Happy 201st Birthday Abe

Happy Birthday Abe! Abraham Lincoln was born 201 years ago. We're big fans of President Lincoln at our house - we have a huge framed Lincoln print in our hallway. Tonight we celebrated by singing Happy Birthday to Abe and then celebrating with cupcakes before the girls went off to bed. Yes, we are a family of History Geeks - that is how we roll in the Langhorst house.

Podcast #189 - Early Morning Walk to See Lincoln in DC

Hello. While I was in Washington DC earlier this week I took an early morning walk down the Mall to the Lincoln Memorial. It was peaceful and very few people were out yet. In today's podcast I discuss my walk to see Lincoln while sitting on the steps in front of the reflecting pool. I have added some pictures from my walk with this blog entry. If you would like to see more of my pictures please check out my Flickr set from the walk.

If you have any thoughts on this podcast please leave a comment on this blog or you can reach me directly at speakingofhistory@gmail.com Thanks.


Direct link to Podcast #189 - Early Morning Walk to See Lincoln in DC

James Swanson Interview on Lincoln Assassination from Ford's Theatre You Tube Channel

Today as we reflect on the anniversary of Lincoln's assassination (April 14, 1865) take a few moments to watch some great videos from the Ford's Theatre You Tube Channel. These videos include some great segments from author James Swanson "Manhunt : The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer".

I have embedded one of the segments below in this post but please check out the entire Ford's Theatre channel on You Tube for other great segments of this interview, and others about Lincoln. Awesome content and I'm so thrilled that another major historical site, like the Smithsonian, has embraced web 2.0 tools such as You Tube!

You can also check out another great Swanson interview on You Tube from C-Span Book TV.

Podcast #185 - Review of Matthew Pinsker's "Lincoln's Sanctuary"

Hello. Today's podcast is a brief review of a great book for anyone who enjoys learning about Lincoln : Lincoln's Sanctuary, Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home by Matthew Pinsker. Two summers ago I was able to tour and visit the Lincoln Cottage in Washington DC just prior to the opening of the visitor center. The Soldiers' Home, or Lincoln Cottage, was the summer White House for President Lincoln. It has been estimated that Lincoln spent almost 25% of his presidency at the Lincoln Cottage.

This book sheds light on what Lincoln accomplished at this second home, how the location might have impacted his thought process during the war years and some personal details that make Lincoln appear more human than the stoic icon we view him as today.

I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoyed learning more about Lincoln and would recommend a visit to the Lincoln Cottage the next time you are in Washington DC. If you can't physically visit the next best thing would be a visit to their web site or blog.

If you have any additional thoughts on this subject please feel free to leave a comment to this blog post.

Direct link to Podcast #185 - Review of Lincoln's Sanctuary by Matthew Pinsker

Secrets of Lincoln's Watch Revealed

Very cool news today about the discovery of a message inside Lincoln's watch. I saw it reported first via the Museum of American History's Twitter feed and then later saw the Washington Post story.

Here is the blog entry about the watch from the Museum of American History's blog and includes some great pictures.

There is also some audio from NPR and the NBC video below.

Once again it's cool to know that not everything has been discovered in relation to our nation's history.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Four Score and Seven Reading Event to Celebrate Lincoln's 200th Birthday

I was very excited about the Four Score and Seven Simultaneous Reading Event today to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday. The only problem - I had my planning period during the scheduled 9:30 AM Central time frame. I asked other teachers in the building if they could spare their class for a couple of minutes and I was very happy that four teachers did bring their classes in to read the Gettysburg Address with thousands of others across the world. We had a total of 48 students at South Valley Jr. High School read today. Now we have to wait and see if we had enough to qualify for the world record.

I took some video with my Flip camera and have posted it above. Thanks to all the teachers who brought down their classes.

Happy 200th Birthday President Lincoln

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln. I wonder what Abe would think about all the excitement over his birthday in 2009. Today in class we are talking about Lincoln, trying to help break the world record by reciting the Gettysburg Address with over 200,000 other people and having a birthday party (pictures and video will be added to the blog later).

