This booklet contains activities designed to investigate local history. The booklet's three activities will help young people learn fascinating stories from the past about their own neighborhoods. One activity is "Oral History," where a student can interview an older person about his or her experiences. Another activity is called…

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)

Recommends the use of cemeteries as the focus of student research in secondary social studies. Presents methods for initiating such a project and guidance for appropriate student behavior. Includes a list of suggested activities for cemetery studies. (CFR)

Recognizing the importance of studying the community to develop a historical perspective in students, this lesson module tells the story of Fort Wayne, Indiana from the first Indian settlements to the present. It is written in narrative form and each segment of the story contains learning activities to reinforce and enhance it. Learning activities…

This unit was developed to help students gain a sense of personal identity by examining their heritage. This is accomplished through a study of their genealogical beginnings, their county, and their ancestors' way of life. Part I of the unit engages students in activities investigating their background such as writing an autobiography,…

This document presents a program designed to provide students with a comprehensive and interesting way to study their community. Although developed for secondary students, the program activities, with slight modification, should be equally successful with intermediate-level students. Using the community as the area to be studied, a major focus of…

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…

Secondary level student historians used oral history interviews, local records, newspapers, and personal events to depict the story of their town, Amityville, New York. Students chose their own topics, researched available materials, and wrote the papers. Many of the articles are enhanced with interesting local photography. An illuminating picture…

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…