This booklet presents a guide for primary students studying a community. Students are to become aware of the many aspects of their community which make it unique. A variety of educational experiences are included with ideas for group lessons, group projects, individual projects, learning centers, and worksheets. All activities are open-ended so…

Described are two approaches for using newspapers to teach local, regional, or state geography courses to college students. In the first approach, the instructor developed a manual to supplement an introductory geography course which examined spatial patterns of various phenomena as they are found in the Cincinnati (Ohio) metropolitan area. He…

Describes a history program at the Suzanne Middle School, Walnut, California, in which students create, design, and promote local history activities. Emphasizes the accomplishments of the program, including a rise in the school's state test scores from the twenty-second percentile to the ninety-fourth percentile. (RW)

Considering that the lower ability student in the seventh and eighth grades faces problems of emotion, identity, and self-motivation, there is a need for a more activity-based, exploratory curriculum that gives students responsibility for their learning and living. An interdisciplinary local studies approach was adopted for this six-week unit…

Procedures to help intermediate-grade social studies teachers implement a local history unit are provided. Although intended for teachers in Iowa, the guide can easily be used by educators in any state. The procedures are organized around three major generalizations: (1) buildings and artifacts are resources in explaining the history of a…

Examines the pitfalls and obstacles of applying a professional historian's standards to the practice of writing and researching local history. These include unreliable and incomplete records as well as sponsoring agencies that prefer sanitized legends to historical accuracy. Nonetheless, praises local history as a rich resource and recommends…

Designed for inclusion in an eighth grade course on U.S. history or civics, this unit introduces local students to the history of Alexandria (Virginia) through a study of its buildings and urban growth. By examining factors which have changed the community (technology, transportation, economic influences) as well as the relationship between…

In this award winning project for incorporating economics study into the curriculum, a fifth grade class studied economic interdependence as it applied to their community (Barling, Arkansas). Class readings of several books dealing with the development of an economic community preceded the students' creation of a mini-Barling with elected…