Overview of Local History Unit

“Our Place in Time”

Tiffany Clark

Summer 2004

To download this entire unit in PDF format, click here.

Illinois State Standards:

16Ad, 16Dd, 18Bd

Through a study of their home through time, children will connect to the larger picture of community at the neighborhood, town, and state levels as well as understand the ongoing flow of history and their place in it.

Background lessons:

1. Urbana History plays -based on work Nancy Feir did years ago

2. Map lesson (how to read maps) –lesson from Internet

3. MTD Bus tour of town

4. Sequence changes of the prairie pictures

5. How to read, analyze and understand primary source documents

AHTC lessons:

1. Picture book lesson to introduce concept of place/home/town changing through time

Lesson Title: History In Literature

2. Sequence maps of the area (and look for own home)

Lesson Title: Mapping Out the Past

3. Interview (gather oral history) family about home (see worksheet)

Lesson Title: Gathering Oral History

Worksheet Title: Oral History Homework

4. Go to Archives and do research on their home (see worksheet)

Lesson Title: Home History

Worksheet Title: Research Framework p1

5. Locate newspaper printed the year their home was built. (see worksheet)

Lesson Title: It was a wonderful year

Worksheet Title: Research Framework p2

6. Compare/contrast past home to current home (see worksheets)

Lesson Title: My Home -Then and Now

Worksheet Title: Comparing/Contrasting your Home

Worksheet Title: Connecting Yesterday to Today

7. Create whole class time line with homes and artifacts posted

Lesson Title: Putting it together

8. Create project for open house (see rubric)

Lesson Title: Final Project

Rubric

9. Write and practice oral presentation (see rubric)

10. OPEN HOUSE

11. Bring our current pictures to the Archives to donate for future generations