The Burning of Chambersburg
Procedures

About | K-12 Objectives | Procedures | Assessment

Teacher introduction: Read the introduction to The Burning of Chambersburg a special presentation on the Chambersburg home front within the Valley of the Shadow.

Procedure

Step 1 - As an introduction to the lesson, project pictures of the burning of Chambersburg for the class. The teacher should ask the following questions to guide their exploration of the pictures. This can be done individually or as a class.

Question #1 using the picture of the remains of the only bank in town

Teacher note - The horses in the picture should serve as a cue about the time period. Images relating to transportation provide children with effective temporal clues relating to when the picture was taken. For more information the use of pictures in elementary social studies see Hoge, J & Stuart, F. (1999) Thinking aloud about history: Children's and adolescents' responses to historical photographs. Theory and research in social studies education. pp. 179-214.

Teacher note - The burning of Chambersburg was an act of war. Engage students in a discussion of how the citizens of Chambersburg's emotions would be different if the fire had been due to natural causes.

Teacher's note - The water in the picture may serve as a prompt. Engage students in a discussion about the differences between 18^th and 21^st century fire fighting

Step 2 - Have students read from the diary of Anne Mellinger. Her diary entries relating to the burning of Chambersburg are short and descriptive. A text version is available (read Wednesday 20^th - Saturday 30^th), but a more authentic image version of her diary may evoke more of a personal understanding on the part of children. Compare the quality of Anne Mellinger's penmanship on Saturday June 30^th with the other days. Students should be able to find at least three mistakes. Ask student s to hypothesize whether these mistakes the result of Anne Mellinger's personal distress over the burning of the city?

Step 3 - Ask students to consider what Anne Mellinger might have been doing the days before during and after the burning of Chambersburg. Students can use the following resources construct an understanding of what the typical Chambersburg resident might have done.

Step 4 - Have students play the role of a child living in Chambersburg. This child kept a diary much like Anne Mellinger's diary. Students should complete entries in the diary for the last week in June and the first couple of days in July.