Museum exhibits about Clara Barton

Posted by admin on December 10, 2009 under Clara Barton Resources, Resources | Be the First to Comment

If you’d like to experience part of Clara Barton’s history and legacy, consider visiting one of these museums.

1) Birthplace of Clara Bartonhttp://www.clarabartonbirthplace.org/

“The Clara Barton Birthplace Museum teaches the timeless lessons of compassion and service through Clara Barton’s life story. … This American treasure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, preserves Clara Barton’s legacy of compassion. Located within the Quinebaug-Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor in North Oxford, Massachusetts, the property is also home toThe Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc., a premiere health education institution for children with diabetes and their families.”

2) Clara Barton’s House / National Historic Sitehttp://www.nps.gov/clba/index.htm

“Clara Barton dedicated her life and energies to help others in times of need – both home and abroad, in peacetime as well as during military emergencies. Glen Echo was her home the last 15 years of her life and the structure illustrates her dedication and concern for those less fortunate than herself. … Clara Barton National Historic Site commemorates the life of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. The home served as the headquarters and warehouse for the organization.”

Also, you can find a lesson plan related to this historic site @ http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/27barton/27barton.htm

3) The Red Cross Museumhttps://www.redcross.org/museum/history/clarabarton.asp

“Clarissa Harlowe Barton — Clara, as she wished to be called — is one of the most honored women in American history for being a true pioneer as well as an outstanding humanitarian. As pioneer, she began teaching school at a time when most teachers were men. She was among the first women to gain employment in the federal government. As a pioneer and humanitarian, she risked her life when she was nearly 40 years old to bring supplies and support to soldiers in the field during the Civil War. Then, at age 60, she founded the American Red Cross in 1881 and led it for the next 23 years. Her understanding of the needs of people in distress and the ways in which she could provide help to them guided her throughout her life. By the force of her personal example, she opened paths to the new field of volunteer service. Her intense devotion to the aim of serving others resulted in enough achievements to fill several ordinary lifetimes.”

4) The Fairfax Station Railroad Museum - http://www.fairfax-station.org/about.html

“During the Civil War, the railroad and the station were of great strategic importance. Serving first as a supply base for Union forces during the summer of 1862, Fairfax Station became a center for emergency treatment and transportation of the wounded to Alexandria. Clara Barton and two other volunteers broke convention and cut through regulations to nurse many of the over 3,000 wounded Union soldiers who lay on the hill between historic St. Mary’s Church and the depot. Barton, deserted by the other two women when the increasing danger at Chantilly became apparent, finally escaped with the last of the wounded before advancing Confederate soldiers burned the station to the ground. Union troops later rebuilt the structure.”

5) The Johnstown Flood Museumhttp://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/RedCross.html

“The Johnstown Flood Museum features a display about Barton and the Red Cross, including examples of some of the relief items she distributed, documents, photographs and more.”

6) Red Cross ambulance at the National Museum of American History - http://americanhistory.si.edu/news/factsheet.cfm?key=30&newskey=699

“.. Red Cross ambulance once owned by Clara Barton. The ambulance is one of eleven vehicles purchased by the Central Cuban Relief Committee of New York for use by Clara Barton and the American National Red Cross.”

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Clara Barton for Roberto Clemente: Want to Trade?

Posted by admin on November 9, 2009 under Teaching With Heroes, Trading Card | Be the First to Comment

(This following article was published by American Federation of Teachers on their web site in 2007: http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/winter07_08/notebook.htm)

If you’re an elementary school teacher looking to liven up your lessons on American history, join the club—The Heroes Club. Created by businessman Brian Batson and educator Dennis Denenberg, The Heroes Club is a set of 25 trading cards that depicts 25 American heroes and the virtues they represent.

For instance, Benjamin Franklin’s card explains that he represents the virtue of service and notes that he started many important services that we still use today: the public library, the postal system, and the police department. Clara Barton’s card describes her as “a real-life action figure,” who cared for wounded soldiers in the Civil War and started the American Red Cross, and, therefore, represents compassion.

Cesar Chavez’s card, which also mentions Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers, associates him with perseverance for having championed migrant workers’ rights. “Migrant workers harvest many of the fruits and vegetables we eat,” the card reads. “In the 1960s migrant workers were paid $1 a day. They worked many hours (often in fields sprayed with poisons) and lived in shacks without electricity or running water. Cesar and Dolores made people aware of the terrible living and working conditions. They held meetings all over the country and told true stories of the migrants’ poverty. Their perseverance in this struggle helped to improve the lives of migrant workers.”

The cards serve as a fun—yet educational—way for teachers to take a break from history textbooks and use a relatively inexpensive supplement. A set of 25 cards costs $9.95.

A list of the heroes, their virtues, and pictures of the trading cards appear on The Heroes Club Web site, www.theheroesclub.org. Worksheets and lesson plans, both of which prompt students to think about the challenges a particular hero faced and why our lives are better today because of that person, are also posted there.


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Resource: Susan B. Anthony

Posted by admin on November 5, 2009 under Resources, Susan B. Anthony Resources, Teaching With Heroes | Be the First to Comment

Hey Teachers,

Looking for a lesson plan to teach about Susan B. Anthony and women’s rights?

Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment is one you might want to review. It is located on-line at: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/activities.html

This lesson plan includes a script called “Failure is Impossible” (if you are not familiar, that is a famous statement made by Susan B. Anthony). The script calls for a narrator and 3 characters. You can find the script itself at:  http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/script.html

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