I have decided to post one of my favorite Lincoln images. I took this picture of a Lincoln statue in Springfield, Illinois in a park right across from the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum when my wife I were on vacation in the summer of 2007. The beautifully restored Springfield Train Depot is in the background. I love this picture because Lincoln seems to be saying "come on down and have a seat, I'd like to visit with you" and he is smiling.

Happy birthday Abe and thanks for all you did and endured to help us live in the country we do today.

Podcast #177 - Review of Smithsonian's Online Lincoln Conference

Hello. Today I review a conference I recently attended - the Smithsonian's Online Lincoln Conference. Besides the high quality content, the best features of this conference were the cost (free) and location (my desktop computer). In the podcast I discuss my personal experience in attending the sessions, which sessions I enjoyed most and the concept of virtually attending an online conference.

If you were not able to attend the conference on February 4-5, 2009 you can still view any of the nine sessions from the archive. Resources from the sessions and an active discussion board are also available online.

Did you attend any of the sessions? If you did I would enjoy hearing about your experiences. Please add a comment to this blog post.

Direct link to Podcast #177 - Review of Smithsonian's Online Lincoln Conference

Podcast #176 - Celebrate Lincoln and Your Students Could Participate in a World Record

Hello. We continue our list of ways to celebrate Lincoln's birthday with an opportunity for you and your students to make history. Join the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in reading the text of the Gettysburg Address at 9:30 AM Central Time on February 12th, 2009. The Museum is attempting to break the current Guinness Book of World Record total of 223,363.

- Learn more about helping to break the world record by reading the Gettysburg Address

- Learn more about the Give A Lincoln for Lincoln project

To participate please check out this link and sign up your class. You will need to fill out a form with the names of students participating and signed witnesses. The site also contains numerous resources for teaching Lincoln.

Are you in? I am having my classes join in the activity and encouraging other teachers in my building to take part as well.

Direct link to Podcast #176 - Celebrate Lincoln and Your Students Could Set A New World Record

Library of Congress Posts New Set of Lincoln Photos on Flickr

The Library of Congress has created a new photo set to help celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday later this month. The collection of 22 photos includes the earliest known photo of Lincoln in 1846.

Check out the Lincoln photo set on Flickr here.

Check out the Library of Congress blog post about the Lincoln photo collection here.

Isn't it great that the Library of Congress is using Web 2.0 tools to both tell us about this collection and then posting the images where they are available to teachers and students!

How Would Lincoln Have Handled Our Current Economic Troubles?

During our current economic troubles have you ever wondered what President Lincoln might have done? Time magazine tackles the issue and has some interesting thoughts on what our 16th president may have done in a similar situation.

Read the Time magazine article on Lincoln and the Economy

Reminder - Smithsonian Lincoln Conference is February 4 and 5

Just a reminder that the FREE Online Smithsonian Conference on Lincoln in happening today and tomorrow (Feb 4-5, 2009). I attended one this morning describing images from his death bed and now I'm attending a session in which they are describing Lincoln artifacts. If you have ever wanted to sit down with a Smithsonian expert and discuss Lincoln you have to see this. They will be archived for viewing later but the live experience is very cool because you can ask questions, vote on questions that come up, etc.

Please check out the online conference from the Smithsonian here!

Podcast #174 - Lincoln's Crossroads Interactive Online Game from the National Constitution Center

Hello. Today's podcast is our 6th idea for how to celebrate Lincoln's upcoming 200th birthday on February 12, 2009. When one examines the life of Lincoln is difficult to not respect the number of difficult decisions he had to make for the good of the nation. Lincoln's Crossroads Game from the National Constitution Center is an interactive way for your students to learn about the issues of Lincoln's time and then make their own choice. You will compare your decision making skills with Lincoln on 13 issues and learn how many times you made the same choice. Check out the podcast and get a quick preview with the screencast embedded below.

