Rediscovering the Richness of Roxbury ~ Neighborhood Know-How

  Big Picture
Using technology to uncover and record neighborhood stories, students survey and document sidewalk history. They collaborate with senior citizens to identify and distribute information on key figures, organizations, and sites that define community.
 
Details

Art, Language, Social Studies, Math
Grades 1-3
 
Highlights

Students survey city web pages and local history publications to identify and invite community members and elders from a local senior center to participate in an on-line or in-school oral history project. Using audio recorders and instant cameras to record voices and images, students:
Compose questions.
Gather background information.
Develop effective oral and written
interview techniques.
 

Introduced to word processing and scanning techniques, they prepare a class publication to share with school and neighborhood. Walks to historic sites and agencies introduce students to the area’s proud history of community activism during the sixties and seventies. A school based Community Service Learning Expo brings together student researchers and their community resources.
Alma Wright

Teacher Profile

Alma is a first and second grade teacher at William Monroe Trotter Elementary School where she is a BPS Lead Teacher, Math Standards Facilitator, and MetroLINC Technology Pioneer. A Roxbury resident, her awards include Golden Apple, Shattuck Public Service, World of Difference, and Milken Education Foundation.

awright@boston.k12.ma.us


Books and Materials

The Town of Roxbury, Massachusetts by Francis Drake; Lower Roxbury by Ron Bailey; Witness An Oral History of Black Politics in Boston by Lance Carden; Images of America Roxbury by Anthony Sammarco; Exploring Our World: Neighborhoods and Communities by Kathleen M. Hollenbeck

Technology Tools

Computers, digital camera, scanner, audio recorder, Polaroid camera, Microsoft Office, Neighborhood Map Machine, ClarisWorks, Internet

 

Special #1
Neighborhood Walking Tour

Special #2

Seniors Serve as Sources

Special #3

From the Earliest Days ~ Creating a Neighborhood Time Line


Value

Oral history helps students research their past, connect with the present, and plan for the future. When children work with seniors, they develop respectful attitudes, develop communication skills, and acquire important technology strategies.