4 Days of Obscure Military History, War Stories - 1775 - 1945
In this four day course, students will learn about obscure military history from four of America's major wars - The American Revolution, Civil War, World War 1 and World War 2!
Michael DiMinno, M.A.T.
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5.0
Number of reviews:(771)
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What's included
4 live meetings
4 in-class hoursClass Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Learn about several different fascinating stories about military history! These are little known tidbits that are very interesting and have earned their place in world military history. The structure will include four immersive sessions which will cover a different time period each day. They are: Revolutionary War Black troops in the Revolution Women in the Revolution - Molly Pitcher and Deborah Samson The American Turtle - The world's first submarine The Culper Ring - Spies during the conflict The Boston Tea Party tea chest The Plot to kill George Washington George Washington and Patrick Ferguson - the sniper who chose not to fire Civil War Mourning Glowing wounds Future presidents in the Civil War Lincoln Assassination attempts Death and disease Harriet Tubman's raid WWI The youngest soldiers of WWI The "Angel of Mons" Franz Ferdinand' license plate The Pool of Peace Highest scoring aircraft aces of WWI Tanks The Zimmermann telegram U-Boats Alvin York Battle of the Somme Harlem Hellfighters Paul Kern German Askari RMS Olympic Cher Ami WWII British and French naval engagement in North Africa Dieppe: the first D-Day The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich Calvin Graham, the youngest American to serve in WWII How Hitler's nephew served in the US Navy Japanese Balloon bombs Audie Murphy, the most decorated US soldier of WWII Hiroo Onoda, the penultimate Japanese holdout of WWII I teach by using slides, original photographs, video clips, discussions and more. There will be several question/answer periods during the session to address questions and comments. Some prior knowledge of military history helpful, but not a must. As the teacher, I will be dressed in a period uniform for each session.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
I have been teaching military history to elementary students since 2001 and parents have appreciated the approach I use given the age of the students. I try to keep our study away from the more age inappropriate topics, such as The Holocaust, harsh treatment of POW's, etc. It is not that these topics aren't important, it's just that the age range for these lessons (8-14) is a bit on the younger side, so I feel that they are better left to teachers of older grades. When I do get questions about the more disturbing aspects of the war, I might answer along the lines of, "these soldiers went into this country and did not treat the people there well," instead of giving specifics. Having said this, please be aware that these classes are about warfare and military history. One aspect of this is to talk about weapons from the corresponding era, and to discuss advancements in military technology. I don't handle any firearms personally, but we do discuss weapons and technology and I show pictures and videos when appropriate.
If your learner is sensitive to this kind of subject, and may get frightened or upset upon seeing a picture of a rifle, cannon, tank or bullet, then this may not be the class for them. This is a class about military history, and there is no way to avoid this, so please take this into account before signing up.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Some sources for this course include:
Black troops in the Revolution, the Turtle and the Culper Ring:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/revolutionary-war-facts
Boston Tea Party Box:
https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/partners/a-box-worth-keeping
Molly Pitcher:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Molly-Pitcher
Deborah Samson:
https://explorethearchive.com/revolutionary-war-facts
Plot to Kill Washington:
https://nypost.com/2018/12/29/how-a-new-york-governor-once-plotted-to-assassinate-george-washington/
Washington and Ferguson:
Mourning and glowing wounds:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seven-obscure-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-civil-war-178230/
Lincoln assasination, Arlington, Death and Disease, Harriet Tubman Raid
https://www.history.com/news/10-surprising-civil-war-facts
Presidents in the Civil War, battles every day,
https://blog.bridgemanimages.com/blog/some-unusual-facts-about-the-american-civil-war
https://www.historynet.com/the-marksman-who-refused-to-shoot-george-washington/#:~:text=Captain%20Patrick%20Ferguson%2C%20a%2033,pick%20off%20the%20unsuspecting%20officers.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
771reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Education from Manhattanville College
Bachelor's Degree from State University of New York College at Fredonia
Hello, my name is Michael DiMinno and I have been teaching for over 20 years. I hold a Master's degree in Elementary Education and spent most of my tenure as a classroom teacher. Over the past 3 years I have shifted to remote small group instruction and tutoring. At this point, I have taught well over 1,000 students on Outschool and have attained the level of Star Teacher. While I enjoyed being a classroom teacher and tackling multiple subjects, my real passion is teaching history. I believe that being a teacher is the greatest vocation in the world and in order to reach young people effectively, you have to work to make connections with the students and make the material engaging and accessible. I use humor, as well as my vast collection of military uniforms and artifacts, to bring history to life for my students. Outschool learners from all over the world have enjoyed seeing these period uniforms while learning about topics surrounding WWII, WWI, the Civil War, and the American Revolution. I don't handle any firearms, and there are no inappropriate uniforms or symbols.Reviews
Live Group Class
$25
weekly1x per week, 4 weeks
60 min
Completed by 25 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-15
3-10 learners per class
