Teacher Workshops

Workshop Description

This three-day workshop is designed for all educators who wish to expand their understanding of how people from the Monadnock region lived and responded to a divided nation, war, and reconstruction from 1860 through 1877.

To help accomplish this, a wide range of primary and secondary material in the HSCC archives will be used extensively. This material includes newspapers, letters, diaries, business and fraternal organization records, regimental histories, photographs, biographies, artifacts, and town histories. It will be used to tell a Civil War story from a local perspective that will examine the region's politics and support for the war; recruitment; stories from soldiers and companies made up of mostly local men; how the local newspapers covered the war; how individuals, communities, local organizations, and businesses supported the war effort at home; and what occurred after the war's end.

To help teach this important period in U.S. history, the workshop sessions will include interactive lectures, hands on activities, demonstrations by reenactors, primary research, and role play. Each workshop participant will be given the name and brief biography of a real person from the region that will become their character throughout the workshop to research and present during different sessions, such as a soldier, local businessman, or a woman from a local support organization. Participants will also be provided with numerous handouts, an extensive packet of scanned primary documents on paper and on a CD, and time to interact with each presenter to explore how to use these new tools, skills, and knowledge in the classroom.

Workshop Presenters

Graham Warder, the workshop's scholar, is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at Keene State College. Graham will provide the historical foundation of the causes and events that led to war during the first morning session. He will also conclude the workshop with a session on reconstruction and how this affected New England communities.

Tom Haynes is HSCC's Director of Education. He will present the bulk of the primary material used in the workshop during three sessions on Telling Our Local Civil War Story and lead all role play. Integrated into these sessions will be methods of how to use these resources in the classroom.

Steve Glazer is director of Valley Quest, an award-winning place-based education program that uses treasure hunts to celebrate community, natural history, cultural sites, stories, and special places. Steve will present a Civil War Cemetery Quest and how this can be modeled for different communities.

New Hampshire's 6th Volunteer Regiment Reenactors Group is based in Cheshire County. The 6th New Hampshire was organized in 1861 at Camp Brooks in Keene (now Wheelock Park). Their living history encampment and demonstrations will help show and explain what life was like for the everyday soldier and give insight into how they survived during the war.

Tentative Schedule

Wednesday: 25 June - Day 1
8:30    Registration
9:00    Session 1: The Causes of War
12:00  Lunch
12:30  Session 2: Telling Our Local Civil War Story, Methods, & Research
3:30    Reflection & Discussion Time

Thursday: 26 June - Day 2
9:00    Session 3: Civil War Cemetery Quest
10:30  Session 4: Telling Our Local Civil War Story, Methods, & Research
12:00  Lunch
1:00    Session 5: Telling Our Local Civil War Story, Methods, & Research
3:30    Reflection & Discussion Time

Friday: 26 June - Day 3
9:00    Session 6: Civil War Encampment
12:00  Lunch
12:30  Session 7: Civil War Role Play
1:30    Session 8: Reconstruction
3:30    Reflection & Discussion Time - Evaluations and Closing

The workshop will be held at the Historical Society, 246 Main Street in Keene, and limited to 30 teachers. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for all three days. Teachers will receive 19.5 hours of professional development credit for attending the entire workshop.

For further information, please email Tom Haynes or phone 603-352-1895. If you are interested in attending this workshop, pleae click to print a registration form.

We wish to thank the New Hampshire Humanities Council, Ashuelot Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Keene Sentinel for their generous support of this workshop.