I was looking at an old Dover book called Great Speeches by American Women, and I wondered if there were an iPad app that had collected some of these together. Nothing. I found nothing. So then I went digging deeper, what might I find about women's history in the app store. More nothing.
I guess I should not be surprised, there is not much I have found to use on the iPad that is specific to the content I use in the classroom, but I am depressed that there is nothing.
Anyone have any good apps?
Last night I finished The President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson. The first part, which I read last week, was pretty basic stuff about JFK's life and presidency. I was not that impressed, any student could find these events, Kennedy's family life, World War II, the Bay of Pigs, the March on Washington, well recorded in any history textbook or encyclopedia. But last night I dove into the hard part, the trip to Dallas in November, 1963. It is very hard to read, knowing what comes next, but Swanson has done an excellent job distilling what is essential from his adult work, and telling a strong story, even when we all know the end. His portrait of Lee Oswald is well crafted, and his empathy for every character is powerful. The only part I felt left me hanging was his coverage of Jack Ruby. It felt to me like he did not want to let the story of Oswald's murder to overshadow the story of Kennedy's, but at the same time I would have liked just a little more on Ruby.
I read the book on my Kindle, part on the iPad, and part on the Paperwhite, and at first I found the moving photos and captions and the strange white space that can be created sometimes a bit distracting. But the photos are high quality, and I like being able to see them full page, so I think the kindle version is fine.
Last week I also read The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks. It was cute, but it really felt like a daily comic, not a book. Of course it started as a web comic, and I think it probably could have stayed there. I am not sure why it was published as a book, let alone won an award. She is a fun character, and I like the humor, but a little of that goes a long way. I read the hardcover, I don't think there is a kindle edition.
I have not read many graphic novels, but I figure the point of a reading challenge is to read things I might not normally pick up, so last night I read March: Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. It is a quick read, and it left me looking for book 2. The text and the images work together to give the feeling of the times in a way that I think is very accessible to people in the 21st century, regardless of how much they know about John Lewis and the Civil Rights movement. Fantastic book.
And this is an interesting book to read electronically. It is well set up for Kindle, you can click though frame by frame or read a page at a time. But on my Kindle Paperwhite the images were too grey for me. On the iPad Kindle app, however, it was stunning. So a mixed review on electronics here.
Last night I finished reading Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone. My first observation is that no matter how much I love my kindle, some books are just better with the layout intact. This book started, as the author points out in the afterward, as a picture book, and the images are very important. And the kindle version includes all the images, but the captions are not always on the same page as the image, and some of the images are so low resolution that zooming at all makes them useless. So the one thing that should be better in the electronic version, the ability to zoom in on the primary source images, is only sometimes possible.
The book traces the story of the Triple Nickles from the first jobs they had in the army (all service jobs) though their training and eventual deployment to fight fires on the west coast, rather than serving in combat.
I was familiar with most of the story (everything except the fire fighting) but it is well put together. For someone who did not know anything about African-Americans and their service in World War II, I thinkt the story would hang together well, even though there is plenty of background, which can feel like it interupts the story of the main characters.
Two of Castilleja's librarians told me they were turned off by the title, and I was hoping to find the phrase "Courage Has No Color" in a quotation, which would make the title more clear. I found the idea, but not the phrase. But given my husband's experience with editors and titles, it is clear the the author does not write the title, the marketing department does.
It is a good book, well researched, but I am not sure I would recommend it to anyone who was not already a fan of non-fiction about war, or African-American history.
The Castilleja Library, always looking for new ways to get students and employees reading, has been promoting their own version of the Read Like a Librarian Challenge. It occured to me, that since I have put my name up on the list, and started adding stars, that this was a good project to get me back into writing on the blog, so I will try to keep my reading updated here. Of course I will also put stars on the chart in the library, the point of a public list of contestants is a bit of competition, right? And while this might not all be "travels in history" it is certainly part of the travels of this middle school history teacher, so that fits in pretty well.
I started with Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell, since I always like a good coming of age dragon story. It was good, but a bit young compared to what I normally read. I guess it is "middle grade" rather than YA, which makes sense. It won the Schneider Family Book Award honors a middle grade and YA title that has the best “artistic expression of the disability experience.” Which is interesting, since I had not really focused on what kind of award it won when I picked it off the list, and while the main character is disabled, she walks slowly because of a deformed foot, I did not think about it as a book about a disabled girl. Which, now that I think about it, is probably why it won an award! I read this book on my kindle, and I don't think that lessened the experience at all. No images, no problems with layout.
