THE
CIVIL WAR
GAZETTE
Children
often moan when reports are mentioned, yet we want them to be able to retell
what they have learned, researched or read about. By making the child a
Reporter, it encourages them to write in 'nutshell' quantities, yet also
allows them to get very creative with their writing. After reading a story
about John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry, Wouldn't it be easy to write
a 2-3 paragraph article on the subject instead of laboring over a book
report? Every other day, the children would write a short paragraph on
a topic they chose, whether it was from we just read, what they were assigned
to read, or a subject they wished to look up. Once in a while, we'd look
into clothing or articles of that era, and we looked up old advertisements
on the internet and in books, to see styles of ads and how they would 'sell
you'. Every newspaper is chock full of photos and illustrations.
If you have already made costumes,
this is a great time to utilize those photos! The ending result is a unique,
realistic looking piece of editorial artwork you will cherish.
1. HOW
TO MAKE THE PAPER : As
with the journal, aging paper is done by dying, drying and ironing the
paper. We began with large chart paper. Butcher paper would work wonderfully,
but do not get the waxed kind. You want your overall size to be something
you can get through your printer, so don't make it too big. We happened
to have a wide format printer. Bare in mind what will fit on yours. We
started with 8.5" x 14" (legal size), but that grew as the articles came
pouring in. Our finished size, closed, was 10.25" wide x 15.5" high (We
worked with two 20.5" x 15.5" pages, that would be folded in half).
Dying the Paper:
We
dyed the paper with strong coffee (you can use several tea bags). Boil
approx 4 cups water and
mix it with 7-8 tablespoons instant coffee. Pour mixture in pan or tub
with
sides (a dish tub works
well). Set papers in, one at a time. CAREFULLY remove when you reach a
desired color. Do several as you are bound to rip some as you go. We set
ours outside to dry. After paper is totally dry, iron on medium setting
until paper lies nice and flat. Don't worry about a few crinkles and creases--they
add to the look! If you are working with large sizes that will create a
folded newspaper, iron your paper in half, as it will feed through your
printer better. We tried to make several sheets at once and kept them on
hand for when each page would be completed and ready to print.
2.
LAYING OUT YOUR COLUMNS:
Look at your daily newspaper for ideas. Remember, 100 years ago thin rule
lines were often used to distinguish borders and columns. Borders, frames
and headings were more ornate and there were many engraved pictures. Keep
these things in mind when you lay out your paper. We found several pieces
of clip art to form our newspaper heading and chose fonts appropriate to
the era. We kept the text in 12 point to make it more readable. If you
have the blessing of a digital camera or scanner, it helps tremendously.
Otherwise, you can draw your borders and paste down all of your copy, ads
and pictures to white paper and have them photocopied onto buff or manila
colored paper. Just be sure to check the sizes that your copier store allows.
(We tried
to keep a chronological pattern--our first page consisted of articles regarding
the beating of Charles Sumner, Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe,
as well as an actual ad I found regarding runaway slaves. We followed through,
each page representing the order of battles and events, with the surrender
at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln's assassination and the 13th Ammendment
being instituted on the last page)
We also
used clip art for filler throughout the paper and for photos we couldn't
create ourselves. We found that you could not print on backs and fronts
of the paper, however, as the ink would show through. How we remedied that
was to print on two sheets and glue two sheets together using spray adhesive
(you can find that at most craft or art supply stores). That worked wonderfully.
Remember not to drip or spill anything on your newspaper when you are done
if your ink has a tendency to run! We keep ours in an acetate sleeve that
we made.
