clair055

I love the story of the Red River Raft for several reasons.  First the name...you might see in your mind's eye images of pioneers racing down a river with all of their earthly possessions stacked on a hastily fashioned wooden log raft, but that's not what this story is all about.   In fact, the story involves the INABILITY to move on a river. Yes...this story is not what you expect, and if you spend any time around here then you know I like the unexpected change-up in content. This story also embraces a bit of historical myth... which again....if you spend any time around here reading my meager little offerings you know I like to bust those myths as much as possible, but in this case....it might be okay to include the myth with the lesson content as a hook to draw students in.  This story also has geological and geographical  implications   and a bit of science. It spans several historical eras including Native Americans, pioneers, and the transportation age...a...

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 littl...

1. While I was roaming around Biltmore over New Years I became enthralled with the ornamentation found everywhere along the 780-foot façade. I love to take close-up pictures of architectural details, and Biltmore provides me with all sorts of delights. 2. One of the things that Mr. Elementaryhistoryteacher and I focused on were the many gargoyles on the house. The word ‘gargoyles’ is derived from an old French word gargouille , meaning throat. The English words gargle, gurgle, and gargoyle are derived from gargouille. 3. Some believe that gargoyles – sometimes called grotesques – are inspired by the skeletal remains of prehistoric dinosaurs and other fossils. Originally a gargoyle was considered a waterspout, directing water away from a building. Yes, I agree.....the figure below seems rather proud of his ummmm.....attributes. 4. Technically an architect calls a waterspout on a building a gargoyle. It a stone carving does not carry water and has a face that resembles a creature, it ...