Teaching History to Youngsters: Is There A Proper Method?

[Shockoe Hill Cats]

Good Evening,

So, I REALLY wanted to post this cute, kind, warm-hearted letter that one student wrote to me after I went in to do a Living History presentation for my father's fifth grade class. Of course, when I drove into the school parking lot the audience of 10-12 kids turned out to be, "Oh, there's about fifty or so..." :eek:

Anways, it just made me realize the importance of our most honourable and important hobby. The after effects are always soo rewarding to me.

But on that note, here's my question: Has anyone produced a "program" or method on presenting to young children? There are obviously several differences with teaching to younger audiences than say teenagers or adults. What do you think is the most effective? Can anyone redirect me to a source?

Thanks for any input and or generated discussion!

[Robert A Mosher]

I'm afraid I don't have much to offer to help on this one, but I would like to share an idea I got from another forum I participate in - the Napoleon Series. That Forum recently decided to present Lesson Plans prepared by a group of Forum members who are teachers and educators themselves. As I understand their plan, the lesson plans will be included in the online material at the Forum website for the free use of interested teachers.

There must be several teachers who are members of this forum who would be knowledgeable about format for a proper lesson plan and about what would actually be useful by way of content and presentation ideas. Me, I dropped out of the education program before it got that far! But I thought it might be a useful idea for the AC Forum.

Robert A. Mosher

[13thnhv]

I've done numerous talks to groups of young people, and 5th graders are ideal. They're old enough to comprehend most of what you tell them, but not wisea--es as they tend to become at the middle and high school levels sometimes. They are interested in the GUN more than anything. Make sure everyone has a chance to handle and aim it.

Next, keep it relatively short (as the attention span will inevitably wane), and animated. No one wants to hear droning. Pick a narrow focus of subject matter.....one battle, life in camp, what a soldier wore and carried, etc.

Tell them interesting things the classroom teacher might not touch on, or even know: why the triangular bayonet was designed that way, various uses for same, the myriad ways a shelter half could be erected. Browse through Hardtack and Coffee to give yourself a refresher and take notes. Keep it light. Realistically, most of your audience will never carry an interest for the Civil War too much beyond your presentation, but TWICE I have given talks at public schools, and each time we managed to pick up a new recruit for our unit. One was the head custodian who took a break from his work to listen in, and the other was the high school history teacher who called us in.

Remember to keep it light and pass around some tangible goods. A minie ball, utensils, poke sack, etc. can go a long way to make it more real, same as us reenactors who can't get everything we want out of just books or lectures. Have fun, and good luck!

[Chris Suppelsa]

I know someone else will post this, but DON'T let students handle your weapon.

I am trying to do a presentation for a middle school this spring, but I'm catching a bunch of flak about how I can't carry a weapon since I'm a student of the district. Anyone else gone through this?

[13thnhv]

It's really district-specific, so you need to ENSURE that you will be able to bring your long arm onto school property. I was always able to in Massachusetts, of all places, which next to NJ is probably the most prohibitive. Provided you get the clearance you need, and the close supervisory presence of the school administration, it is perfectly acceptable. I've never had a problem with this issue. Make sure you check first.

[DJCasey]

Chris,

I had the same problem with my weapon when I was in High School. I was able to get a note from the Superintedent to use it in presentations. It had to be escorted to and locked in the office along with my bayonet when I was not giving a presentation (I still had my own classes to go to). Of course that was pre 9/11 and Columbine.

[Micah Trent]

I know someone else will post this, but DON'T let students handle your weapon.

I am trying to do a presentation for a middle school this spring, but I'm catching a bunch of flak about how I can't carry a weapon since I'm a student of the district. Anyone else gone through this?

I'm not a student, but I can relate. I do presentations with school kids, mainly elementary. Because of certain rules and safety issues, I never let a child handle the gun, I have a hard enough time trying to get the gun in the school or museum without asking twenty-twenty questions. Sometimes I can get in with it, sometimes I can't. It really ruins the presentation though without the rifle...I mean, I understand why they are asking what my purpose is with the musket, but it is difficult. The rifle is the attention getter. I've learned to always have a plan B ready, so no matter the situation, you can always be prepared to give the best presentaton you can.

[Micah Trent]

Remember to keep it light and pass around some tangible goods. A minie ball, utensils, poke sack, etc. can go a long way to make it more real, same as us reenactors who can't get everything we want out of just books or lectures. Have fun, and good luck!

