General Irvin McDowell p. 35/36

General McDowell states, "I felt myself to be a horse who's ordered to gallop while still hitched to a post." What do you think he means? Why does he feel that way?

Judah Jenkins p. 33/34

Judah shares insight about famous people that are remembered (Col. Elmer Ellsworth) and others who are not (James Jackson). Why do you think some people or groups of people are remembered and others are not? Who decides? 

James Dacy #2 - p. 31/32

James watches the soldiers marching and drilling. He tries to sketch some of them, amazed at their uniforms. What have you worn that you have been proud of? How did that uniform make you feel? Explain.

Toby Boyce #2 p. 29/ 30

Toby has learned a new skill, how to play the fife, and is quite proud of his efforts.

Tell us about something that you learned to do and how it felt when you had mastered it. Be specific.

Lily Malloy #2 p. 27/28

A letter, traditional form of correspondence or communication. Patrick's letter is read by all eventually. Explain one time when you received a letter, email, or phone call that changed you. 

Dr. William Rye p. 25/ 26

A new approach, comment on the following quote from Dr. Rye:
"Man is the deadliest of God's creatures."

Do you agree with Dr. Rye or not? Explain.

Dietrich Herz - p. 23/24

Dietrich Herz loves the Union, it has given him and his countrymen a "new life". A new life is a good thing, is going to war going to help him continue the "new life" or will it end it?

Shem Suggs #2 - p. 21/ 22

Shem Suggs gets the horse that he has always wanted. Greta's a little tired, a little old, but Shem is as happy as can be. What do you think, is the horse going to be a good thing for Shem or not? Explain.

Nathaniel Epp Post

Nathaniel Epp, dry-land sailor with a bunch of photography equipment. Lands in Washington, DC, and does not have a favorable opinion of the city. Yet, the city gives him plenty to do.

What's his perspective? This is going to be an tough one, he really doesn't state his thoughts. What do you think? Use the info from the book and from your experience.

Virgil Peavey Post

Virgil Peavey sees many news things as he joins his company and heads to Montgomery, AL. What is his perspective on the war? What about the other men in his company?

The white-haired schoolmaster certainly has a different perspective than most of the folks on the train. What is his perspective?

Compare the two.

Gideon Adams #2

Now that we are into the second entry for Gideon, the prompts will change slightly. Obviously, we will see perspectives change, feel free to continue to comment on earlier ideas. 

Gideon Adams makes a series of decisions or choices in this chapter. Do you think he is making good choices or not so good choices? Explain your ideas with examples with the book and/ or your experiences.

Toby Boyce Post

Toby Boyce, courageous kid or silly fool? What is going on with Toby? What is his perspective on the Civil War? What led him to that perspective?

James Dacy Post

James Dacy has a very different perspective and experience than the Wheelworth women. What is James' perspective as he is leaving Massachusetts? Do you think his perspective changed as he traveled south? Explain your ideas using examples from the story.

Flora Wheelworth Post

The story continues to get more and more complicated. Flora Wheelworth is certainly a southerner. Her daughters have an interesting perspective on the war that is just getting started. What is the perspective of the Wheelworth women? Try to summarize their collective perspective, what do the Wheelworth women think of the Civil War? Why do you think they feel that way?

Welcome to the KT56 Bull Run Blog!

The KT56 Bull Run Blog is gaining new members! Welcome to community members, Mrs. Carafiello,  and GMUHS students. We are glad that you are with us on this literary adventure. To date, we have been reading about two people or chapters each day. Comprehension checks are done in school with some open-ended questions coming out on the blog every couple of days.

The overarching goal is to have all sorts of folks responding and reacting to the book. Basically, we will be voicing opinions as well as commenting on the different characters, events, and ideas from the story. Feel free to comment on the responses from others as well. As always, be respectful of all ideas.

Thanks for sharing your insights and ideas.
KT56

Gideon Adams

Gideon Adams is spirited person. He is excited about the Civil War, yet he knows he can't fight. What does he think about the idea of creating a Home Guard? Why does he think that is important?

What about the other people in town? Why do you think they are not as enthusiastic about the idea?

What's your opinion? Explain with examples.
 

Shem Suggs

Well, Shem Suggs has had an interesting and challenging life. How does Shem feel about the Civil War? What is his motivation?

What about Mr. Bee? Why do you think he feels the way he does?

Lily Malloy Post

We learn a number of things from Lily but not much about her. What do you think her perspective would be on the Civil War? Explain your idea(s) with examples and information from the chapter. 

Colonel Oliver Brattle Entry

Colonel Oliver Brattle starts the story with an interesting perspective on the Battle of Fort Sumter.

What is Colonel Brattle's initial opinion of the war? What is that perspective based on? Share your thoughts and refer back to the chapter as often as possible.

What about Vernon? What is his perspective? We don't know much about him, so explain your perspective thoroughly.

Bull Run Characters

Bull Run, by Paul Fleischmann is a story about many different characters and their perspective on the events surrounding the first Battle of Bull Run. The first question for you, the reader, is what do you think some of the differences between characters will be? In other words, what will be different about the characters?

Think about Northerners, Southerners, and people in general. Share your ideas about what you think will be characteristics of different characters. We'll brainstorm along in the blog and then see what types of people Paul Fleischmann created. Thanks for sharing your ideas. KT56

Bull Run

The book, Bull Run, by Paul Fleischmann is the VT Reads choice for 2012. We have extra copies so parents and community members can read along with us. The first assignment will be posted here soon. We'll see if we can comment on this page as well. If it doesn't work, we'll come up with another option. Thanks for checking in and reading with us! KT56