THE
CIVIL WAR
JOURNAL
Journaling
is a great way to drive home what the students have learned, as well as
allow practice for penmanship and creative writing. I try not to be too
ridgid on the grammar and language when it comes to journaling--the joy
of reading a journal is imagining how the person thinks. If the children
spend too much time trying to remember language rules and watching spelling,
etc., it squelches their enjoyment of the project. I'd rather they focus
on 'being there', in the trenches. If you are pursuing calligraphy
styles with your children, this is a great opportunity to exercise that!
Calligraphy would add nicely to the authenticity of the journal.
1. CREATING
THE PAPER: There's
nothing like writing on paper thta looks like it's 100 years old! And you
can even maintain lines if you wish. Our journals are 5.25" high x 4" wide
when closed (8" wide when opened). We kept our paper to 5" high x 7.5"
wide. We used ruled paper as the children write the neatest that way. We
dyed the paper with strong coffee (you can use several tea bags). Boil
approx 2 cups water and mix it with 4-5 tablespoons instant coffee. Pour
mixture in low flat pan with sides (13x9x2 works well). Set papers in,
one at a time. CAREFULLY remove when you reach a desired color. 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! To further enhance the worn look of the journal, you can
either tear the edges and stain with brown shoe polish, or better yet,
carefully burn edges with a match (PARENTS, obviously, unless the student
is mature enough to handle this). Keep a pan of water close by, just incase
your paper turns into an inferno.
2. CREATING
THE JOURNAL: There
are several ways you can go about this. An easy way is to purchase scrap
leather (even leather looking vinyl will do ; it's less expensive) and
cut to size. We opted for the burlap book as we had previously made leather
books during another unit. With this method you need the following materials:
1. tagboard cut
to size (5.25" x 8") An old shirtbox or manila folder will do.
2. 2-sided fusible webbing
- goes by the name "Wonder Under" or "Heat 'n Bond" (glue
doesn't
work as well)
3. two pieces of burlap,
slightly larger than cut piece of tagboard
4. twine or jute (yarn
will also work, but jute looks best)
5. Hammer, large nail and
board to nail into
STEP 1- Making the Cover:Cut
two pieces of fusible webbing slightly larger than tagboard. Iron each
piece of webbing to matching pieces of burlap. Peel paper off of webbing
and iron burlap to each side of tagboard. Tagboard should be covered
with burlap on both sides completely. Trim burlap to neaten. Fold carefully
in half.
STEP 2- Attaching the
Insides: Gather papers you will be using inside the journal.
We used 9-10 sheets, creating 36-40 pages. Place the papers directly in
the center of the cover. Take a piece of jute, approx. 15" long and tie
a knot in one end. Twist a piece of tape around the other end to act as
a needle. Hammer a nailhole beginning at either the top or bottom of spine,
directly through cover and all pages. Begin stitching, using jute, creating
new nailholes as you proceed. Try to keep knots on the outside of the spine
as they will interfere with closing the book. Tie off at the other end.
There you have it! Our books naturally pop open a bit. You can place them
under a stack of books to try to keep it more closed. Personally, we thought
it looked more inviting to pick up and read when it was open.
3. POSSIBILITIES
FOR ASSIGNMENTS: My
daughter chose the role of a nurse, going from battle to battle. She would
also write of events that had taken place, such as Lincoln's re-election.
My son chose to be a confederate soldier and wrote from the view of a teenager
who had lost friends in different situations. As well as participating
in several battles, he would also add entries about the desperate state
of the soldiers at times--food, clothes, shoes, ammunition, etc. This is
a great time to write about what the soldiers wore, artillery or arms,
or strategies. Or, the whole journal could be on a particular battle, such
as Gettysburg or Petersburg. The child could be a sailor, fighting in the
bettles at sea, or an abolitionist, trying to escape oppression and spreading
the message of freedom.