Good point! Also, if you have some hardtack, pass it around. At times I have had some with me in my haversack, so the kids could sample it if they want. The reaction to it and telling them about it is priceless!

[coastaltrash]

Jason,
According to that letter, looks like you found a pretty good method.

[ephraim_zook]

On furlough! I wrote to my friend Miss Teacher and told her I'd be passing through her town on my way home and she invited me to visit. I've used that reason to explain why I was at the school sans weapons.

At the sixth grade level, that in itself was worth a few minutes of discussion. Kids understand "vacation". How often did a soldier go on vacation? How did they choose who could go? Even without telling them, the kids realize that the whole army can't leave at once. How long was furlough? Etc.

Comparisons between common activities of 186X to 200X are good; they relate to eating, bathing etc because they do it too. What did we eat? How did we prepare it? What happened if you got sick? Where did you bathe? Relieve yourself? Do laundry?

As others here have suggested, have "stuff" to hand around. Canteen, mess furniture, can of essence of coffee perhaps, period currency, especially a couple of fractionals. A paper "dime" is quite a novelty to them. The possibilities are endless.

Bring along a couple of extra hats and coats -- one for a "sergeant" and one for a "corporal". Get them out of their seats and have them form the company. They'll have a blast doing it.

If you are able to bring your rifle, then you can speak about Soldier As Weapons Delivery System, to put it in modern terms.

However you approach it, have fun with it.

regards
Ron Myzie

[ElizabethClark]

Moderator Bonnet On briefly--folks, let's not get distracted from Mr. Spellman's excellent topic, that of what methods work well to engage younger students. Gun issues have been hashed over ad infinitim. Mod Bonnet Off. :)

I'll ditto the suggestion to relate mid-century life to the children's lives. Ask what they do in the morning, and tell what a soldier does in the morning. They may have an alarm clock or their mom kissing them awake--the CW soldier has a bugle and a commanding officer to kick him if he's not in place, etc. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, "recess", "vacation"... And, with kids in the 6-10 range, toilet stuff. They're fascinated by historic toilet stuff, but you have to be tasteful and willing to keep control of the jokes. :) Same with diseases and treatments ("what if a soldier gets sick? A cold? Flu?")

Having things that can pass around is vital. I don't know that I'd let them taste hardtack--too many allergies and alerts out for poor modern kids--but getting to handle it, try to break it, etc is instructive. For some reason, boys tend to be fascinated by a thimble, though that's not likely something a soldier would carry, is it?

One key: keep it short and action-oriented. They'll get facts and figures out of boring old textbooks. Key into the STORIES behind those facts and figures, things that make the diagrams and maps come alive, because they're linking to real people. You'll spend time reading and documenting, but when giving the presentation, share the story, rather than the research paper.

[sharpshooter]

I go all out on my with gear, the kids are visual learners. I bring other uniforms, caps, different color chevrons, regimental flags, guidons and a bugle. I bring extra leathers and put the on extra gear on a couple of kids and drill them. I save putting all the uniform items, shirt, vest, sack coat and my great coat on the teacher. The kids go crazy with that one. I do a full hour with out weapons since public school here prohibit weapons, the kids really don't miss them if they have enough to see.

[huntdaw]

I do these programs quite a bit through my work and have done a couple things that seem to work well.

One thing I would stress, especially with elementary students, is that you are not a Civil War soldier. Up to 4th grade or so many of these kids don't have a well developed concept of time. I don't know how many times some kid has actually thought I fought in the war. Well, that opens up an avenue for a little math lesson.

I talk mainly about the common soldier during the war and try to relate that to Missouri history and the local history of whatever school I am at. I think if you talk about the men that came from your area and what went on in and around your town it brings it closer to the child and sparks their interest.

I take all my repro stuff and basically suit up beginning with shirt and trousers, explaining the use of each item and why I need it. We do a little comparison with what a CW soldier used and what our soldiers use and carry now. Drawing parallels or analogies with what they may be aware of in current events works well. I have compared the guerrilla war in Missouri with the type of war our soldiers are currently fighting. Although I usually see the light bulb go on in the teacher's head most of the time, I think many of the students are aware enough of what is going on to be able to possibly grasp the concept of how dangerous and deadly life here was. That analogy won't work for a lot of places but there are probably similar things that you could use for your area.

