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Hmmmm….Why is that hunk of wood placed next to the bed? What is it for? Other bloggers post wordless images on Wednesday , too. Visit the main page HERE to find them. Last week's mystery explanation can be found here. Also YOU can become a fan of History Is Elementary on Facebook. Click the “like” button over in the right sidebar.

At some point in every young girl’s life she realizes the importance of silver. Perhaps it is when she has a female relative who is getting married, and she overhears other female relatives and friends inquiring about the silver pattern she has registered for. Perhaps it is when she is old enough…..finally……to attend a wedding or baby shower with her mother and sees the array of silver trays, silver flatware, and silver coffee and tea services on display making the perfect refreshment table. In my case…….it was when I was old enough to help my grandmother prepare the dining table for a family dinner…..more than likely Thanksgiving or Christmas. I can remember going to the drawer in the kitchen where the knives and forks were stored. My grandmother shooed me away and directed me in that constantly out-of-breath tone she had, “No, no…..go in the dining room and get the forks out of the box.” The box? As I walked into the dining room I thought, “What box? Then I saw the box where she had

I have several things I want to share this morning, so……….hang on. First is The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era …….it’s published quarterly and the website advises each issue is packed with original essays, including on-line projects and reviews of scholarly books. The focus, of course, is all aspects of U.S. History from 1865-1920. I have a few articles here at History Is Elementary regarding the Gilded Age. You can access all of them here …..Just scroll through to find them all.   Then there’s the website, Mission U.S. This is a site for for older elementary and middle school students and provides an innovative way for sharing social studies content. The first game, “For Crown or Colony?” has already launched. The setting for the game is Boston in 1770 and students actually role-play taking on the identity of a publisher’s apprentice. Students will interact with such real figures in history as Phillis Wheatley and Paul Revere. I've included an image from the game b

I’m not happy with Congress these days…..I don’t know many of my fellow Americans that are. My title says it all. They play using my tax dollars as their kick balls and monkey bars. However, before I go off on a rant that would cause my blood pressure to rise I want to go in a different direction with children….in particular “little boys.” The other day I posted a drawing as one of my mystery images for Wordless Wednesday .   I’ve reposted it below: The setting for the drawing is the United States Senate Chambers and the event being portrayed is the impeachment proceedings for President Andrew Johnson. The drawing was included in a book titled The Story of a Great Nation (1886) by   John Gilmary Shea a writer, historian, and editor. You can read my background article here regarding President Johnson’s impeachment over at American Presidents Blog . I included this drawing on my Facebook profile and the page I have there for History Is Elementary . One of my visitors there…..my sister,

I toured some old plantation buildings over the weekend and snapped this picture. I thought it might make a good puzzle picture. What is this????? What was it used for???? Here’s a hint….it was a very important box and even though it sat next to the fireplace it didn’t have anything to do with it. Other bloggers post wordless images on Wednesday , too. Visit the main page HERE to find them.

There are many types of desks. Messy ones, clean ones, ones to work at and ones just for show. There are fancy desks referred to as secretaries, computer desks, executive desks and roll top desks. Ernest Hemmingway and Winston Churchill preferred a stand-up desk. United States presidents have used the Resolute Desk , and then there is Thomas Jefferson’s lap desk . Of course, students have desks as well. They generally have gum stuck underneath or inside them, and the tops are adorned with identifying tags left behind by precious owners extolling what they hate or who they love. The desk I featured in my Wordless Wednesday is a U.S. Senate desk, and they have quite a history. The desks date back to 1819 when 48 desks were commissioned following the destruction of the previous desks by the British during the War of 1812. There are only four of the original desks…..two are in private collections, one desk is in the Senate collection and another was housed at Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’ p

What historical event in going on here?   Other bloggers post wordless images on Wednesday , too. Visit the main page HERE to find them.

What is this? Other bloggers post wordless images on Wednesday , too. Visit the main page HERE to find them.

Last week I posted my first wordless puzzler here  in quite some time. The following post provides the rest of the story: The vernacular of history can at times be quite confusing to students, so I’m always in search of ways to help them connect to vocabulary. Sometimes I can make the best connections using simple, inexpensive objects like picture frames. Yes, picture frames. I have this one frame that contains a picture of my children. The frame looks as if it is gilt……a very expensive looking gold frame. However, if you turn the frame over you see it is really brown plastic resin covered with gold paint. Scratch the gold surface a little bit and you see there are some real issues with the frame. It simply isn’t what it appears to be. The frame illustration helps me explain the Gilded Age – that time period from 1865 to 1901 - that at first glance seemed to be a wonderful period in the United States when many people were making money hand over fist, but scratch the surface a little bi