Novelist Mary Lee Settle reminiscences about growing up in an Appalachian coal mining town and how she uses her life experiences as a back drop for developing stories and characters for her novels. She discusses family history, coal mine violence, and the proud heritage and culture of Appalachians. (LP)

Describes a project to collect, organize, and analyze petitions to state legislatures and county courts concerning race, slavery, and free blacks in the South between 1776 and 1867. Presents a lesson plan designed to incorporate these, and similar documents, into middle-, and high-school history classes. Includes a sample document. (DSK)

Teachers implementing a local history project in Belmont, California, had help from a federally funded technology innovation challenge grant: the Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project. Sponsored by a Silicon Valley school-business partnership, the initiative illustrates how technology can transform classroom learning while supporting instructional…

The annual Women's and Girls' Tea Party and Storytelling Ceremony is held in a Berkeley redwood grove by a creek. Seeking to generate community support for creek restoration, the ceremony/celebration/site-specific performance piece uses childhood rituals and story telling to help participants connect emotionally to each other, the place, its past,…

In the small ex-mining village of Langold, North Nottinghamshire, no one could have predicted the disruption a discovery of bats would cause, halting building work on the new Sure Start centre in West Bassetlaw. Further uproar ensued when it became clear that re-housing the bats would be an expensive--and, for many, a pointless--exercise. At the…

Using the London Room of the London Public Library in London, Ontario, Canada, as an example, this article will examine the nature of local collections, the sources and methods of acquiring genealogical and local history materials and the constraints related to such acquisitions. This article will also present a brief history of the London Room…

This catalog incorporates information gathered between 1987 and 1989 for inclusion into the National Park Service's Listing of Education in Archaeological Programs (LEAP) computerized database. This database is a listing of federal, state, local and private projects promoting positive public awareness of U.S. archaeology--prehistoric and historic,…

This paper summarizes the various visually-oriented and informational projects that were developed to enhance the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the town of Cody (Wyoming). Some of the projects that were developed included: (1) a slide show presentation detailing Cody's growth from 1896 to the 1920s; (2) a pictorial…

This issue focuses on how advancements in photography affected Iowans and the pictures they took of their communities. Five famous and not so famous photographers who have taken pictures of Iowa's history are featured: (1) John Plumbe, Jr.; (2) Isaac A. Wetherby; (3) D. C. Hale; (4) Duluth Pieper; and (5) E. M. Clark. Instructions for making…

Folkpatterns is a 4-H program in which young people investigate folklore, cultural traditions, and local history. These materials include a leader's guide and Folkpatterns activities. The leader's guide provides information for leading a Folkpatterns project and 12 sample meeting plans to be used with Folkpatterns members or to be adapted for use…

This document consists of six lesson plans and primary source materials on the history of black people in the Illinois cities of Bloomington and Normal. The plans were developed for the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project which concentrates on recovering and recording the history of blacks in those two cities. These pilot editions are…

This document, part of the lesson plan series, "Teaching with Historic Places," examines roadside attractions of the United States. Following introductory material the document sets out student objectives and teaching activities. Among the instructional suggestions are sections on "Setting the Stage"; "Locating the…

These materials discuss the history of Chicago, Illinois, including prominent persons in the city's past, and landmarks for which Chicago is well known. A number of activities are suggested, some of which concern Chicago's industries, historical sites, architecture, newspapers, ethnic groups, and history. A list of books about Chicago for…

This book, part of the Touchstones to Local History project of Russell Sage College, is designed for social studies teachers seeking to incorporate local history in their social studies curricula by utilizing local history materials. Ten forms of historical materials are reviewed in terms of their classroom use: published resources, personal…

This periodical issue focuses on the theme of diaries, and includes excerpts from the diaries of Iowa children who lived at different times in history. The following features are included: Dear Diary; Eliza's Journey Across the Plains; The Vacation Diary; Children's Diaries; How to Keep a Diary; Soldiering Diary; Slang Game; Diary Detective Game;…