If the weather is good and the teacher doesn't mind, we might go outside and do a little basic drill demonstrating how they moved and how they formed a battle line.

I usually bring some Bent's hardtack and we talk about food and what would be carried in the haversack. I asked once if anyone knew what a soldier would carry in his haversack and one little girl said "hammers". It took me a minute to realize she thought I said 'hammersack'. Anyway, I will break this up and pass it around in a canteen half to let them taste it.

Provide hands-on experiences for them through letting them hold a minie ball, put on a cartridge box, pass around good reproduction money etc. I would echo what someone else said though - do not let them handle any weapon or bayonet.

The point is anything you can do to involve them will help them to learn it better as opposed to just standing there saying 'this is my gun, this is my jacket' etc.

I will take kid sized uniforms and let one or two put the stuff on and model for the rest of the class. We also do this with our civilian program and have a kid sized hoop and dress etc. This is usually pretty popular.

The weapon can be tricky but I have never not been allowed to bring it. At some schools I do a firing demo outside. I always make sure I tell them I have this weapon and would like to bring it. I then inform them that we can do a firing demo if that is within their policy. Many times I am allowed to do the demo, especially during summer school sessions.

I think you need to have them physically involved somehow and not just spectators, tie in what you are talking about with something they are familiar with such as what happened in their area, bringing out that they probably had ancestors that fought in the war.

Relate it to them somehow. A 4th grader here in Missouri doesn't have much of a concept about battles that took place in Virginia because he doesn't know about Virginia except where it is on a map and what its capital is. But he can certainly relate to the guerilla activity or the unit raised in his town here, skirmishes etc because he has a knowledge and familiarity with the area.

Hope that is of some value.

[Rob Walker]

We do many school and library program throughout the year. We basically tailor the discussion to the curriculum of the age group we are speaking to. We obtain copies of the NYS curriculum as it pertains to the Civil War. Unfourtunatley that is not alot of information. The standards are basically there was slavery, this little conflict and reconstruction. The information on the war itself is very basic and the standards deal more with the time before and after the war. What we do is give the students a brief history and foucus mainly on the life and equipment of the common soldier. We do programs with a minimum of three soldiers and we try to get each person dressed a bit differently ie. sack, frock and jacket and a variety of headgear.

We do fire and on some occasions cook. We do not permit students to handle weapons although they are allowed to look closely. We also provide a few things for the kids to handle ie. hardtack, minnie ball, forage cap bees wax candle etc. The more senses they use during the presentation the more they get out of it. Touching reproductions and viewing some artifacts goes a long way with kids. we are also fourtunate to portray a company that was recruited from the same area we are from. So when we isit an area we tell the students about the men that came from where they live. We point out where they lived and what businesses they where in. We tell them where streets in their communities are named after these men and in some cases where they are burried in their towns. we attempt to make the exprience for them as personal as possible and to impress upon them that the people we portray were not unlike them and that it was not all that long ago and that the things these men touched and built are still all around them.

[bholt61stny]

One guy in my unit is a 6th grade history teacher, though I am not too familiar with his entire presentation I know that on one day the students have a mock battle. He spends about a week or more on the civil war. After discussing the politics, battles, he gets into the hands on portion with uniforms, food, and other things soldiers needed. He teaches them some of the very basic maneuvers as to not confuse them and on the last day spent on the civil war, they go outside and have a water balloon fight using the tactics they learned. Complete with gray and blue t-shirts they form up with their peers on opposite sides of a field and the battle commences. This is all approved by the administration, in fact, they love it and most importantly so do the students.

[TobiasJones]

Personally, I believe that most of the important stuff has been hit on by very knowledgeable people. In my personal experience a few things I found have worked well are:
-Keep it short. If you have a lot of time to fill then change subjects often and dont
dwell too much on one subject.
-Be animated. It's hard for some of us but helps out tremendously for the kids.
-Talk about gross/mean stuff. Keep it appropriate, obviously. Things like food
and punishments really get their attention.
-Keep it active. Use the kids in your presentation. Spread the wealth. Use as
many as possible.
-Ask them leading questions to get their imaginations going.
-Compare as much as possible to todays standards that they can relate to.
-Be aware of their abilities. The youngerthey are the more you need to make it
simple.
-Make it hands on. If possible, let everyone touch "Civil War stuff". Bring as many
props as you think you can carry.
-Do a lot of research on kids in the war. Know as much as possible to relate to
them.
-If working directly in a school, check out your states standards of learning and
try to use those standards.
This seems to work for most ages. Remember that groups vary in attitude and culture so don't get down on yourself if they aren't responsive. And if you work with teenagers, I have found that sarcasm is a great tool. I hope this can help a little.

