Teacher Workshop will explore the legacy of the Civil War in NH

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Teachers are invited to expand their understanding of the effects of the Civil War in the Granite State at a three-day teacher workshop hosted by the Historical Society of Cheshire County in June. Funded in part by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities, the workshop will examine how people in New Hampshire (with a focus on the Monadnock Region) responded to a divided nation, war, and reconstruction from 1860 through 1877. 

The workshop is designed for elementary  and middle school teachers and will give them the opportunity to become familiar with the types of primary documents that are available for teaching the Civil War and how to use those resources in the classroom. The workshop will include an overview of the causes that led up to the war, Cheshire County’s involvement in the conflict, life on the home front, and the reconstruction period. Sessions led by local educators will focus on multidisciplinary approaches to teaching the Underground Railroad to students in grades one through five, introducing students to 19th century handwriting, and transcribing local historic documents in the classroom. Sessions led by local nonprofit organizations will demonstrate activities for the classroom and place-based learning opportunities.

To help bring the time period to life, the workshops will consiste of interactive lectures, hands-on activites, opportunities to conduct research, and demonstrations on life in the 19th century. Participants will receive numerous handouts, access to primary and secondary resources at the Historical Society, and will participate in a Civil War encampment with the reenactors of the 6th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment.

Graham Warder, Associate Professor of American History at Keene State College, will lead the workshop in collaboration with Alan Rumrill, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County. Other presenters include Marek Bennett, expert on 19th century music and its history; representives of Valley Quest, an award-winning, place-based education program; and Barbara Runjybasm Curator of the Exeter Historical Society who will discuss their on-line Exeter History Minute teaching tool.

The workshop will take place from Wednesday, June 22 through Friday, June 24 at the Historical Society of Cheshire County. Participants will receive 20 professional development credits for attending.

For more information or to register, contact Project Director Jennifer Carroll, Director of Education at the Historical Society of Cheshire County.