Research in media literacy seeks to understand multiple branches of inquiry, including the practice of media production. Youth in Maine have produced media independently and in organized venues for more than 50 years. This paper describes results from surveying primary source materials produced by youth in Maine between 1960 and the 2000s.…

If part of the job of history educators is to prepare students to be informed, literate, active, and analytical citizens of their communities, then what better place to start than with encouraging them to really learn and contextualize the history of their own communities? This article explores student responses to a semester-long local history…

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…

Describes an innovative, interdisciplinary science program at the Middle School of the Kennebunks, Kennebunk, Maine, which involves students gathering and analyzing data on the ecosystem of a nearby island and the surrounding ocean, as well as the Kennebunk River. Projects have combined scientific study with local history and town planning. (MDM)

The author reminisces about rural life and attending a one-room school in Maine during the 1920s. She recalls walking to school on cold winter days with her older siblings, the games they played, and a typical school day in which one teacher taught 30 children in 8 different grades. (LP)

A girl's camp in Maine during World War II had to deal with food rationing and black-market food dealers. Campers picked beans to raise money for refugees, sewed clothes for refugees, and spotted for enemy planes from Mt. Pleasant. An attempt to use a horse-drawn cart for transportation failed, and good help was hard to find. (TD)

The author reminisces about her early schooling experiences in rural Limestone, Maine, and the experiences of family members in local one-room schools back to the 1870s. Reveals her enthusiasm for education in spite of obstacles such as wading through snow to get to school. (LP)

The author reminisces about his educational experience at a small school in Maine during the late 1930s, revealing the respect he extended toward his teachers, what it was like to grow up during this time period, and his feelings upon returning to the now vacant school. (LP)

This lesson, based on National Register of Historic Places files, describes early settlers' lives on some of the approximately 5,000 islands off the coast of Maine. During the mid-18th century many of these islands began to be inhabited by settlers eager to take advantage of this interface between land and sea. The lesson discusses the Blue Duck…

A former teacher reminisces about her teaching experiences during the 1920s in a rural school along the Aroostook River in Wade, Maine. Each year, when the boat carrying the cook for loggers upriver arrived, she and her students went aboard and received a special treat of warm molasses cake. (LP)

The author discusses the history of the Grange movement and reminisces about her experiences at the Castle Hill Grange in rural Maine during the depression. Granges were organizations established during the 1800s to enhance the educational and social growth of farmers, preserve the unity of rural families, and promote moral values. (LP)

The author reminisces about his childhood during World War II and the impact the war had on the rural community in which he lived. During wartime, children worked on farms after school and during the summer, commodities were rationed, and communities took part in air-raid drills. School lessons revolved around the war's events. (LP)

Researched, written, illustrated, and photographed by Kennebunk, Maine, high school students under the guidance of their English teacher, this book documents the skills, crafts, and attitudes needed for survival in northern New England. Information gathered by personal interviews, on-site observation, and research is organized into two sections:…

Through school-based programs and community interviews, the Northern Forest Center has documented the history of place names in rural eastern Maine. The resulting book aims to move residents beyond local forestry-related conflicts by focusing on shared values, to preserve local sense of place, and to make children want to stay in or return to the…

The Maine studies program at a rural Maine middle school begins in the sixth grade and expands through the eighth grade. Students camp out, explore Maine's geography, and learn about themselves, their state's history, and the state's diverse populations. Two multischool programs, Exchanging Maine's Cultures and the Curriculum Integration…