Gregory Howard's Story
Before starting the book:
Print out and read Explanatory Notes for Teachers Using Gregory Howard's Story for background material that will help answer students' questions.
Show students the first three pictures of Gregory Howard's Alexandria. While showing the map, point out Alexandria (where they story takes place), Washington, DC (where the Union army is gathering), Manassas Junction (where two rail lines meet and the Confederate Army is gathering), Fairfax Court House (where the family's relatives live), and Bull Run (the area where the first major battle of the war will take place). Remind students that "Western Virginia," beyond the mountains, was Unionist and separated from Virginia to become the state of West Virginia.
After Chapter 4:
Show the last four pictures of Gregory Howard's Alexandria.
After finishing the book:
Class Activity:
Meeting in small groups, students will brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe each of the following characters: Gregory, Elizabeth, Lena, Miss Lily, Belle, Mr.Wilson, Andrews, Father, Aunt Millie, and the pawnbroker. Then members of each group will decide which three adjectives on their list are the most descriptive and can be supported with incidents from the story. (This activity could be continued in a whole-class session in which the group lists are combined and discussed.)
Discussion Questions:
How did Gregory justify Virginia's secession? Why is his father a Unionist?
How did the early weeks of the Civil War effect Alexandria? How did the occupation by Union forces affect the city?
Why do you think some soldiers treated Gregory and other Alexandria citizens with respect and others did not?
Give examples of ways friendship and neighborliness overcame political differences at this very emotional time.
Honor was important to Virginians. Give examples of how the concept of honor influenced various characters in this book.
Do you think Father was a good parent? Why/why not?
How do you know that Gregory simply accepted slavery without thinking much about it or about what it meant to be a slave?
Suggested Writing Assignments:
Write a character sketch for one of these: Gregory, Elizabeth, Father, Mother, Lena, or Uncle Matthew. (Page 2 of www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/twisters_character_sketch_help.pdf might be useful to students.).
Write a letter from Elizabeth describing life in wartime Alexandria to one of her friends who left the city when Virginia seceded.
Imagine what Father might have said in his letter to Martin. Write that letter.
The story ends shortly before the First Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas. Read about this battle and either 1) write an essay about the battle or 2) write a letter that Gregory's brother Martin might have sent to his family after it was over.
Explanatory notes for teachers using Gregory Howard's Story by Carolyn Reeder
CHAPTER ONE
Miss Lily -- It was the custom in the South to refer to women and girls by the title Miss and their first name, showing both respect and friendship.
Manassas Junction -- the place where the rail line from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley joined the rail line from Alexandria and turned toward Richmond. The Confederate army was gathering there as men from all over the South were sent by rail to protect the Confederacy's capital just as men from the loyal states were gathering in Washington to protect the capital of the United States.
CHAPTER TWO
His history teacher had traced the roots of the problems between North and South back to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia -- The delegates to the Constitutional Convention had come to an impasse over the issue of slavery in 1787, with many of them in favor of abolishing the practice but with some delegates from the South threatening to walk out unless slavery was allowed to continue. Finally, a compromise was reached: Five slaves would count as three people when determining how many representatives to Congress each state should have.
...to help sew shirts and uniforms for Confederate volunteers -- Especially early in the war, southern soldiers' uniforms were often sewn by family members in rural areas and by members of volunteer groups in cities and towns, though well-to-do men would have their uniforms professionally tailored. In the industrial North, however, factories churned out uniforms for Union soldiers.
Fairfax Court House - In Virginia, the village or town that grew up around the county courthouse was known by the name of the county plus the words "Court House."
CHAPTER THREE
"Well, now, young fellow. I know you're free and white and male, but I doubt you're twenty-one." When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they limited the right to vote to free white males who had reached their 21st birthday. (After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment gave voting rights to black men, but it was not until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 that women won the right to vote. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18 by the 26th Amendment.)
CHAPTER FIVE
Proclamation of Martial Law -- a notice that the civilian law enforcement of a town or city is being replaced by military law and will be enforced by military police, and that the duties of the mayor and city council will be under a military official, the provost marshall. Usually martial law includes curfews and the requirement for people to have passes to enter or leave the city.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Haven't you read the poem 'My Maryland?" Written by a young man from Baltimore who was teaching in the South and who heard (mistakenly) that a close friend had been killed in the rioting back home, the poem, urging Maryland to secede, was widely published in newspapers throughout the South. A few months later it was set to music by two Baltimore sisters. To make the words fit the tune they had chosen ("O Tannenbaum") the young women added "my Maryland" at the end of the first two sentences in each verse and changed the title from "My Maryland" to "Maryland, My Maryland."
To link to the author interview, click here.
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