[Genealib] Re: local history curriculum in elementary schools

[Sharon Sergeant]

Hello

During a recent Waltham, Massachusetts "Historic Waltham Days" event, we 
adapted a "scavenger hunt" event introduced to us by a local teacher 
originally from Calais, Maine where she and her sister had organized 
such events. In the Waltham adaptation, children and families would 
physically visit and follow clues from one site to the next. The sites 
included participating businesses, that currently occupy a location that 
had historic importance, as well as the traditional museums and historic 
homes, etc.

We used word clues, but I think visual clues are probably more fun for kids.

The same "scavenger hunt" principle could be used by combining online 
resources with your local resources by thematic goals, that you might 
outline for local teachers.

Some of the broadbased themes that we use in our teleconference sessions 
would also likely appeal to children and teachers:

The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission is looking for ways to 
involve everyone across the US over the next two years. Also if you come 
up with a project that meets their endorsement criteria 
http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/planning/endorsements.php
http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/planning/endorsed_projects.php
there's an opportunity to get national recognition for the project.

We are hosting a teleconference this Sunday evening to launch our 
Lincoln Connections project by introducing online resources that focus 
on the growing volume of primary source material online. While there are 
well known Lincoln historic sites, there are hundreds of places he 
traveled to as a lawyer, congressman, campaigner and President - many of 
which can be found by searching by state or town/county and/or 
neighboring towns/counties in http://www.thelincolnlog.org/ or 
http://www.historycooperative.org/jalaindex.html and then following the 
info given there to other resources.

Lincoln presenter and history teacher, George Cheevers wrote an article 
that ties Lincoln, Grant and Boothe and other notables to his home town 
of Dorchester, Massachusetts
http://www.lincolnpresenters.org/HistoryByALP.htm

Other details about Lincoln's  Dorchester visit are given in several 
other references, but I found Cheever's story more compelling because 
he's giving a "only 6 degrees of separation" story that excites the 
imagination. Cheever's also visits schools throughout the state and 
talks about their local history in relation to Lincoln and his era.

In addition to the Civil War, there are also Lincoln Connections because 
of legislation like the 1862 Homestead Act. The Library of Congress 
website even has a letter from a fellow in Canada West (Ontario) to 
Lincoln, inquiring in 1861 about the status of the legislation. Millions 
of people are living in towns that didn't exist before 1862. Lincoln was 
also executing other normal presidential activities like naming 
postmasters all over the country.

Stagecoaches are something that would likely interest school children, 
and most areas of the country do not know how much detail is available 
about stagecoaching in their local history. We did a case study for 
Coshocton, Ohio to illustrate how much can be found at the Library of 
Congress site, starting with the visuals of maps and then followed up 
with newspaper and government documents for more detail, which could 
also be augmented by local materials:
http://www.ancestralmanor.com/MP3/StageRoutesLOC.pdf
http://www.ancestralmanor.com/MP3/StagecoachGB.pdf
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub119.pdf

Local railroad history can be followed in a similar fashion by starting 
with the map visuals.

Several of our projects have involved researching traveling circuses and 
shows, as well as the cultural travelogue type speakers in the 19th and 
early 20th century. Examples of posters, brochures, photos and movies on 
the Library of Congress and other sites are more great visuals that can 
be followed up with what kind of shows were coming to your area. 
Researching the lives of some of these performers is also fascinating. 
If you ever come across references to Achilles Philion, the juggler, 
actor, theatre manager, equilibrist, automobile inventor, etc - I have a 
huge file on him.

Even a topic like where did Southern states get their ice shipped from 
or where did your part of the country get their shoes manufactured 
during the 19th century are topics would give children a sense of local 
history that they could personally relate to. I'm often amazed to learn 
how such inventions like the telephone evolved differently by location. 
  My Prince Edward Island relatives still had a crank style phone with a 
party line 40 years ago. But a friend who was just a few years younger 
than I am, grew up on Long Island, NY and thought I must be from the 
previous generation when I talked about homemade lye soap, canning 
homegrown vegetables, making rootbeer, washing aluminum foil for reuse, 
  and getting in trouble for being in the coal bin as a child - in 
suburban Boston :)

So there are some elements of local history that are more universal than 
others, but I would think that even recent immigrant children would be 
able to relate by comparing the local history of their current residence 
with that of their ancestors locations.

Sharon Sergeant
www.ancestralmanor.com