Service-learning projects help students make connections to their community and help them to think about civic participation. The projects can range from very simple short-term philanthropy to very complex direct involvement by the students across multiple years. Students learn both social problem-solving skills and academic knowledge through…

Examines a historian's experiences and impressions gained while interviewing the immigrant generation in a community of Jewish chicken farmers in Petaluma, California. Information is presented on the differences in attitudes and aspirations between generations, interview techniques, problems of interviewer credibility, and problems of…

Provides suggestions for turning the search for local history materials into a coherent package for the classroom. Teachers should choose a project that teaches skills and helps shape student values. A thematic approach (for example, transportation) contributes to selectivity and is useful for producing a sourcebook. (KC)

Describes a university undergraduate course in community studies which was taught through an historical, geographical, and sociological approach using primary sources and research techniques. (KC)

Describes a writing course for undermotivated students which focuses on careful precise observations through the study of other time periods in the history of the town where the school is located. (DD)

Discusses a local history project sponsored by The Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine. States that studying a local community focuses students' attention on how people and historical events have shaped their own lives. Describes how the program helped a fourth grade class explore and understand the past and present, as well as prospects for…

The visual arts, like multicultural education, play a vital role in our understanding of diverse human experiences. In this article we explore the role of community-based contemporary art in education. We consider the ways that art practices speak to issues of history and culture as a site of investigation and a method of investigation in…

To overcome problems of trivia and nostalgia, a problem-centered approach to community oral history projects is proposed. Instead of cataloging details about aspects of past social life, the projects might shape their inquiry as an effort to understand a problem facing the community, a problem with contemporary significance but historical roots.…

In 1920 Robert S. and Helen M. Lynd published the results of their exhaustive study of everyday life in Muncie, Indiana, dubbing the city "Middletown" as a symbol of the typical American community. Salient conclusions of the study are summarized, and significant recent literature on Middletown is assessed. (RM)

Describes a local history project in which high school students located valuable historic photographs on the local community and reproduced them on 35mm slides. An historic photo archive consisting of the slides accompanied by documentary materials was created. Procedures for creating and suggestions for using a photo archive are included. (KC)

Briefly discusses projects in local history from elementary to graduate level. Suggests that projects can serve as a springboard for broader study and a building block for an appreciation of United States History and western civilization. (Author/KC)

Analyzes the evolution of Mexican American identity in Houston's Chicano community. Describes immigrants' emphasis on community pride in "mexicanismo" and Mestizo-Indian heritage, abandonment of indigenous identity and demands for White status in 1930s and 1940s, and identification with racial minorities during the civil rights movement.…

Presents a methodology for providing the historical narrative or context statement which must accompany a town's nomination for inclusion on The National Register of Historic Places. States that the same 14-point outline can function as a starting point for any written community history. (GEA)

Described are summer economics institutes in which teachers from Pennsylvania learned about local and regional economies through classroom instruction and field experience and then used what they had learned to develop classroom materials. The local community is an excellent vehicle for integrating economics into classroom instruction. (RM)

Traces the history of Arthurdale, West Virginia, a homestead community established by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Division of Subsistence Homesteads in 1933. Includes Arthurdale's community projects, activities, and schools. (RW)