The next book I took on was a great design guide for all ages, Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd. I love a good book on fonts and layout, and this book is BEAUTIFUL. It is a walking example of why some books just don't work electonically at this point. The illustrations are amazing, but the feel of the book itself, with thick board covers, is part of the design.
I have read a few others, but I will leave that blog post for later.
For several years I have shown a film clip from a Colonial Williamsburg DVD called "A Day in the Life" and the plot revolves around the making of a dish called Apple Tansey. As a class, we have wondered what that is, and the Colonial Williamsburg site provides us with the 18th century version of the recipe from The Complete Housewife:
"To make an Apple Tansey,
Take three pippins, slice them round in thin slices, and fry them with butter; then beat four eggs, with six spoonfuls of cream, a little rosewater, nutmeg, and sugar; stir them together, and pour it over the apples; let it fry a little, and turn it with a pye-plate. Garnish with lemon and sugar strew'd over it."
I have always wondered what the big deal is, since the slave owners think it is impossible for the slave Dennis, who is a young boy, to have made the dish, and his mother, the cook, could not have made it since she has broken her leg.
So I tried it. And it is very hard to make this dish come out looking good! (It tasted fine.)
I used the instructions on blog post called "What the Virginians Ate" because there were clear phots. But I did not try the cooking under the broiler, since cooks in the 18th century would not have had one. But now I see why the blog author does so.
Cutting the apples was not hard, although you can see I broke one. Three of this size was too many.
I did not have heavy cream, so I used half and half (and left out the rose water, which I did not have either). Since the failure I have looked at some other versions which recommend separating the eggs, whipping the egg whites, and then folding them back together, which I think would help.
The apples cooked well.
I added the egg mixture.
And then when I tried to flip it things fell apart. Literally. Of course it had already started to burn just a bit on the bottom, so that had already been a problem.
We ate the finished version, but it really did look like the disaster it was. But it was cooked, and it tasted good.
Next time I will whip the egg whites, use fewer apples, and maybe try a different pan. But the plot makes more sense, it was a bigger mystery that someone who had never done it before could produce this dish well. But Dennis had watched his mother carefully, and he knew what is should look like. That certainly would have helped. But I don't know if it woudl have been enough.
After our last buffet breakfast at the Williamsburg Lodge (tomorrow we go someplace else) we set out by bus down the Colonial Parkway to Yorktown.
Our first stop was the National Park Service visitor center, where we looked around outside a bit and then went in and watched their video (good but a bit outdated) and spent time in the museum and the shop.
Paige talks about the battle.
The bus took us over to Redoubts 9 and 10.
It is certainly cooler today, but still hot enough to want to talk in the shade. That is Redoubt #10 in the background.
We walked over Redoubt #9 too before getting back on the bus.
Our next stop was Surrender Field.
Normally there is an excellent audio recording here, telling the story of the dramatic surrender, with sound effects and everything, but it is broken, so Paige had to read the text to us. Still very good, but not so dramatic.
I did tape most of the narration (I missed the first few words) last summer, and I am putting it up on youtube. I'll post the link when it is done uploading.
Since we started the week with ideas about what it means to be an American, the surrender at Yorktown, which effectively marks the end of the American Revolution, seemed an appropriate moment to stop and reflect on what we had learned, and what the victory means. We wrote our reflections after we heard about the surrender. I wrote a poem, but I don't like it. I like the one from 2008 better. But that post reminds me how much better the wifi is this year!
We took the bus through the town of Yorktown, stopping to look at a few sites, and then we went back to Williamsburg for lunch at Sheild's Tavern.
After lunch we were back at Bruton Heights for lessons on the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. This is a new section of the week, last year we ended at Yorktown.
Then each of the value tensions groups had a chance to present their projects. Everyone did a good job, some with humor, some with more serious approaches, but all with thought. Each of the groups demonstrated the ways their particular value tension came up during the week, and how different events show attempts to bring these tensions into balance.
The tensions are:
Equality vs. Freedom
Unity vs. Diversity
Common Wealth vs. Private Wealth
Law vs. Ethics.
