Chapter 8: Living History Activities
Living History incorporates the activities of specific periods in history most of which occur in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the American colonies and then the United States of America. Because the thrust of the program is all encompassing, both civilian and military aspects of the period are incorporated into a program. The core of the program, however, revolves around a military organization which is typical of that period. Also, because the programs are well structured, most of the activities are military in nature to include drills, parades, and mock battles. Nevertheless, a balance is required between military activities and those of a non-military nature.
Military ActivitiesThe most basic activity is the drill, which includes basic turning movements at the halt, marching in formation, and conducting mock battles. The purpose of drills is to instill discipline in the organization and thus generate esprit de corps and morale, which results in success on the battlefield.
Drills are held throughout the school year as needed. Their frequency depends on how fast the student participants effectively execute the different maneuvers. Drills involving marching in formation are conducted in the fall while battle drills are practiced prior to the final year’s encampment.
Example: Your program replicates the Civil War. You spend the first few drills teaching and practicing the basic turning movements and then how to march without weapons. The students initially have a difficult time understanding how to execute the basic maneuvers, so you adjust the drill schedule to accommodate the time required for them to thoroughly understand and execute the drills.
Example: Your program is concerned with the War of 1812. Students have a difficult time learning the various drill movements. They have difficulty envisioning how an American soldier would execute how to march. You engage a reenactor to help the regiment’s drill master demonstrate correct techniques or have a student who had already participated in the program provide assistance.
Students first learn turning movements in place. (See ANNEX E for these movements.) Once having mastered in place turning movements, student participants learn the manual of arms, which involves how to handle mock weapons. (See ANNEX G for the manual of arms.) Next, students learn to march in formation, which includes turning movements. (See ANNEX E for this aspect of drill.) Because combat in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries involved strictly controlled movements on the battlefield, soldiers had to know how to conduct themselves in battle formations and respond to commands given by voice, musical instruments, and flags. (See ANNEX J for the conduct of battle drills.)
Not all military activities will be as demanding as drills. As described in CHAPTER SIX, other activities you will consider are:
Non-Military ActivitiesNonmilitary activities are an integral part of your program. Because you are replicating a period in which armed conflict takes place, the major emphasis will be military, but your students will be living in the period as well.
Journal keeping is an important way to “live” in the period.
Example: Your program deals with the time of the American Revolution. In their pay books you require the students to keep a journal of period activities they engage in. Subjects could be the clothes they would wear when not in uniform, food they would eat, games they would engage in, special events such as weddings they would attend, politics of the period, and living conditions endured.
Example: You are replicating the Civil War period. You arrange for a showing of a movie, such as Gettysburg or Glory. You require the students to write a journal entry which describes their impression of how people lived during the war.
Letter writing as an exercise in English may be appropriate for your program. Students write to an imaginative friend or relative how it is to live in the period. They might describe certain events that have taken place in their lives or events they have witnessed, such as a horse race or a village fair. They can write from the point of view of a soldier or as a civilian.
Activities such as workshops involving every day experiences are appropriate. Cooking over a fire or sewing clothes are kinds of workshops which can be conducted by members of the teaching team especially in inclement weather and in the place of military drills. Making household implements, such as lanterns, can be done in industrial arts classes and used during such events as the encampment at the end of the year.
Military ActivitiesThe most basic activity is the drill, which includes basic turning movements at the halt, marching in formation, and conducting mock battles. The purpose of drills is to instill discipline in the organization and thus generate esprit de corps and morale, which results in success on the battlefield.
Drills are held throughout the school year as needed. Their frequency depends on how fast the student participants effectively execute the different maneuvers. Drills involving marching in formation are conducted in the fall while battle drills are practiced prior to the final year’s encampment.
Example: Your program replicates the Civil War. You spend the first few drills teaching and practicing the basic turning movements and then how to march without weapons. The students initially have a difficult time understanding how to execute the basic maneuvers, so you adjust the drill schedule to accommodate the time required for them to thoroughly understand and execute the drills.
Example: Your program is concerned with the War of 1812. Students have a difficult time learning the various drill movements. They have difficulty envisioning how an American soldier would execute how to march. You engage a reenactor to help the regiment’s drill master demonstrate correct techniques or have a student who had already participated in the program provide assistance.
Students first learn turning movements in place. (See ANNEX E for these movements.) Once having mastered in place turning movements, student participants learn the manual of arms, which involves how to handle mock weapons. (See ANNEX G for the manual of arms.) Next, students learn to march in formation, which includes turning movements. (See ANNEX E for this aspect of drill.) Because combat in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries involved strictly controlled movements on the battlefield, soldiers had to know how to conduct themselves in battle formations and respond to commands given by voice, musical instruments, and flags. (See ANNEX J for the conduct of battle drills.)
Not all military activities will be as demanding as drills. As described in CHAPTER SIX, other activities you will consider are:
- Enlistment ceremony (ANNEX F)
- Visits to local historical sites (ANNEX H)
- Regimental Dinner (ANNEX I)
- Competitions (ANNEX K)
- Workshops (ANNEX L)
- Parades (ANNEX M)
- Encampment (ANNEX N) This is a major project and will require extensive teacher and parent support. Although the student chain of command will play the major role in the encampment, discrete adult supervision will be required. Student safety will be a major concern, especially in areas such as building fires, contact with contaminants, exposure to weather, and excessive exuberance in mock battles.
- Ceremonies to include: recognition, guard duty, and discharge (ANNEX O)
Non-Military ActivitiesNonmilitary activities are an integral part of your program. Because you are replicating a period in which armed conflict takes place, the major emphasis will be military, but your students will be living in the period as well.
Journal keeping is an important way to “live” in the period.
Example: Your program deals with the time of the American Revolution. In their pay books you require the students to keep a journal of period activities they engage in. Subjects could be the clothes they would wear when not in uniform, food they would eat, games they would engage in, special events such as weddings they would attend, politics of the period, and living conditions endured.
Example: You are replicating the Civil War period. You arrange for a showing of a movie, such as Gettysburg or Glory. You require the students to write a journal entry which describes their impression of how people lived during the war.
Letter writing as an exercise in English may be appropriate for your program. Students write to an imaginative friend or relative how it is to live in the period. They might describe certain events that have taken place in their lives or events they have witnessed, such as a horse race or a village fair. They can write from the point of view of a soldier or as a civilian.
Activities such as workshops involving every day experiences are appropriate. Cooking over a fire or sewing clothes are kinds of workshops which can be conducted by members of the teaching team especially in inclement weather and in the place of military drills. Making household implements, such as lanterns, can be done in industrial arts classes and used during such events as the encampment at the end of the year.