Students use a New York Times article about a preserved 19th century farm as a springboard for discussion about the conservation of other historic sites and for research about historic sites in their own community. Review the Academic Content Standards related to this lesson. Explore how historic sites in their community, town, and nation serve to preserve significant aspects of history. Investigate a historic site in the community or town in which they live and write a brief essay discussing these findings and examining the importance of preserving this site.
Students then share their responses.
The teacher should jot down on the blackboard the historic sites in the students' community or town mentioned for use in a later activity. Students may want to contact the local Chamber of Commerce, historical society, or other similar organizations, as well as use the Internet, for a listing of historic sites. The student should learn about the relevance of the historic site to the community's or town's history, and then write a brief essay discussing these findings and examining the importance of preserving this site. In a future class, students may want to create posters about their sites or orally present their findings to the class. Students will be evaluated based on written journal response, participation in class discussions, and written analysis of the value of preserving a specific historic site in their community or town.