Bringing US History to Life!

Bringing US History to Life!
Capture the FlagOn October 27, 2015, Ms. Norton’s U.S History Classes had a chance to experience history in the making. Each class was able to participate in a reenactment of Capture the Flag based on events that took place during the American Revolution. One hundred fifteen eighth graders from five different classes participated in six rounds of capture the flag each.

The activity was scripted with certain aspects of the traditional game where two teams each have a flag (or other marker) and the object is to capture the other team’s flag, which is located at the team’s base and bring it safely back to their own base. An enemy player can be “tagged” by player in their home territory; these players are then out of that round until the next round starts.

The version our eighth grade students performed was somewhat changed to reflect the situation they were reenacting. The object of this exercise was to have the students spread out and to capture the flags from either the British or American Armies. A third team, the French, were involved as well and joined the American team after a few rounds had been played. Participating in this “hands-on” exercise gave students a new perspective to this historical event. Reading about an incident that took place in 1776 has new meaning after recreating the event.

In this picture from the reenactment, Dominique Hines, the captain for the British team, surrenders his flag and allows Jacob Wells, portraying George Washington in this event, to win the Revolutionary War.