A
Sense of Place
Researching and Developing a Walking
Tour of Our Town
Contents
Introduction
Objectives
Content
Assessment
Resources
Lessons
Connections to Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
I. Introduction
This curriculum unit is
designed for a college preparatory public high school such as Sharon High
School. Sharon High School, with a population of approximately 850
students, is located in a suburban town southwest of Boston. As is true
of all New England towns, Sharon has a rich history and environment, and it is
that richness which this unit attempts to uncover.
The purpose of this
combined Science / Social Studies / English unit is to catalyze the development
of students' sense of identity by establishing connections to their
community. Students will research and survey their town's cultural
history and natural history, looking at their town from many
perspectives. As a legacy and community service, the students will
produce a focal points informative brochure of their hometown using the
information they have gained throughout the unit. It is hoped that the
brochure will be available throughout the town to interested people.
II. Objectives
A. Science
1. Students will uncover evidence of past glaciation in their town.
2. Students will use keys and field guides to identify wildlife in their town.
3. Students will map surface water features and follow drainage patterns.
4. Students will test water quality of major lakes and ponds of their town
and determine the relative health of those resources.
5. Students will determine where conservation land exists in their town,
and they will map it.
B. Social Studies
1. Students will discover the historical link between the past and present
citizens of their town.
2. Students will become cultural historians, analyzing the unique trends of
their town.
3. Students will diagram and plot a town chronology.
C. English
1. Students will read and discuss excerpts from Throeau's writings to
understand the importance of place as a seed for Thoreau's ideas.
Students will draw parallels between Thoreau's place and their place,
Sharon.
2. Students will keep journals as they proceed through the unit.
3. Students will read and discuss Native American stories to understand
the Native American perspective.
4. Students will learn and practice storytelling techniques.
D. Interdisciplinary
1. Students practice and improve research skills.
2. Students sharpen observational skills.
3. Students use principles of design to create a professional finished
product.
4. Students will research land and resource use, past and present, of their
town. This includes agricultural use, water use and mining.
Students
trace the effects of that use on the town's ecology.
III. Content
A. Science
1. Minerals
2. Rocks
3. Views of Earth -- landforms and maps
4. Weathering and Soil
5. Erosion forces: glaciers, water erosion, ground water
6. Our Impact on Land -- from Indians, to colonists, to present
B. Social Studies
History of Sharon, focus on:
1. Native Americans and colonists
2. Revolutionary War
3. Industrialism
4. Civil War
5. Citizenship and Civil Disobedience
6. Tourism
7. Events unique to Town of Sharon
C. English
1. Excerpts from "Walking," Walden, and others
2. Native American stories
3. Journal writing
4. Research and report writing
5. Oral presentations
6. Class discussion
7. Language mechanics: editing of compositions
IV. Assessment
A. Combined grading
system of final group project
B. Individual research
reports, written and oral presentations
C. Quizzes and Tests on
text chapters
D. Journal entries
E. Role-playing
V. Resources
Bruchac, Joseph. Native
American Stories. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum
Publishing, 1991.
Cronon, William. Changes
in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology
of New England. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983.
Feather, Ralph and Susan
Snyder. Earth Science. New York: Glencoe, 1997.
Lepore, Jill. The
Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of
American Identity. New York: Vintage Books, 1998.
Sharon American
Revolution Bicentennial Committee. Sharon Massachusetts,
A History. 1976.
Town Archives
Various field guides
Samples of tourist
brochures
Community experts:
Historical Society Members
Town Clerk
Audubon Sanctuary
Representative of town newspaper
Representative of Community Service Department
Town Librarian
Senior Citizens
Lake Study Committee
VI. Lessons: Three classes, a ninth grade Earth Science class, a ninth grade English class, and a tenth grade Social Studies class will be involved in this project. The classes all meet at the same time, so that makes it easy for scheduling time for working together. It is planned that we will meet together one period every other six-day cycle for the entire year or until the project is completed. If the entire school year is used, that will involve about 10% of class time. Time together will be spent listening to speakers, doing many of the hands-on activities and field trips, or researching and reporting, discussing, designing.
A. Mapping Lesson --
using USGS topographic map of Sharon, students will
become familiar with town landforms, including bodies of water, hills,
marches, etc.
