American History in Grade VI

Sixth grade boys have spent the school year studying American history.  Their curriculum in the classroom has been complemented with field trips exploring Revolutionary War battlefields in Brooklyn, Alexander Hamilton’s grave in Trinity Church Cemetery, Federal Hall, and historical sites in Philadelphia and Gettysburg.

Historical authors have visited St. Bernard’s and spoken with sixth graders about their areas of expertise.  Students have read excerpts from the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, first-person accounts of the Trail of Tears, and The Constitution of the United States.  Boys have also read Shelby Foote’s novel Shiloh, which describes the battle of Shiloh in 1862 through alternating perspectives of Union and Confederate soldiers. 

For their final history projects, sixth grade boys were asked to research a topic related to the Civil War.  Specific topics ranged from important battles, such as the Battle of Chancellorsville or the Siege at Vicksburg, to the way naval combat was used in the Civil War, how medicine was developed and used during the Civil War, and Frederick Douglass’ role in the Civil War.  Over two weeks, each student was required to gather research from at least two books other than their textbooks, research online, and produce written notes.  These notes were used to create a written essay which detailed a full description of the topic and why it was relevant and important to the Civil War.

The boys’ research culminated in oral presentations of their findings that included at least one hand-made visual element.  Boys created diagrams of battles, collages of images, and three-dimensional dioramas which they referred to in their in-class presentations.  The boys listened attentively to each other and took notes as their classmates spoke.  Their research was thorough and included historical information, their opinions of the significance of the topics they had researched, and their view of how their topic related to the other topics which had been presented.  Students felt proud to be an expert on a specific topic and were eager to learn from the other experts in the room. 

It is clear that St. B’s sixth graders have a solid foundation of knowledge about American History.  More remarkably, they each seem to have found a personal relationship with this history through their in-depth research, shared experiences on field trips, and conversations with each other.
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