<< Thaddeus Lowe & Civil War Ballooning
Lesson Plan
Overview | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Resources
Lesson 1: Overview of the Union Army Balloon Corps
For an object-based introduction, show students the picture of the binoculars.
Pose the questions: What are these? How do they connect to the Civil War?
Some suggested object-based questions
- How was this object used?
- Does it look old or new?
- What type of person might have used this object?
- What else do you need to know to help you understand this object?
Need more help using primary sources?
This can be used as an overview for doing all the lessons, or used as a discrete lesson about the Union Army Balloon Corps.
Show this video:
#1 Thaddeus Lowe and Civil War Ballooning (almost 12 minutes)
Senior Aeronautics Curator, Dr. Tom Crouch gives a brief history of Thaddeus Lowe's balloon ascensions and how balloons were used in the Civil War.
OR
#2 What Happened Here in 1861? (2 minutes)
Senior Aeronautics curator Tom Crouch gives a brief presentation of what happened during the actual ascension.