If you have any comments or questions please leave a comment on this blog post or e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct link to Podcast #174 - Lincoln's Crossroads Interactive Online Game from the National Constitution Center

Podcast #173 - Summer 2009 Workshops for Teachers on Lincoln

Hello. Today's podcast is my #5 idea for celebrating Lincoln's upcoming 200th birthday. There is nothing like walking in the steps of the person you are studying or sitting in a historical location. You can learn more about Lincoln by attending one of the three Lincoln workshops discussed in the podcast. A link to each of these opportunities - each of which provides a stipend. I have attended one of these workshops and really enjoyed the experience.

Gilder Lehrman - Lincoln Workshop - July 5-11, 2009 - Applications Due February 15, 2009

Horace Mann Abraham Lincoln Fellowship - June 21-27, 2009 and July 12-18, 2009 - Applications Due February 12, 2009

Landmarks of American History National Endowment for the Humanities Lincoln Workshop - June 14-19, 2009 and July 19-24, 2009 - Applications Due March 16, 2009

If you have attended one of these workshops in the past please leave a comment, we'll enjoy hearing about your experience.

Direct link to Podcast #173 - Summer 2009 Workshops for Teachers on Lincoln - MP3 Audio File

Screencast : Smithsonian's Interactive Gettysburg Address

Hello. Do you teach the Gettysburg Address in your classroom? If you do please check out this screencast featuring an interactive Gettysburg Address from The Smithsonian. This screencast was created wing Jing Pro. If you have any comments on this screencast or ideas on how to use this resource in the classroom, please leave a comment on this blog post.

Direct link to Smithsonian's Interactive Gettysburg Address

Podcast #172 - Preview of Smithsonian's Free Online Conference About Lincoln - February 4-5, 2009

Hello. Today's podcast is my fourth in a series of ten - "Ways You Can Celebrate the 200th Birthday of Abraham Lincoln". I briefly mentioned this at the end of an earlier podcast ( Podcast #166 - Using the Smithsonian's "In Your Classroom" to Teach Lincoln )discussing several excellent lesson plans on Lincoln featured in Smithsonian In Your Classroom, but I wanted to provide some more detail about this incredible opportunity for teachers to attend a free, online conference with some of the Smithsonian's experts on Lincoln. Attend in person or come back later and view the archives. I hope to attend several in person and then view the rest later.

Check out the podcast for the schedule, then go visit the Smithsonian's Official Site for the Lincoln Online Conference. If you're early introduce yourself on the discussions page and then come back on the day of the workshop. You can also check to see if your computer has all the needed applications to participate in the workshop live. If you have any comments, or if you are planning to attend, please leave a comment on this blog post.

Direct link to Podcast #162 - Preview of Smithsonian's Free Online Conference About Lincoln - February 4-5, 2009 - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #171 - Teaching Lincoln with Political Cartoons of His Time

Hello. As we get closer to the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln in several weeks, we look at another resource you can use in your classroom to teach about Lincoln. Today we discuss two books that I have used in the past to give students an understanding that Lincoln was viewed in a different light during his own time. There were many during his presidency that did agree with his policies and depicted this view through political cartoons. In today's podcast I discuss two excellent books you can use with students. A link to both of these books are listed below.

- The Political Cartoons of the Whispering Gallery by the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

- The Lines are Drawn - Political Cartoons of the Civil War edited by Kristen M. Smith

If you have used these books in your classroom or would like to comment on this podcast please leave a comment on this blog post. We would love to hear how other teachers are using political cartoons to teach Lincoln.

Direct link to Podcast #171 - Teaching Lincoln Through Political Cartoons of His Time - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #168 - Review of Abraham Lincoln : Great American Historians On Our Sixteenth President

Hello. As we near the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, I am discussing 10 great things you can do to celebrate the life of this amazing president. I started last week with a great lesson plan and online webinar resource from the Smithsonian ( check out Speaking of History Podcast #166 ). Today I am suggesting a great book I purchased just a couple of weeks ago - Abraham Lincoln : Great American Historians On Our Sixteenth President edited by Brian Lamb and Susan Swain. This is a C-Span book so you know it high quality content and a great way to reflect on a wide range of topics relating to Lincoln. Check out the podcast and listen to what I think of the book.