Evan O'Dell

[redleggeddevil]

I was Educational Curator for several small museums across the years, and as such had lots of opportunities to do hands-on historical programs. Several good points have been made in this thread, and I will throw in a few more.

1) As some have pointed out, do everything possible to make the children "put themselves in another's shoes". I would learn a bit about the town they were coming from, then ask a series of questions:
"It is 1861. What does your family do to earn a living?"
"Do you go to school? How much of the year? What do you study?"
"What familiar landmarks are still standing in the community from the year we are studying?"

They will quickly see the similarities (this works best in older towns), but will see the differences even more clearly.

2) Too little information is bad, but not as bad as too much. One of the fellows in my unit was notorious for giving a sermon where a sentence would suffice. A little girl asked him "Why is your uniform that color?" Instead of explaining that the regiments in our army all wore that shade, he launched into an incredibly detailed review of traditions, dyes, unit history and other ephemera. She stared at him blankly, then turned and walked away. She learned a lesson that day-- history is boring and complicated and it doesn't make sense. That was probably the last historical question she will ever ask.

3) Bring plenty of "stuff". Kids love stuff, and love trying to guess what some of it might be used for. I deliberately brought something obscure each time, so that they would have to work to figure out what it was.

4) If possible, help kids to find their own answer rather than always providing it. When they ask why I wear a certain item or do a certain thing, I would ask them "Why would YOU wear that or do that?" They could often reason out the answer themselves. The best example is clothing. If they laugh at the clothes I wear and wonder why they were popular, I ask them to explain current fashion to me. "Why do boys wear pants so big that they fall down? Why do people wear hats sideways, when that prevents a hat from doing what it is designed to do?"

5) Allow plenty of time for question and answer time. If you have done a good job, they will have more questions at the end than at the beginning. This also keeps you from rattling on too long and losing their attention.

6) Lastly, try to remember what made you so excited about history when you were young, then offer it with conviction, passion and clarity.

And now, having violated my own pledge to be brief, I will give over the floor.

[Rear Guard]

My experience with 5th graders has taught me to keep it pretty simple. They are totally unfamilar with the subject and you should not try to cover too much. I've had success with a short true or false trivia game that expressed the bizarre nature of the war. Questions like "During the war, most soldiers died in battle....true or false" gave the kids a chance to participate and gave me a chance to explain some interesting little known facts about the war. Choosing a larger kid as a volunteer and saddling him up with a loaded knapsack can be a good way to involve the audience and also gave me an opening to discuss the toughness of the common foot soldier. I used to pass out hardtack until a teacher once said that one of her students had an allergy to wheat products. That ended that.

Jeff Lawson

[Jim of The SRR]

I go all out on my with gear, the kids are visual learners. I bring other uniforms, caps, different color chevrons, regimental flags, guidons and a bugle. I bring extra leathers and put the on extra gear on a couple of kids and drill them. I save putting all the uniform items, shirt, vest, sack coat and my great coat on the teacher. The kids go crazy with that one. I do a full hour with out weapons since public school here prohibit weapons, the kids really don't miss them if they have enough to see.

I echo your methods. I usually use this method and it really keeps the kids interest peaked. This was with 5th grade classes.

Jim Butler

[Knapsack Matt]

I did a living history at my school and other schools in the area and all the kids love it. We were at Kellam High school in Va Beach doing a Fife and Drum Demo and they loved it so much they wanted to join our group.

Matt

[Shockoe Hill Cats]

Thanks all, again, for making some excellent points and providing insight! I have been graciously invited back to my old high school for four years now to do living history presentations for the 11th grade American Studies classes. And like I said, had a wonderful time going to my father's elementary school.

Firstly, I wasn't trying to focus specifically on 5th graders but yes, they are very dynamic and kind kids. Like Mr. Madden pointed out, they certainly are old enough so that the presenter can communicate to them without sounding too basic but then again not too complicated either. It's funny that Mr. Comer ALSO was thought to be a "real" soldier as you can see by the letter I posted above.

