A Call for Project-Based Learning Among #CAISCT Colleagues and Co-Investigators

Image source: http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/flatview?cuecard=32732

While many know the accomplishments of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment of African American soldiers, few know of the glory that Connecticut’s 29th Regiment achieved. Join CAIS Colleagues in this Project-Based Learning endeavor to investigate the specific members of the 29th Regiment from your local area.

What would we study? Research and report out what the individuals from your town did before, during and after the war. Click here (and then on your town) to see the members of the 29th Regiment from your local area: http://www.conn29th.org/descendants.htm

Who can join? This curricular goal will be appropriate for grades 5-12, as many 5th and 6th grade programs already prepare for a Civil War day in the spring. US History classes can make this PBL unit in their 19th century curriculum. Other students can research one or two soldiers as an independent study. Bill Sullivan’s American Studies class at Suffield Academy will take the lead in organizing and helping others use the central blog for our collaboration. Bill is also a member of the CAIS Commission of Professional Development. Central blog address: https://ct29thcv.wordpress.com

What if I don’t know anything about Project-Based Learning? We will collaborate and co-author our findings on a central blog, which will publish student work and create a forum for questions and suggestions. We will also have CAIS programs from December to April to help with the process of historical research as well as rubrics, assessments, and activities for Project-Based Learning environments.

Why is this important? There is so much original history for our students to do for this project, and we hope to have a spring program at the Old State House late in April to share what we learned and how we learned it. The 2014-15 academic year also coincides with the great achievements of the Connecticut 29th Regiment, CV, and our published work can help illuminate Civil War 150th Anniversary Commemoration process.

Image source: http://connecticuthistory.org/the-29th-regiment-connecticut-volunteers-fought-more-than-one-war/