I’ve mentioned Teaching the Civil War with Technology a couple of times in the past because it is an excellent blog that every US History teacher should follow. Recently through Teaching the Civil War with Technology I learned about the Pennsylvania Civil War 150 website. On Pennsylvania Civil War 150 you can find interactive timelines, interactive maps, artifact displays, and a neat interactive soldier display. Through the interactive soldier students can see how a cannon was loaded and fired, examine the intricacies of a Union uniform, and watch soldiers act out common field commands such as “charge bayonets.”

On a related note, make sure you check out Civil War Sallie which is the companion site to Teaching the Civil War with Technology. Civil War Sallie won the 2009 Edublog Award for best student blog.

Applications for Education
The interactive soldier on Pennsylvania Civil War 150 could be a great way to bring a study of the US Civil War to life. If you really wanted to get your students physically, actively engaged in a lesson you could have them study how the soldiers act out field commands then have the students try to act out field commands themselves.

Here are some related resources that may be of interest to you:
Three Good WWI Resources from the BBC
American President – An Online Reference
The Science and Technology of WWII