An Investigation Into Our Community

The third grade in Massachusetts is required to study their state and community. The town of Palmer has a rich history that we investigate. Throughout this unit we work on map skills and become familiar with many maps of Palmer. We learn about the history and importance of its seven railroads and four rivers. We discuss its growth from a farming community to an industrial community to what it is today. We learn about the first settlers, the immigrants and in their influence to the culture of our town. There have been several interesting stories that have happened here, such as George Washington's trips through and those of the struggles of the early settlers.

This grant would allow us the opportunity to photograph and create many presentations (such as slide shows)to display for the parents and other members of our community. The children would be thrilled to capture images themselves of their hometown to share with others. Each child would have the opportunity to share the local landmarks around their own home, giving their learning a personal ownership and pride.
In addition, we would like to take a guided tour with our town historian to learn of those more discrete facts that she could share with us.

The students could demonstrate their understanding of all this information in fun-filled technology formats found in Tool Factory.