In addition to reading the book, I encourage you to check out the online content from C-Span on Lincoln as we celebrate throughout 2009. The C-Span site has many additional resources and amazing full length video content with authors and historians on Lincoln. You can view hours of discussion on Lincoln for free from this site - incredible.

If you have a comment you would like to share about the podcast, please leave a comment on this blog entry or e-mail directly at speakingofhistory@gmail.com


UPDATE:

The day after posting the podcast I was excited to recieve the following e-mail from Susan Swain, editor of the book:

Mr. Langhorst

Just listened to your podcast about our Abraham Lincoln book...thanks so much for telling other teachers about the book. We're all about education at C-SPAN and an endorsement from Missouri's teacher of the year is about as exciting as it gets.

Best regards, Susan Swain

Thanks again to Susan and everyone at C-Span for their work in creating resources teachers can use in the classroom.


Direct link to Podcast #168 - Review of Abraham Lincoln : Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #166 - Smithsonian's "In Your Classroom" To Teach Lincoln

Hello. We are currently within a month of celebrating the 200th birthday of our greatest president - Abraham Lincoln. Teachers across the country are preparing and planning events. Today's podcast will discuss a couple of ways you can bring Lincoln into your classroom courtesy of the Smithsonian.

Be sure to view and download the Spring 2009 Issue of Smithsonian In Your Classroom which features 2 Lincoln lesson plans - Lincoln's Trip to Richmond and The Face of War. All of the resources are available for download as a PDF file. It could not be easier to incorporate these lessons into your classroom.

The second great opportunity from the Smithsonian is an invitation to attend/view the Online Conference Series focusing on the life of Lincoln. This virtual conference will take place on February 4 and 5, 2009. You can ask questions of the experts and learn about a variety of topics relating to Lincoln. All segments will be recorded and archived for viewing later.

If you have used these resources or have any thoughts on how you will celebrate the birthday of Lincoln, please leave a comment on this blog post or email me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com


Direct link to Podcast #166 - Smithsonian's "In Your Classroom" to Teach Lincoln - MP3 Audio File

Smithsonian In Your Classroom - Focus on Lincoln

This spring while in Washington DC as part of the National Teacher of the Year Program I spent an amazing day at the Smithsonian learning about the wealth of resources available to teachers - both when physically visiting the museums and when your classroom is hundreds of miles away. I became part of the Smithsonian Teacher Ambassador Program to help spread the word about these amazing resources.

Many of us are currently getting ready to help celebrate the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln with our students. I would like to pass along the following information about the latest issue of "Smithsonian in Your Classroom" - which includes a variety of great lesson plans on Lincoln. The issue includes some great information and one of my favorite Lincoln classroom activities - comparing photographs of Lincoln as he took office and then at the end of the Civil War just prior to his assassination. I encourage all history teachers to check it out. The issue and resources are available online, and as always - FREE.

Abraham Lincoln: The Face of a War

The latest issue of Smithsonian in Your Classroom is on its way to your schools and also available as a PDF download from SmithsonianEducation.org. The lessons in this issue use Smithsonian portraits of Lincoln to introduce a study of the Civil War. The portraits include the famous “cracked-plate” photograph, two plaster “life masks,” and an eyewitness drawing of Lincoln’s arrival in the enemy capital of Richmond, Virginia.

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/lincoln/index.html

Free Abraham Lincoln Virtual Conference

The Smithsonian is honoring Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial with special exhibitions and programs, and you will be able to participate in the national celebration through the first Smithsonian Online Education Conference: Abraham Lincoln. Throughout the days of February 4 and 5, 2009, you’ll explore Smithsonian research and collections related to Lincoln’s life – everything from portraits and diaries to documents and historical artifacts. Alongside Smithsonian curators, you’ll look at Lincoln’s life and legacy from the perspectives of history, science, and art.

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/lincoln

Lincoln at 200

Also check out all the Lincoln events and resources available from the Smithsonian:

http://www.gosmithsonian.com/lincoln/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/life-of-lincoln.html