Indies, as well as try to provision their armies on the continent. For the privateer captains, the fat convoys of British merchantmen offers a double opportunity - to capture and sell valuable British cargo, thereby making their fortunes and help the war effort against the British.

The scenario opens on board the privateering ship Pilgrim. We used the guidelines for ships from the Colonial Gothic Gamemaster Guide, which takes into account anything you might encounter on board a ship, including wind, weather, types of ships and their good and bad traits. It also covers how to handle combat aboard ships in a game setting, including visual aids that you can cut out and use for role playing. As far as the scenario goes, I let it play out naturally and my student -players gain some British cargo as well as get captured. They then figured out a means for escape back to America. All exciting and historically possible plot lines.

source

Day 3: Continental Army Roleplay

It is early June, 1778. The Continental Army is camped near the Schuylkill River at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. They have spent a terrible winter with little food and clothing, poor shelter and much sickness and disease. Many soldiers have perished, but somehow the army has survived. The spring gives them hope as the organization of the veteran Continental Army has vast improved. The quartermaster and commissary departments have been reorganized  so that more food and clothing is beginning to reach the soldiers. Enlistmens are up due to the bounties offered by the Continental Congress. The most remarkable change, however, is the new drill technique taught to the soldiers by the new Inspector General Baron Friedrich von Steuben. This drill makes the various complicated maneuvers of the army much easier and more streamlined. General Washington is confident that his reorganized army is ready to begin it's new campaign against the British, camped in and around Philadelphia. In this scenario, the student-players are able to participate in the secret attack of the Hessian soldiers after crossing the Delaware River. This is a great opportunity to create lots of  mood and tension for your student-players.

Day 4

Surrender at Yorktown Role Play

It is October 20, 1781. One day earlier Lieutenant General Lord George Cornwallis surrendered his army of over 7,000 British and Hessian soldiers to General George Washington's allied army of 16,000 Continental and French soldiers.

For seven long years,  the war of American Independence has largely been an exhausting and drawn-out series of small battles. During the past several weeks the combined American and French army maneuvered the British Army onto the York peninsula in southeastern Virginia. When the British fleet under  Admiral Graves was turned back by the French fleet led by Admiral de Grasse, the British Army was trapped on the peninsula.

After enduring a three week siege with the British army sick, short of food and almost out of ammunition,  Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender his entire force to the victorious Allied army led by George Washington.  This disaster may well mean the defeat of British hopes of victory in America.

After yesterday's surrender of the British army,  the troops on both sides are resting. Though still wary of each other, soldiers from each army begin to talk and some even discuss the war. You are in a mixed group of soldiers near a small creek, about a mile behind the American lines at Yorktown,  Virginia. In this scenario, your student-players get to relax some and perhaps meet new non-player characters. 

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Day 5: Negotiating a Peace Treaty

As a band played The World Turned Upside Down, General Benjamin Lincoln, second in command, accepted the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. When news of the surrender reached London it was enough to convince Parliament to end activities in North America. Over 30,000 British troops remained in America and fighting continued for nearly a year, especially in the south where Loyalist -Patriot warfare turned savage.

On February 27, 1782 the British House of Commons voted against any further war in North America and authorized the crown to make a peace treaty with the Americans. The British sent representatives to Paris to start the negotiation process. Congress authorized four commissioners to negotiate with the British on the issue of recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation. The senior American Representative was Benjamin Franklin, who had been in Europe since 1776 arranging a French alliance.

You will now act as a member of the delegation sent to negotiate the Peace Treaty. You must first decide on proposals which are either the most important or ones the other side might agree to include in the final peace treaty. You might also want to consider the French and Spanish viewpoints on the situation. Spain,  for example,  was not an ally of the United States but was an ally of France and wants some sort of prize for its participation. Spain, who was already in Florida,  wanted that. The entire Mississippi Valley is also on their wishlist. The Spanish also want Britain to return strategically located Gibraltar to them as promised by France in the Franco - Spanish alliance. The British does not want the Franco - Spanish alliance to continue, so they may be inclined to align with the Americans with generous terms.

Your goal in the negotiations is to get your opponent to agree on your highest priority proposals without your opponent knowing exactly what that highest priority is. The final treaty must include at least 10 negotiated articles. You may, however   have to give up something to get something in return. Try to give reasons for your acceptance or refusal of the British's proposals.

