An emerging secondary school curriculum focus is on the study of the people and places closest to students themselves--their own families and the communities in which they live. These studies are popular because they start with the lives of students; help define students' self-concepts; focus student attention on areas for effective social action;…

A high School independent study course in village government analyzed and reported on the suitability of the present governmental structure of the community. (Author/KM)

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)

Two Canadian high school teachers describe a unit of work they designed to provide senior high school students with an understanding of the principles of urbanization. (Author/RM)

The high school journalism teacher who initiated the Foxfire Project discusses the memorable learning experiences and community studies in which students are involved as they develop and publish the Foxfire magazines. The author describes the project objectives and the successfully implemented teaching techniques and learning activities so that…

This publication, part of supplementary materials for a National Council for the Social Studies Conference paper described in SO 003 075, characterizes and offers evaluations on the Wingspread Project. A number of school exchange programs for varying age groups of suburban and urban young people from diverse backgrounds emphasizes a sense of…

Students and faculty of the New City School are housed in a single open room of a reconditioned building in an industrial area of St. Paul. Students come from St. Paul's neighborhood high schools, night school, and Open School. They may attend a nine-week session in the morning or afternoon for 2 1/2 hours. The eleven permanent staff members are…

The focus of this book is on the exposition of the principles of the Parkway Program. The program is worthy of description for several reasons: 1) the renovation of our educational system must have a high priority, and the program suggests a possible direction; 2) the story of Parkway is a case study of what happens when an educator sets out to…

This guide is designed to provide a process for identifying and developing understanding of the many ways that the law touches the individual at the community level. A study done by 7th grade students at Wellwood Middle School in the Fayetteville-Manlius School District in New York is described. A geographic feature in the community known as the…

The booklet describes the local history component of an interdisciplinary high school course on American Studies. The program involves students over a three-year period in collecting, recording, organizing, interpreting, and disseminating the history, culture, and tradition of Scituate, Rhode Island. The booklet is presented in six chapters.…

Three units comprise the New Orleans Ethnic Heritage Program developed for students in grade 8. Objectives are to increase student appreciation of New Orleans cultural heritage, help them understand their own racial and ethnic groups, and build analytical and evaluative decision making skills. The units are entitled "The Ethnic Heritage of…

As part of Project Adventure, a specific unit within a 12-week Colonial History course taught at a Massachusetts high school was designed to: involve students with each other, their community, and local history; add a significant social and experiential dimension to the course; use a unique system of student evaluation and grading; and be…