Ms. Clark did point out that the focus of this thread was not on the rules for bringing in a rifle or musket into the schools but rather on the methods of teaching. However, on that note I will say that I've personally never had a problem at the high school. The elementary school wouldn't let me bring it in. Like Mr. Casey, the school resource officer was present when I showed off the firearm. But last year I showed it without an officer; I guess I just earned some level of trust with the school. But like some have pointed out, rules vary with the school's own interest. And for safety's sake, watch what they are handling! I almost got a heart attack after I saw the kids rifling through my knapsack; one of which took out my period razor! :eek:

After recieving letters back from all the 5th grade classes, they seemed the most interested in:

1) The Rifle

2) The Hardtack/Bullet (of course, when I said it was HARD-tack, one had to test to see exactly how hard it was!)

3) My handknit socks (They're a little big, but not big enough for them to laugh at! :rolleyes: )

Mr. Comer, I think I might try your "suiting up" method next time.

Thanks guys & gals,

[dwinch]

I recently did a school presentation for high schoolers. We opened up by singing "Tenting Tonight", talking about how companies and regiments were formed, "recruited" two students to dress as Confederate and Yankee with full gear, we then talked about the gear as they stood there at attention. After about a five minutes or so, we let them try to hold the weapon and go through the various firing commands (not with rounds, mock loading) and then we went into the food and issued items. I passed around some hardtack, parched corn, green coffee beans, slab bacon, etc. They seemed to enjoy that the best, especially before lunch (I pre-warned them of the food and that they would eat at their own risk and didn't go over so well after lunch.) After that, we asked them several little known facts and trivia of the war and answered questions. We only had 52 minutes to tell them as much as we could, so we stayed away from battles and Generals, which they should have been taught in class and focused on the individual soldier. Next year they are going to give us more time and we plan on setting up a camp outside. I hope this helps!

Dale Winch

[Parault]

I have done about three school lectures. One of the funny stories was from the first one my pards & I did. About two days before the presentation, I called the principal at the school we would be attending and ask about bringing our rifles. She was very cooperative. We had it all clear from the super to the principal down to the teachers involved. The morning of the presentation my guys got there early in order to set up camp. We stacked our rifles,and commenced to cooking our breakfast,and placing our tents for the kids to not only see, but to smell. Things were going very well, with the principal and the teachers coming over right before school started. They were all excited about the things that were going to take place that day.
About 10 minutes before the first class came out to where we were, the Police Chief( who I am very close friends with), came driving up along with the the super. He got out and came over laughing. When they got there, the chief said some concerned parent called not only 911 to report guns on campus but called the all of the news media. Sure enough it wasn't long before a reporter from the T.V. station called the school. Another friend of mine who is in radio, in our area called me on my cell phone and asked what was up? To make a long story short. I have learned in my area it is useful to place in our local small town paper about upcoming Civil War Days at the Jr High, as to avoid any misunderstanding.

[Bob 125th NYSVI]

I know someone else will post this, but DON'T let students handle your weapon.

I am trying to do a presentation for a middle school this spring, but I'm catching a bunch of flak about how I can't carry a weapon since I'm a student of the district. Anyone else gone through this?

Actually Chris when we do the two middle schools we do we do let the kids handle the weapons (unloaded) in a one-on-one case.

They school administration gives us specisl permission to bring the muskets onto the property.

We (we usually get between 15-20 guys) setup a camp with a number of different stations.

The stations include a weapons station that has a number of authentic weapons laid out for inspection.

A chaplains station, the company street, the officers tent, a surgeaon's station, a cooking demostration and a drill area.

I usually set up a location where everything a soldier might carry on him is laid out on a shelter half and I discuss the various items with the students, usually giving as I walk around putting a hat on one kid or a coat on another. The drawers gets the most laughs. The students get to look into the tents (usually one is setup for them to lie in) and we try to setup a couple of different types including a she-bang or two. While I'm talking I usually hand my musket around so kids can get an idea of the weight.

The surgeon explains medical proceedures.

The cooking demonstartion prepares and hands out food.

The Sargents and Cpls gather groups of student's together and put them through a simple drill and some field manuvers.

The captain talks about the officers roles.

And we have civilians with us to to explain how people lived in those days.

I find the more hands on the better. The kids get lectured enough in class and this is more along the lines of a lab.

[Minieball577]

I find the more hands on the better. The kids get lectured enough in class and this is more along the lines of a lab.


This is so dead on.