"Let's put aside our differences for the cause of peace and consider my first proposal. .."

For the Teacher

Your goal is to steer, but not require your students to negotiate the proposals that we actually adopted, and drop the proposals that did not actually make it to the peace treaty.  In this way, you will be helping to facilitate their understanding of how we came to the peace treaty that was adopted. Here is the actual articles of the Peace Treaty of 1783.

His Britannic Majesty acknowledges that the United States are now free, sovereign and independent states.

Great Britain recognizes the boundaries of the United States as excluding Canada, to extend westward to the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, southward to the 31st parallel, and eastward all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Americans have the right to continue to fish off the banks of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland,  a region considered to be one of the world's best fisheries.

All legal debts incurred during the war will be honored by both countries.

Americans will make strong efforts to cease persecution of Loyalists,  hopefully redress their grievances and restore lost property and assets.

Navigation of the Mississippi River (source to ocean) will be open to both American and British subjects.

All remaining British troops will evacuate from the United States.

Oath of Patriotic Loyalty  

(an excerpt based on a Rhode Island Oath)

"I (name), in the presence of Almighty God,  do swear that I will neither directly or indirectly assist the wicked instruments of tyranny and villainy, commonly called the King's Troops and navy, by furnishings them with provisions and refreshments of any kind.

Nor will I convey any intelligence,  nor any advice to the enemies described; and further I pledge to inform authorities immediately if I should get knowledge of such treason.

I do further swear that when asked I will take up arms and subject myself to military disciple in defense of the rights and liberties of America.

So help me God!

Signed:

Don't want to sign this? Then prepare to lose your assets and your life

source: Wikipedia
Tory refugees going to Canada.

Tory Role Play

A Loyalist, also called a Tory after the Conservative political party in England, was often identified by reusing to take a patriotic oath, singing God Save the King, celebrating the King's birthday  (June 4th) and continuing to buy British goods and drink British tea. You are going to now explore what it was like for the Tories after the war. In your role-play scenario,  your students will meet with a Tory who is willing to pay you for protection. Josiah Thornton was the owner and editor of the Hartford Chronicle. At first, Josiah,  a Yale graduate, and his wife, Rebecca, tried to remain neutral observers, but  after the Boston Massacre,  it was impossible for him to be unmoved or unbiased   He began writing editorials in support of  Parliament ' s laws and acts and this rubbed the Patriots the wrong way. Josiah was upset by the propaganda used by the Patriots after the massacre, especially Paul Revere's engraving of the incident. In a series of editorials,  Josiah described the Boston mob to be inciting, unruly and clearly the cause of the outbreak of violence. After these editorial ran, Josiah's life became unbearable. At first the Patriot neighbors just harassed him, refused to include him socially. The young boys taunted their 10 year old son and the women refused to include Rebecca in their social activities. But as Josiah continued to support the King, things turned more violent.

On the night of June 3, 1770, Josiah was taken from his home, bound and gagged, and dragged to his newspaper office.  There he watched the whole destruction of his office   printing press, records and furniture. He was released but as he went home, he discovered that his wife's garden was destroyed, his six horses missing and anti-King slogans painted on the side of his barn. With his newspaper effectively shut down, he had to a job in a stable in a nearby town. He is appealing to you for your help as he has received several threats.

It is now October and he is now being asked to take the Loyalty Oath, with an angry mob following. What do you do to help him?

If you are unable to appease and disperse the angry mob then frustrated,  Josiah shouts, "It is better to be ruled by a so-called tyrant 3,000 miles away than by 3,000 tyrants one mile away!" This set off the mob and unless you are able to do something the mob holds you back, strips Josiah of his clothes, dislocating his arm in the process and then they pour hot tar and dumped feathers over his body. They then turn to you, accusing you of being a Tory and unless you can convince then that you are not, you find yourself being knocked out and wake up with Josiah five hours later alongside the road a mile from town.

Sources:

• Renaissance, Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton 
• Patriots, A Simulation and Resource Notebook on the American Revolution, Bill Lacey and Terry Handy, Interaction Publishers 
• Independence, A Simulation of the American Revolution, 1763-1776, Charles Kennedy and Paul DeKock, Interaction Publishers, Inc.
• Colonial Gothic, Gamemaster Guide, Rogue Games