How old is old anyway???

Dr. Smirvova asked us to create an artifact bag to share with the class.  I thought that this was a fun assignment and will definitely use in my future classroom!  The whole idea behind the artifact bag is bringing an item from long ago to life for students.  The item can be anything at all.  Even a piece of thread or a button can be part of this project.


I chose to create my artifact bag on medical items from The Civil War.  I thought that I would be able to use objects that I could find relatively easily and show students how far our medical technology has come since The Civil War.  
The artifacts I chose are a saw, mercury, and a leather strap. 




 


 




I thought these would be a great way to show my students the difference in medical technology from the time of the Civil War to now.  Students may not realize that when a wound was too bad, they would amputate the arm or leg with just a leather strap for the patient to bite down on for the pain.  A full 75% of the surgeries on the battlefield were amputations.  I also chose mercury because it is surprising that mercury was given to people when they were sick.  The medical community did not realize that the mercury they were dispensing was the reason that people were losing their teeth, having digestive problems and even suffering from brain damage.  These instruments were all used by doctors on the battlefield and at the hospital tents when a soldier was wounded.  These items were all common instruments used during the Civil War which was fought from 1861-1865.  All of these items could have been found in any region of the United States during that time period.

I also chose to read the book, “Pink and Say” by Patricia Polacco to my students.  This book is about a boy who finds a wounded fifteen year-old soldier on the battlefield.  He helps him to his house where the boy’s mother takes care of him until he is fully healed.   The two boys were captured as deserters and became prisoners.  One boy was hanged and the other boy was put into a prison where he stayed for nine months before being released.  This is a wonderful story of friendship and hardship between two soldiers on opposing sides of the war.   Many of my students may not realize that boys just a little older than them were sent to war to fight at such a young age.