Red Raiders
The BCMS Living History Program has reached over 1600 students in the last four years. The purpose of the program is to bring Civil War Era Texas to life through hands-on activities and instruction by costumed student interpreters. The activities and projects allow students to research and recreate events, moving them from the role of passive observers to that of actual historians involved in the collection, documentation, preservation, and presentation of Texas history.
The program was started in the 2005-2006 school by BCMS history teacher, Leslie Lloyd. Twenty-five eighth grade students worked as news teams for the ìCivil War News Networkî to produce a 50-minute news show that looked at major events in the war. Living history was so enthusiastically received by our students that the program was continued and expanded in the 2006-2007 school year. Twenty 8th grade students worked directly with the 3rd Texas Artillery re-enactment group to accurately portray camp life for a Texas unit during the Civil War. Students researched camp tasks, speech, dress, and mannerisms of the era. All student interpreters were dressed in period clothing. This re-enactment was held at a local park and visited by approximately 500 eighth graders from Bridge City Middle School and Port Neches-Groves Middle School. Coverage by one of our local news channels was so positive that we had requests from six schools to attend the 2007-2008 re-enactment.
Our program continues to grow and has become a vital part of our history department. The 07-08 re-enactment day featured thirty-five student re-enactors and was visited by students from three districts. This yearís camp was manned by forty-eight students and was visited by BCMS, Orangefield Jr. High, Port Neches-Groves Middle School, and Spurger.
Department chairs and faculty members are now working with members of the 3rd Texas Artillery re-enactment group to develop an interdisciplinary curriculum with educational material for classes who visit each year.
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