History Center and Classroom
Poster and Essay Contest
“It's Our Turn: Fight to Save Civil War Battlefields”
For Grades 4 through 12, by the Civil War Preservation Trust
You’ve heard from us – now it’s your turn! If you had only one minute to convince your elected officials to stop a developer from destroying a Civil War battlefield – what would you say? Why is it better to preserve a historic Civil War battlefield than build a strip mall and housing development? Why should a community fight to protect their battlefield? How will saving the battlefield benefit a community – and future generations? Why does preserving a battlefield make us better people in the long run?
The 2009 motto is “It’s Our Turn: Fight to Save Civil War Battlefields.” Use and develop this slogan while you create either a poster or an essay to remind Americans that Civil War battlefields are endangered national treasures.
Contest Levels
POSTERS
Elementary, for students in grades 4, 5, and 6
Junior, for students in grades 7, 8, and 9
Senior, for students in grades 10, 11, and 12
ESSAYS
Junior, for students in grades 7, 8, and 9
Senior, for students in grades 10, 11, and 12
Prizes
First – $200
Second – $100
Third – $50
Students win cash prizes; teachers win gift certificates in equivalent amounts. Due to its generosity and its concern for students and
teachers, The History Channel has graciously donated the prizes!
Deadline
All entries must be received in our office by May 15, 2009.
Rules
Students may enter either the poster contest or the essay contest in their age group, but not both. (Note that there is no elementary essay contest.) There is no group entry category – one student per essay or poster. Posters AND essays must use the slogan as their title, and the title must be spelled correctly. Each entry must be labeled with the following information. (Hint: many
teachers create labels in advance, and then attach one label to each entry.)
- Teacher Name
- Student Name
- School Name
- Student Grade
- School Address
- School City, State & Zip
- School Phone
- Teacher E-mail
Posters will be judged for creativity, quality of artwork, visual impact, and strength of message.
- May not be larger than 14" by 22"
- May be made with markers, crayons, paint, paper cutouts, pen and ink, or any other media that will not smear and will leave
the finished poster flat and easy to handle. - May not use copyrighted materials such as comics, TV characters, professional photographs, etc. The use of Internet pictures is not preferable. The poster should consist primarily of student artwork, not pictures.
Essays will be judged for creativity, persuasive quality, clarity, and strength of message.
- Must be approximately 300 words long.
- Must use proper grammar and correct spelling and consist primarily of the student's own words.
- All quotations from diaries and texts must be properly cited.
- Preservation of Civil War battlefields is the main idea to be expressed – not just an overview of the war.
Entries will not be returned and become the property of CWPT. Entrants will be notified of contest results in June of 2009 via letter and Hallowed Ground magazine.
Mail Entries to:
CWPT Poster and Essay Contest
Civil War Preservation Trust
11 Public Square, Suite 200
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Need More Information?
Call 1-888-606-1400 or email jrosenberry@civilwar.org
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Classroom
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