History Comes Alive in your classroom. A Civil War historian comes to your classroom in all the regalia of a soldier in the Union Army to give your students a realistic hands-on interactive experience that they will not forget. Students will learn all about the war from a soldier who was there!
The presenter is Mr. Arn Kind, a teacher of 47 years experience, who will come in authentic uniform to teach your students about the events that threatened to break up this great nation of ours.
The American Civil War was America’s bloodiest conflict. 620,000 American’s would lose their lives over the four years of the struggle. What caused this horrific conflict? What events led to the war? What motivated young men to sign up and fight as soldiers for the Union? Was it just patriotism or were there other, more selfish motivations for enlisting? What was the everyday soldier’s experience during his term of enlistment. What were his uniform, equipment, weapons, and food like? What were his chances of surviving his 3-year term of enlistment?
Through drama, role-playing and living history experiences, Mr. Kind’s presentation will give participants an understanding of this turbulent time and make history come alive for your students.
One of the reasons Mr. Kind’s presentation really makes this history come alive for his audiences is because of his realistic and colorful portrayal of the people who participated in these events. Another reason is because of all the maps, posters, clothing and artifacts he brings and displays for his audience to see. In order to display and use these artifacts in his presentation, he makes sure that everything he brings in has been made safe. Swords and bayonets have been dulled to make them safe for show. To portray a soldier in the Civil War, Mr. Kind will act out some of these events using non-firing replicas of the arms used during the conflict. Mr. Kind, of course, does not bring any gunpowder or any other combustibles into the schools or libraries where he presents. These replicas and reproductions of the originals cannot be loaded or fired.
Our students will also take on the role of soldiers in the Union Army and will learn some of the rudiments of the Hardee’s Light Infantry Tactics Drill Manual while handling wooden replicas of Civil War muskets. This is real learning by doing!