I have a lot of these. Some are awesome because they're awesome, some because they're just unbelievable. Kids could give a shit less about most history. It can be really hard to get them involved. I used the "This is America, Charlie Brown" series for quite a few things just for a change of pace. We were reviewing one day about the Great Transcontinental Railroad, and I asked, "Okay, who got the honor of hammering the final connecting golden spike?" Crickets. Followed by my beloved foreign exchange student with the most lyrical Nigerian accent. "Oh! It was that dog! It was Snoopy that did it!" (Actually, as adorable as this was, it was also somewhat disturbing. After all, I was a high school teacher. This student was 17. This was a SNOOPY cartoon we'd been watching. It was based on fact, but come on. What the hell? A cartoon Beagle isn't responsible for anything other than warming the heart. Or proving that this student of mine was decidedly gullible and/or challenged in some way...)
On vacation to San Diego, I toured the Del. There were occasional questions and prizes. "Who struck the golden spike?" was one of them. How great was it to know it was Charlie Brown's dog?
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