make a map of your town; draw in all of the
households, businesses, public buildings, and other structures;
for each household, make a card listing who lives there; this
activity will help students to conduct a census of the community;
all business and public buildings should also be keyed to a card
so students can gain an idea of the number of businesses and public
buildings that exist in the community
interview each of the religious leaders to
determine the history of their respective churches and the number
of people in attendance at their church write up the results of
each interview
make a list of all political and economic
boards (e.g., city council, community school committee, health
board, etc.); interview a member (preferably chairman) from each
to determine the group's goals and the amount of participation
in local politics
make a list of all social organizations; interview
a member of each to determine history, participation, and goals
of the group
conduct a series of interviews of elders and
parents to determine why and when people arrived and from where
put information together into a book; writing
life histories and biographies wili help students to
identify critical historical information.