Describes an oral history project in which ninth graders interviewed residents of an Atlanta neighborhood facing disruption by urban development and prepared transcriptions and scrapbooks for presentation to the local historical society. (SV)

Discusses a school district's plan to introduce into the curriculum civic writing activities directly linked to local history and community issues. Suggests that writing can stimulate students' civic responsibility through the academic skills of research and critical thinking. Addresses planning, implementation, assessment, and recommendations.…

Describes a local history project undertaken by fourth graders at Trumansburg Elementary School in Trumansburg, New York. Students studied the architecture of the village by visiting historical structures, sketching buildings, constructing three-dimensional models, and visiting a living history village. (MDM)

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)

Examines the transformation of African-American political power via a historical analysis of the African-American experience within Chicago politics. The article challenges the conventional wisdom that political machines represent a "ladder" for minority empowerment and suggests conditions that facilitate the empowerment of…

Discusses the role that community colleges can play in maintaining local heritage resources to support environmental, cultural arts, heritage, and outdoor recreation (ECHO) tourism. States that tourism provides an opportunity for community colleges to spread the word about why the study of culture and history is important. (CAK)

States that the Bown house, built in 1879 and overlooking the Oregon Trail, serves as a case study for demonstrating how historical houses can be used to teach about the past. Explains that the house is used as a living laboratory for social studies and describes the six rooms in detail. (CMK)

Describes a project in Romania that trains elementary and secondary teachers in folklore and oral history fieldwork methodology, so that their own students can collect materials from their communities that are pertinent to their lives and bring it back to the classroom. Describes successful outcomes from around Romania in the project's first year.…

Though full of memories, landmark schools are often deemed inadequate for today's educational needs. The community and school officials should ask: What factors should we consider when evaluating older schools for extensive remodeling versus building new schools? Lists steps for conducting a technical feasibility study. (MLF)

Describes a unit for high school English students that makes the Colonial period in American literature come alive by studying eighteenth-century gravestone images and epitaphs. Describes how this study becomes a journey into their community, into local history, and ultimately into themselves. (SR)

Oak Hill School served elementary students in the 10th district of Washington County, Tennessee, from 1886 to 1952. After extensive restoration and a move to Historic Jonesborough, the one-room school now functions as a living history museum. Fourth-grade students spend a day following the 1892 curriculum for grade 4. A teacher's resource and…

In the early 1920s, the small Appalachian community of Damascus, Virginia, used private subscriptions and volunteer labor to build a 15-classroom school made of rocks from a nearby river and chestnut wood from nearby forests. The school building's history, uses for various community activities, and current condition are described. (SV)

Provides lessons in which students examine the interaction among the people of Pecos Pueblo in New Mexico. Offers a brief Pecos Pueblo history, which is divided into four topics. Suggests videos, source materials, and activities that can form the basis of curriculum units. Includes a handout and Internet sites. (CMK)

The history curriculum in Hong Kong schools is unique in having separate subjects--history and Chinese history--with distinct content, pedagogy, and assumptions about the discipline of history. In contrast to conventional theories of colonial education, this may have been a mutually convenient collaboration between the government and local…

Curiosity about artifacts found on school grounds led to a year-long historical and archaeological research project for fifth-graders in Isaac Dickson Elementary School (Asheville, North Carolina). Student research and interviews focused on Stumptown, a Black community formerly located on the school site. The project demonstrated the 11 Foxfire…