AUTHOR CONNECTIONS:
Born
and raised in California, Paul Fleischman - son of the well-known children's book
author Sid Fleischman - has written more than twenty books, many of which celebrate
his love for natural history, and for music. With his Joyful Noise: Poems for
Two Voices, Fleischman garnered the 1989 Newbery Gold Medal. About his writing
for children and young adults, he states: " Music runs all through my works. "Bull
Run, a symphony of sixteen voices, is singularly spectacular, and certainly
no exception. Fleischman himself appears as one of the voices on the Bull Run recording, and concludes the tape with a discussion of why he writes in the style
he does, "weaving characters' lives together like a tapestry or symphony." For
more information on this highly acclaimed writer, see WHIRLIGIG's Author Connections,
or click here: www.paulfleischman.net
CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:
 For
a superlative introduction to the subject matter, have students listen to GETTYSBURG:
The Echoes of Courage and Cannons and SOLDIER LIFE: Letters Home and
Journals of the War. Both offer young people the foundational - as well as
personal - knowledge helpful to empathize fully and personally with Fleischman's
cast of characters in Bull Run.
After
listening to Bull Run, sixteen students will each select a character from
the book. They will study their character' s personality traits as presented by
Fleischman, and then prepare a short monologue script - perhaps one minute's worth--that
is in keeping with the character they will portray. Allow sufficient time for
students to gather apparel for costumes, and practice their scripts. Audience
will listen to the dramatization and then guess which character the student impersonates.
Save time for questions and answers after each oral presentation. Consider sharing
on a Parents' Night or Open House.
Have
students work in pairs to create brochures for the Manassas National Battlefield
Park. Their literature should provide prospective visitors pertinent information
about this park operated by the National Park Service (See Web site below). Give
address and telephone number; include knowledge about this first battle of the
American Civil War; share visuals such as a map drawn to scale, copies of photographs
downloaded from various Internet Web sites, or student drawn sketches of important
buildings - the Stone House is just one in particular - located in the park. Display
class brochures in the hallway or in the school media center.
Conduct
research on the role of music and songs in the American Civil War. From the North
and the South, choose three songs each that represents the gamut of thoughts and
emotions experienced by these soldiers who fought in the War Between the States.
The Web site Civil War Poetry and Music (See Internet Connections below) stands
as an invaluable resource for this activity, offering audio versions of the music
and complete lyrics. Practice and present songs in form of a concert for other
classrooms studying the American Civil War. Record songs on tape for future classes
to enjoy.
Have
each student assume the role of one of Fleischman's sixteen characters. They will
then imagine that they have survived the American Civil War and have returned
home to family and loved ones. Students will create five journal entries from
their characters' perspectives, discussing the aftermath of war, the hardship
of prolonged absence, and the joys and disappointments of daily life.
INTERNET CONNECTIONS:
 The
American Civil War Homepage
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/
Offers general Civil War information as well as primary documents for teachers
and students to use in their units of study.
Civil
War Poetry and Music
http://users.erols.com/kfraser/
Contains an impressive repertoire of both Confederate and Union poems and songs
from the era. Complete lyrics and audio versions of the music make this an engaging,
interactive site for classroom use.
FOR
FURTHER LISTENING AND READING:
  ACROSS
FIVE APRILS (Berkley, 1991) by Irene Hunt. UNABRIDGED
AUDIO available from Audio Bookshelf.
Boys
War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War (Clarion, 1993)
by Jim Murphy
SOLDIER LIFE:LETTERS HOME AND JOURNALS OF THE WAR. Offers listeners poignant accounts
of Civil War Soldiers embroiled in this tragic conflict, as they share their thoughts
and actions through personal epistles and entries. UNABRIDGED AUDIO cassette available
from Audio Bookshelf.
DR.
MR. PRESIDENT- Letters between a slave girl and Abraham Lincoln. Available from
Audio Bookshelf.
REMEMBERING
SLAVERY - AFRICAN AMERICANS TALK ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF SLAVERY AND
EMANCIPATION. Archival recordings and dramatic readings. 2 Cassettes/hardcover
book available from Audio Bookshelf.
Rifles
for Watie (Crowell, 1991) by Harold Keith
With
Every Drop of Blood: A Novel of the Civil War (Laurel-Leaf, 1997) by
James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
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