Passing history from generation to generation
Eighth-grade students in Erin Moore’s social studies class at Washington Junior High School had some hands-on learning as they analyzed Civil War artifacts from Gettysburg.
Working in small groups, the students were assigned an artifact to examine. Donning their plastic gloves to avoid possible lead exposure, students measured and weighed the items, and compared them with information on their computers and handouts, before answering various questions on each item.
Eighth-grade students at Washington Junior High School had the opportunity to get up-close looks at Civil War artifacts.
A teacher in the Washington district for 18 years, Moore was thrilled to receive the historic collection of artifacts from another history teacher.
“George Kabay, who was a social studies teacher in the Trinity (Area School) District for 35 years, had been given the artifacts by a friend of his from the historic location’s Lutheran Seminary. He had them packed away since his retirement a few years ago. They were re-discovered again recently when he was relocating. He decided to donate them to Washington, where his granddaughter, Rachel Spina, is in ninth grade.”
Rachel and fellow ninth-grader Abigail Small assisted Moore with her classes as they analyzed the artifacts.
According to Moore, “The evidence suggests that many of the artifacts appear to be from Seminary Ridge, a Confederate stronghold at Gettysburg, but we’re not sure. Besides bullets from the battlefield, there are also many papers, including such items as tax documents, personal letters from soldiers, and even some obituaries. All the material will give us lots to review and study from our past.”
Students referenced the artifact analysis sheet from the National Archives and the book “A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges” by James E. Thomas and Dean S. Thomas.
Rachel said her grandfather was born in Donora and lived in Scenery Hill, where he raised his family.
“He served in the Navy from 1954 to 1958. He taught social studies for 35 years at Trinity, after he graduated from California University, when it was still known as California Teachers College,” Rachel said. “Now he’s retired and living in the Washington area.”
Mrs. Moore told the class “There are no right or wrong answers about these artifacts. We’re here to learn about them through our list of questions, to analyze them and see what we can learn to then share with others.”
The eighth-graders take an annual trip to Gettysburg, so the lessons from the artifacts will help to enrich their experience. By reviewing the artifacts and later the paper documents, Moore said her classes will gain an understanding of how the actions of our past affect our future.
Once the classes complete their analysis, the artifacts and information obtained will be placed in a school display case so everyone can see the history being studied.