Community History Project

1. Uncovering the History
of a Community
David McMullen Cindy Alcaraz
Sherrie Pardieck Mary Ann Hanlin
Dean Cantú Chris Herridge
Bradley University Katie Janovetz
Elmwood School
District

2. Why Study a Community?
 enhances performance in interdisciplinary
learning, team participation, and
presentation skills.
 involves
students with their families,
neighborhoods, and the community around
them, and increases civic awareness.
 builds
self-esteem and pride in self,
community, and cultural heritage.

3. Why Study a Community?
 providesan opportunity for students to
contribute to their community in
meaningful ways.
 fostersawareness and tolerance of cultural
diversity.
 encourages the interpretation, synthesis,
and evaluation of various kinds of cultural
information.

4. Why Study a Community?
 developstechnological expertise and skills
with documentary equipment.
 promotes school-community partnerships.
 offers
learning opportunities that value
each student's life and experiences.

5. Conducting a
Community History Project
 Study other community
history projects
 Gather information
 Design the project
 Collect documentation
 Complete the product

6. Conducting a
Community History
Project:
Study other projects
 American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writer's Project,
1936-1940
 Explore Your Community: A Community Heritage Poster for the Classroom
 Learning About Immigration Through Oral History
 Local Legacies
 Oral History and Social History
 Locate research guides
 Locate primary sources

7. Conducting a
Community History
Project:
Design the Project
 Discuss the types of local landmarks,
traditions and customs that could be project
subjects
 Create a concept map with the community at
the center to help decide which topics to
include in the final product
 Divide work assignments

8. Conducting a
Community History
Project:
Collect Documentation
 Investigate, collect and document (full
references) primary sources (photos,
documents, newspapers, books, maps,
etc.)
 Capture the community with photographs
and video
 Conduct interviews with area residents

9. Student Research Teams

10. Examining Primary Sources

11. Primary Sources on Microfiche

12. Conducting a
Community History
Project:
Complete the Product
Digitize all primary sources
Write a script that tells a story
Assemble the final product as a multimedia
presentation with narration, titles, etc.
Create movie posters advertising the
documentary

13. Digitizing Primary Sources

14. Sample video

15. Special Thanks to
Bradley University
Dominican University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Council for Social Studies
National-Louis University

16. Questions?
David McMullen mcmullen@bradley.edu
Sherrie Pardieck sherrie@bradley.edu
Dean Cantú dcantu@bradley.edu
Cindy Alcaraz calcaraz@elmwood322.com
Mary Ann Hanlin ma_j_h@hotmail.com
Chris Herridge cherridge@elmwood322.com
Katie Janovetz kjanovetz@elmwood322.com