Saturday, July 31, 2010

A Gentle Tour Through Texas History


A Gentle Tour Through Texas History

Written by: Jodi Guerra

"A guide for teaching Texas History through existing books from the library, many of which are also available from Hendrick-Long Publishing. Reminiscent of teaching history through literature but with added websites and tours."

Online Resources:
http://hendricklongpublishing.com/product.php?id_prd=692

Shipwrecked on Padre Island



Shipwrecked on Padre Island

Written by: Isabel R. Marvin

"After the shipwreck, 13-year-old Catalina and her father spend frightening days on the island with other survivors. Fast forward to the present. A teenage visitor to Padre Island finds a bracelet lost by Catalina, thus forging a link between the two girls separated in time by 400 years."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.nps.gov/pais/historyculture/1554-1.htm
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/rrp1.html

Race to Velasco



Race to Velasco

Written by: Paul Spellman

"In 1830, rebel Texans marched to confront Mexican soldiers stationed at Fort Velasco on the Texas coast. In this historical fiction, two teenagers, Henry Woods and Antonio Gonzales, join the Texans. Along the way they encounter many Texas historical characters."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/VV/qfv1.html
http://www.forttumbleweed.net/velasco_webpage.html

Fields of Fury: The American Civil War


Fields of Fury: The American Civil War

Written by: James McPherson

"Pulitzer Prize award-winning historian James M. McPherson has written for young readers a stirring account of the greatest conflict to happen on our nation's soil, the Civil War, bringing to life the tragic struggle that divided not only a nation, but also friends and family. From the initial Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, to the devastating loss of life at Shiloh as Ulysses S. Grant led the Union to unexpected victory, to the brilliance of Stonewall Jackson's campaign at Shenandoah, to General Pickett's famous charge at Gettysburg, to the Union's triumph at Appomattox Court House, Fields of Fury details the war that helped shape us as a nation.

Also included are personal anecdotes from the soldiers at the battlefront and the civilians at home, as well as profiles of historical luminaries such as Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Ulysses S. Grant. McPherson also explores the varied roles that women played during the war, healthcare on the battlefield, and the demise of slavery."

Product Description


Online Resources:
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/civwar.html

The Dred Scott Case: Testing the Right to Live Free



The Dred Scott Case: Testing the Right to Live Free

Written by: Jennifer Fleischner

"The author describes the case of the slave suing for his family’s freedom based on the fact that he had lived in free territories. The author discusses the political and economic ramifications of the case."

Social Studies Center (SSC)

Online Resources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html
http://digital.wustl.edu/d/dre/index.html

Friday, July 30, 2010

Scholastic Encyclopedia of the Civil War


Scholastic Encyclopedia of the Civil War

Written by: Catherine Clinton

"This year-by-year account of the nations bloodiest conflict makes history come alive through eyewitness accounts, profiles of people famous and ordinary, period art, and point-of-view sidebars that highlight the differences between North and South."

Publishers Description


Online Resources:
http://www.civilwar.com/

http://www.teacheroz.com/Civil_War_Causes.htm

No Man's Land: A Young Soldier's Story


No Man's Land: A Young Soldier's Story

Written by: Susan Campbell Bartoletti

"Fourteen-year-old Thrasher Magee is too young to enlist in the Confederate army, but he has his own reasons for wanting to fight in the war. All his life, Thrasher's father has made him feel weak and cowardly. Now Thrasher has a chance to become a hero-and to prove he has what it takes to be a man. But when Thrasher leaves Georgia for Virginia and embarks on his journey, his courage and strength are tested in ways he never intended."

Product Description


Online Resources:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1032_type=Book_typeId=3948