Teachers participating in the North Country Stories Project have developed strategies and activities for engaging students in community heritage projects. The focus for the first year was on writing about places in the community, and teachers developed their own short pieces of writing as they discussed ways to incorporate community heritage writing assignments into the curriculum.
A summer institute for teachers and community members led to the creation of community heritage learning projects focused on field experiences at The Frost Place in Franconia and the Moore Dam and village of Pattenville located just west of Littleton. Their lesson plans, included here, were intended to be templates for activities which could be re-focused on places in their own communities.
We invite additional lesson plans or curriculum units so that we can create a growing resource for content and methods of instruction focused on community heritage, culture and environment in the North Country. To send plans, email Kay Morgan, Project Coordinator at morgan.katherin@comcast.net.
Sample Units:
Lancaster Oral History Project
Topic and Goal: Researching History of Pattenville Former Residents To Provide Oral History Compilations. This model will be able to be used in Lancaster to research Lancaster local history using oral histories of the older residents of the town.
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Pattenville Unit
Essential Question: What are the positives and negatives of having to move?
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Documenting the Past, Imagining the Future
This program is for middle and high school students, with a school system that is open to interdisciplinary programs. Due to the seasonal constraints on the Frost Place, this program should be run in the early fall, as an introduction to a year of awareness of place, or as the cap to regional studies in the spring. Either way, allow enough time for two site visits, and ideally, a presentation at the site.
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The Frost Place in Franconia NH
Complete a three-part project on the theme of change, focusing on one particular place (The Frost Place in Franconia NH) and a writer associated with that place (Robert Frost).
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Changing Landscapes-Changing Lives
Course Description: Landscape changes over time, and such change has an effect on the people inhabiting the landscape. This course will use the lost community of Pattenville, the Dodge Hill area and the Moore Dam area to illustrate change and its effect.
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Project P.I.T.C.H. (Pride in the Community's Heritage)
Students will make at least one visit to the site (inside and out if possible) and preferably tour with someone knowledgeable about its history (Inform the students of the importance of checking with the owners for permission-this information can be obtained through your town clerk or local historian). Document through photography, journaling, sketches. (utilize whatever time allows you)
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How Do You Honor History?
Essential Questions: How do you honor an historic place or event?
Does Pattenville history deserve commemoration/preserving?
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Individuals in Transition: The Frost Place Learning Activity
What is the definition of community? How are individuals influenced by place? How are we connected to place? How has
your community inspired you?"
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Bringing Robert Frost to Life
Central Question: How can we bring to life the poet Robert Frost, or any historical figure? What can we learn about Frost from his work?
2. What can we learn about the poet from his Franconia home, the Frost Place?
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