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…

This guide contains practical suggestions for and theoretical discussions on preparing oral history transcripts for publications or public view. Although intended as a guide for nonprofessionals, it can be used by those who are conducting more serious research and are not familiar with the techniques of oral history. Because the guide deals only…

Senior citizens recall what it was like living in the West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in this Foxfire magazine, written and published by high school students. At the heart of the Foxfire idea is the conviction that students can learn about their community and humanity only outside the classroom. The magazine is an example of…

This publication contains background reading material, photographs, sketches, and exercises to help elementary students study and compare objects and aspects of past and present life in the United States. The rationale for the approach underlying the publication is that by listening to folk songs and ballads or by talking with a senior citizen…

This volume is designed to supplement materials teachers have chosen to use in teaching Colorado and community history. The materials are not a complete history of Colorado or a complete textbook; instead, teachers are provided with 14 teaching activities for use in elementary and secondary social studies or history classes. The book is divided…

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…

Trends, tips, and resources for teaching local and family history are identified in this state-of-the-art paper. Using the local community as a historical resource can make American history more relevant and meaningful to students and aids in the development of a wide range of skills, including library use skills, writing skills, and skills used…

This guide, which is based on the Foxfire project (see SO 009 021 for project description), is full of practical suggestions to help secondary school students put together a magazine using stories from their own communities. Contents include the following: choosing a name for the magazine; how to organize staff; story ideas to choose from; sample…

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…

Reports that students from fourth and fifth grades, along with middle and advanced history students acting as mentors, planned and executed a five-month historical research field project. Student research teams carried out at a local site a two-week archaeological dig uncovering artifacts and discovering how their predecessors lived. (NL)

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…

The document presents a history of an Italian immigrant family that settled in Westport, Connecticut, before 1900. The monograph is part of a project to investigate the ethnically varied cultural heritage of the Norwalk-Westport area. Objectives of the history are to record the story of the d'Amico family, shed light on the Westport Italian…

The booklet describes a multimedia project which introduces secondary students and interested adults to the ethnic history of Westport and Norwalk, Connecticut, from 1900 to 1979. Objectives of the project were to demonstrate ways to explore the past and relate it to the present, forge links between generations, encourage understanding and respect…