Addresses three commonly cited justifications for historical study in considering the value of local history. Speaks to the idea that ignorance of the past condemns persons to the same mistakes, that history offers moral guidance, and that history should be studied for its own essence. Discusses the intrinsic and practical values of history. (KO)

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…

The Drug Impact Index provides a set of indicators designed to determine the extent of the local drug problem in a community. Each indicator includes a technical note on the data sources, a graph showing comparative statistics on that indicator for the Portland area and for the State of Oregon, and brief remarks on the implications of the data.…

This directory lists by county 135 collections of local history to be found in libraries, museums, historical societies, schools, colleges, and private collections in Colorado. The directory includes only collections available in Colorado which contain bibliographic holdings such as books, newspaper files or clippings, letters, manuscripts,…

A guide to the assembly of local, oral history information for future historical research is provided. Since the relatively new field of oral history is the tape recording of reminiscences about which a narrator can speak from firsthand knowledge, it is necessary for the interviewer to have background knowledge of the subject matter and…

This issue of the Goldfinch focuses on communities. Ethnic groups, religious groups, schools, families, even the Internet, are used as examples of communities in Iowa. Forced communities are exemplified by migration, law, natural disasters, and sometimes education. Photographs from Iowa's past show the changing nature of communities and encourage…

A local history course offered as a semester elective to seniors has as its purpose the study of the local community as a microcosm of the United States. The basic principle is to reinforce what the student has already learned in previous history courses. The course proceeds through a chronological sequence of units about various periods of the…

In this teacher's guide for grade 2, three common types of communities--farming, commuting, and urban--are presented for study. The curriculum's objectives, 11 key concepts taken up in grades 1-8, and a list of 20 behavioral objectives to be attained by the end of grade 2 are given. The year's program is organized into three units: (1) "Community…

A history of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, from 1655 to 1970 is presented. Written as an historiography exercise by students at Chelmsford High School, the study is intended to acquaint residents and students of Chelmsford with the town's past and its relationship with surrounding communities and the United States. Chapter one, "A Colonial…

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…

Small town community improvement planning is often subjected to urban type analysis. When concepts applicable to the largest cities are grafted onto small towns, a misunderstanding of small town problems and prospects is often the result. Social ecology offers a framework for understanding what a small town is, how it functions, and what is…