B. Speakers teach
students about:
1. Town industries, past and present
2. Famous citizens of Sharon, past and present
3. Water in our Town
4. Journal writing
5. Native American storytelling
6. New England Natural History
C. Field Trips:
1. to Rock Ridge Cemetery -- famous citizens of Sharon's past
2. to Lake Massapoag -- water quality testing
3. outdoors to do biodiversity sampling
4. to focal points in town
D. Research projects --
each student will be given a topic relating to Sharon's
cultural or natural history. Students will research their topics
and prepare
written and oral reports to share with the classes.
E. Student groups
will design and propose focal points for the tour brochure,
then all students will determine the design to be used for finished product.
F. Designing the
brochure and actual production of brochure.
VII. Connections to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks,
Grades 9 and
10
A. Science Inquiry
Learning Strands
1. Distinguish those observations that are relevant to the question or
problem at hand.
2. Use a range of exploratory techniques, e.g., experiments, information/
literature searches, data logging, research, and development.
3. Select and use common and specialized tools to measure the
dependent variable.
4. Select appropriate methods of recording and interpreting data.
5. Accurately use scientific and technological nomenclature, symbols and
conventions when representing and communicating ideas, procedures,
and findings.
6. Interpret data in the light of experimental findings, and appropriate
scientific and technological knowledge and understanding.
B. Domains of Science
-- subject sequence connections
1. Life Sciences
a. Diversity among organisms
b. Classification
c. Effects of humans on the environment
2. Earth/Space Sciences
a. minerals
b. igneous rocks
c. soils
d. landforms
e. glaciation
f. human use of resources (stewardship)
g. stream erosion
h. human intervention of hydrological processes
C. Science,
Technology and Human Affairs
1. Identify situations in which science, technology, and society have
influenced each other in the past and describe how science and
technology have been an integral part of the history of human society.
2. Describe situations that illustrate how scientific and technological
revolutions have changed society.
3. Describe ways in which technological development has been influenced
by the culture of the society and by the resources available to that
society.
D. History Strands
1. Chronology and Causality
2. Place in History
3. Historical Understanding
4. Interdisciplinary Connections
5. Research Skills
E. Geography Strands
1. Spaces in the World
2. Places and Regions
3. Physical Earth and Human Systems
4. People and Environments
F. Economics Strand:
Trade and Interdependence
G. Civics and
Government: Citizenship
H. Language Strands:
Students will:
1. Use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and
large groups
2. Pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own
information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to
acquire new knowledge
3. Make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate considerations
of audience, purpose, and the information to be conveyed
4. Acquire and use correctly an advanced reading vocabulary of English
words, identifying meanings through an understanding of word
relationships.
5. Identify, describe, and apply knowledge of the structure of the English
language and standard English conventions for sentence structure,
usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
6. Describe and analyze how the English language has developed and
been influenced by other languages
I. Literature
Strands: Students will:
1. Decode accurately and understand new words encountered in their
reading materials, drawing on a variety of strategies as needed, and
then use these words accurately in speaking and writing
2. Identify the basic facts and essential ideas in what they have read,
heard, or viewed
3. Identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of theme in literature and
provide evidence from the text to support their understanding
4. Identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure, elements, and
meaning of nonfiction or informational material and provide evidence
from the text to support their meaning
5. Identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure, elements, and
theme of poetry and provide evidence from the text to support their
understanding
6. Identify and analyze how an author's choice of words appeals to the
senses, creates imagery, suggests mood, and sets tone
7. Compare and contrast similar myths and narratives from different
cultures and geographic regions
J. Composition
Strands: Students will:
1. Write compositions with a clear focus, logically related ideas to
develop it, and adequate supporting detail
2. Select and use appropriate genres, modes of reasoning, and speaking
styles when writing for different audiences and rhetorical purposes
3. Improve organization, content, paragraph development, level of detail,
style, tone, and word choice in revising their compositions
4. Use their knowledge of standard English conventions for sentence
structure, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling to edit their
writing
5. Use self-generated questions, note-taking, summarizing, precise
writing,
and outlining to enhance learning when reading or writing
6. Use open-ended research questions, different sources of information,
and appropriate research methods to gather information for their
research projects
K. Media Strand: Students will obtain information by using a variety of media and evaluate the quality of the information obtained.