Growing up (and later teaching) in Central Pennsylvania has given me the opportunity to visit many famous landmarks and cities. Day trips (and field trips) were available to Philadelphia, D.C., Gettysburg, Baltimore, and other locations. Nowadays, with budget concerns, higher curricular demands, and possible location limitations, virtual field trips may be more realistic than visiting some locations in person.
The tech tool of the month takes us back to July 1863. It was the three historic days of the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg by the Numbers takes you virtually to the battle, beyond the basics. This infographic shares the pivotal numbers. The images help you to visualize the battle and details shared. Navigate and explore all of the numbers to imagine the people, the weapons, the weather, the clothing, the demographics, the geography, and more. Just click the area that you wish to learn more about. The large color image at the top offers you the “big picture.” In addition to the numbers, this tool asks questions that encourage critical thinking and more meaningful connections.
There are also links for both families and teachers. The link “For Teachers” includes lesson plans, standards correlations, activities, materials, customized handouts, and more. Deeper project ideas are included. Don’t miss the project rubric in the teacher resources. Visit the link “In the Classroom” to find a plethora of classroom ideas!
This infographic is a fabulous resource to use to teach about the Civil War, Battle of Gettysburg, and even life in the 1860s. Share this resource on your interactive whiteboard or have students navigate the tool on their own. Have students collaborate in cooperative learning groups and explore one of the topics to later share with the class. Use the real-life data to make the lesson cross-curricular with math: percents, ratios, graphing, and more. Take advantage of the questions for class discussion or to use as writing prompts. For even more ideas, see the “In The Classroom” link.