Using several social studies and geography standards as a framework for planning, this book offers teachers some of the best instructional activities for learning more about the lifeblood of communities.

Place- and community-based education – an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local – addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people’s attention beyond the classroom to the world as it actually is, and to engage them in the process of devising solutions to the social and environmental problems they will confront as adults. This approach can increase students’ engagement with learning and enhance their academic achievement. Envisioned as a primer and guide for educators and members of the public interested in incorporating the local into schools in their own communities, this book explains the purpose and nature of place- and community-based education and provides multiple examples of its practice. The detailed descriptions of learning experiences set both within and beyond the classroom will help readers begin the process of advocating for or incorporating local content and experiences into their schools.

Students as Historians: Using Technology to Examine Local History Beyond the Classroom makes a case for using technology to further the research of local history. Part 1 of the book explores the history of Black people in communities across the nation while Part 2 uses census reports, Google Earth, and other materials to investigate. One example includes Western Missouri on the eve of the Civil War. Part 3 involves design-based research in a social studies classroom where students investigated the history of Mobile, AL during the Civil Rights movement using technology. Throughout the book, the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) is emphasized and implemented.