Civil War Calling: The Lehigh Valley Response
Classroom Resources for Educators
Civil War Calling: The Lehigh Valley Response enthusiastically recommend using the American Battlefield Trust's Resources for Educators, specifically their slides entitled, "Life at War." This PowerPoint presentation is a valuable resource for those looking to enhance their history lessons. The combination of historical accuracy, comprehensive content, alignment with curriculum standards, and engaging materials makes it a beneficial tool for educators seeking to bring American history to life in their classrooms.
Local Presentations Created by Students at Moravian University
Additionally, educators may supplement the "Life at War" PPT slides with the slides and videos supplied below. These resources, created by students at Moravian University, highlight some of the local figures from the Lehigh Valley and their response to the Civil War using locally held primary source materials to encourage student interest in learning about history.
What They Carried: Intended to be shown along with the American Battlefield Trust's “What They Carried” slides, this PowerPoint presentation features the replica items available for educators to checkout at Reeves Library. The PPT has images of equipment carried / worn by Union Soldiers and will assist them with answering questions regarding the purpose for each piece of equipment.
The Lehigh Valley Response: This presentation highlights the personal stories of local men and women who enlisted or sought to lend aid during the Civil War. It is a nice supplement to the American Battlefield Trust's “Why They Fought" slides, and seeks to enhance student interest in learning about important battles by connecting them with pictures and stories of local men and women who participated in them. These slides also include links to additional research materials and can be used as a jumping off point for further research into the history of local figures.
Life and Death: There are Civil War memorials in nearly every community honoring local citizens for their service, but who are the veterans that they are memorializing? What were their lives like and why are they being remembered? This presentation explores the life of an average Civil War soldier and the aftermath of the war. It also examines many of the Lehigh Valley memorials and their history, and covers when they were built, who they are memorializing, and the meaning behind their iconography.
How They Communicated: This presentation helps provide a foundation for the development of critical thinking skills by analyzing the personal correspondences of Major John Fredrick Frueauff, Captain James L. Selfridge, and Private James A. Peifer while they were away at war. Coming soon.
Future Installments:
The Battle of Antietam: This section features a short video constructed from the numerous sources available both from the battle and from Lehigh Valley accounts showing how local men participated in this important battle. Twelve men from the Lehigh Valley have been identified in History of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and a Biographical Record of its Families who fought at Antietam. Three of these men were wounded at Antietam and another died in the battle. The information provided includes work done before and after the war, which will give students a more complete picture of these men's lives and not just a snapshot of having been to battle. Coming soon.
Please note that "Civil War Calling: The Lehigh Valley Response"is an ongoing project, and we welcome your feedback and collaboration. For all questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Cory Dieterly, Project Lead at dieterlyc@moravian.edu.
Resources for 3rd-5th Grade Students
Reeves Library holds age-appropriate books that relate to the Civil War and are available for teachers to check out. These include:
• Stanchak, Jolm. Civil War. New York: DK Publishing, 2011.
• Sherman, Pat and Cooper, Floyd. Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2009.
• Hale, Sarah Elder (ed.). Antietam: Day of Courage and Sorrow. Peter Borough, NH: Cobblestone, 2005.