My 11th and 12th grade American Civil War students have a weekend event where they are engaged in all hands on activities including building their own fire and cook rations based on methods they learned in Hardtack and Coffee, they fire muskets with live ammunition under controlled circumstances, and witness and fire live artillery rounds under similar circumstances. It is an event they will not forget.

The part of the event that is most frustrating to them is the signal flag portion where they send signals across a field using flags they have sewn together (I reward the most authentic flags with a prize, and some of them have been fantastic reflecting a good deal of research, and a hell of a lot of hand stitches.) This portion is so frustrating to students even though we have done research on how to encrypt and decrypt the messages and how to "wig-wag" according to the reading in Hardtack and Coffee and other reseources. There is learning in frustration, however, and the students who finally master the skill are so proud of themselves, to the chagrin of the ones who are still working on it.

A short story about my last field trip, held one cold-wet day in October 2006 is posted at http://www.nwtskirmisher.com/news.shtml

[ephraim_zook]

Chris,

What a great opportunity for the students! Would that we could float such a program in every school district nationwide. Good deal!!

Ron Myzie

[styler]

The thread on interpretation is relevant to this discussion:

http://www.theauthenticcampaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7870

for some.

[47thNYReb]

I was asked to speak at a local school to a "couple" of classes. When we set up a camp and the principal saw it, he brought the entire school out, one grade at a time. My pile of hardtack that I crumbled up for the kids was gone by the time the first graders were gone. Moral of the story - If you are going to offer hardtack, have plenty. They seem to love it better than we do.
Also, I have found that by leaving caps, powder, and lead at home that most principals will let you bring your musket. But, get permission first and have the information relayed to the school resource officer so you do not get yourself in trouble accidently. Oh, and I would speak to the principal myself rather than just get his/her approval relayed through someone else.
Thomas N. Rachal

[onemoreb]

I have had quite a few experiences giving "talks" to classrooms full of eager young faces. I have found that with older kids 6th and up, it is best to just take in your things and forget about dressing in period clothing. It seems they react better and absorb more when you talk to them as a teacher as opposed to a guy in funny clothes (ie. a clown to them) for them to snicker about to their friends or the girl/boy they are trying to impress. It has been most effective when groups are small, no larger than 15, and always have interesting stories from the "Late Unpleasantness" to keep their attention. These tactics seem to have worked the best for me with the older groups of students. It also works well for adults at NPS sites.

[Bob 125th NYSVI]

I have had quite a few experiences giving "talks" to classrooms full of eager young faces. I have found that with older kids 6th and up, it is best to just take in your things and forget about dressing in period clothing. It seems they react better and absorb more when you talk to them as a teacher as opposed to a guy in funny clothes (ie. a clown to them) for them to snicker about to their friends or the girl/boy they are trying to impress. It has been most effective when groups are small, no larger than 15, and always have interesting stories from the "Late Unpleasantness" to keep their attention. These tactics seem to have worked the best for me with the older groups of students. It also works well for adults at NPS sites.

Now see we find exactly the opposite in the same age group. The middle school kids just love to handle the clothes and stuff and they are constantly pointing out a piece of uniform and asking what it is called or made of.

Maybe that's because we are outside in a camp setting.

As to them acting up, well a lot of that depends on the education staff.

But two years ago I had a couple of older boys in the back acting up and without evening thinking about it I told them to knock it off or I'd come back there and smack them.

Maybe it pays off to be able to look above the whole crowd and down at the transgressors or maybe I have a parade ground voice but the immediately shut up and looked down. Or maybe it pays to live in socially conservative area where kids getting out of line still get popped at home.

One of the teachers later asked me how I did that and I told her they weren't sure I wouldn't.

But we engage the kids and don't lecture or talk down to them.

As an example the guy doing our cooking demonstration doesn't lecture at all. when the kids come over the first thing he does is offer them something he just cooked just like a couple of pards had wandered over the fire. After they've either accepted or rejected (and we always get a couple who try) he asks the ones who tried if they liked it and tells them what it is. Then he talks about what we are going to have for dinner and that gets them going.

[LSee]

When I lived in Michigan, i was occasionally asked to lecture as a Civil War soldier at a sixth grade camp on the shores of Lake Huron. I slept with the students, one year in my pup tent, ate with them (their food of course! :) and actually had the opportunity to fire the rifle.
I think they enjoyed the opportunity to hold it, dress in the period clothing and see what I did more than anything. It sure does bring back memories -- and that was a LONG time ago!