We had a little time after that to walk around, or do whatever before returning to Shield's Tavern for dinner. The menu was different than lunch, but we ate in the same room!
Now we are all packing up. We check out first thing tomorrow, although we still have half a day of program left before we all leave the 18th century behind and return to our regularly scheduled 21st century summers.
After another wonderful buffet breakfast at the Williamsburg Lodge, we were back in the basement of the Brick House Tavern to work on the Global Economy, 17th and 18th century style.
We did an activity outside where the street served as the Atlantic Ocean and we played the parts of traders, merchants, and even pirates and the British Navy.
The white papers on the ground are the names of places. This might be a good one to do with my classes next year.
Our next activity was a discussion with "A Person of the Past" as it says on our schedule, in this case merchant John Greenhow, who owns a shop on Duke of Gloucester Street here in Williamsburg. He reminded us about the importance of the credit system, tobacco notes, and the scarce nature of "ready money," that is currency. He also instructed us about the importance of reputation and good bookkeeping for merchants in the 18th century.
We then ventured out into the town to visit the trade shops. I went to the Printing Office, Milliner and Tailor, the Silversmith, and the Apothecary.
Others went to the Brickyard, the Carpenter and Joiner, the Wigmaker, and of course got a little shopping in at Tarpley's or Greenhow's too.
We had boxed lunches of fried chicken from Chowning's and then we were back to finish up our discussion of the economy.
Our next stop was Charleton's Coffeehouse for a bit of political discussion, and of course no gossip, but just a bit of "spreading the news."
The coffeehouse is one of the newest buildings in town, I remember brining students just a few years ago to look at the archaeology going on here, and now the building is finished. At the CW website about the coffeehouse there are links to videos of the reconstruction of the building.
And of course we were offered tea, coffee, or chocolate. I had chocolate.
After enjoying our conversation and our drinks, we went back to Brick House for time to work on the Value Tensions Projects.
At 5:00 we were off to the Capitol for our Rights and Controversies Debate. The Fifth Virginia Convention voted to tell their delegates at the Continental Congress to propose independence. The vote was unanimous in the real event, probably because the loyalist members had stopped coming to the Convention. Our debate went well, and the patriots did win, but it was close.
I was a patriot, but also the clerk, so I got to read the resolution.
|
Resolved, that the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress be instructed to propose to the respectable body TO DECLARE THE UNITED COLONIES FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES absolved from all allegiance to or dependence upon the Crown or Parliament of Great Britain. Resolved, that a committee be appointed to prepare A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, and such a plan of government as will be most likely to maintain peace and order in this colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the people. |
After our visit to Great Hopes Plantation, we had time in the Historic Area to watch some of the Revolutionary Cit Programming. The fellow in the middle is thinking about joining the Continental Army. The recruiter on the left wants him to, his wife does not want him to go.
After lunch at Chowning's Tavern, we walked to the Wythe House to learn about a "Gentleman Farmer," George Wythe.
The house is Georgian in style, and could be in any county in England.
It is in the most desirable part of town, near the palace, as befits a man of Wythe's wealth and standing in the community.
I have noticed how many prominent Virginians have lovely desks.
Wythe, a friend of Thomas Jefferson, shared an interest in science, as we could see from the things in his study.
Although we were quite hot outside, we were pleased to meet a "Person from the Past" as it said on our schedules, Robert Carter, a plantation owner and statesman.
We were so hot by the time we were done that several teachers went directly to the small creek in the back of this photo and went in.
The rest of the afternoon was spent looking at labor systems, both indenture and slavery, in colonial Virginia. Although most people in Virginia had to work outside in the 17th and 18th centuries, we got to study them inside, in the basement of Brick House Tavern.
We cooled off and looked at some primary source accounts of labor in the period.
We had time after that on our own, and even dinner on our own, before our evening activity, a program called "Dance, our Dearest Diversion." We had a lovely time, most of us got to dance at least one of the dances, and the we were indeed diverted! As we came out of the program, which was held in the palace, we could see lightening and hear thunder. By the time we had walked back to our houses we felt the first large splashes of rain. The storm raged through quickly, with dramatic rain and wind, and perhaps just slightly cooler temps.
I study how people and technologies shape each other.
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