Our Story
How do you teach a community unit to third graders on a shoe string budget? That was the question I was faced with this summer when I changed grade levels and classrooms for the third straight year.

I struggled with the new curriculum, a younger set of students, the knowledge of what the fourth grade teacher already covered and how to explore your community with no field trip money! As the summer heated up, my struggles melted away as I set to task.

[Photo at right: Students reflecting in journals about what was seen and learned today.]

I am a person who believes in everyone having roots and knowing about their town and families. I wanted the children to come away from this unit with knowledge of their town but more importantly with a sense of belonging and feeling they were a vital part of the history of Burke. I decided to focus on change over time. Being a resident of Burke for only five years, I realized the need to do much research. I read the three Burke history books and examined the two maps I had. I decided to focus on the year 1858 (I liked the map better). From there I researched and got copies of birth, death, and marriage records for that year. I took five rolls of film of the various parts of town and the cemeteries. We would have to explore the town from within the walls of the classroom. Not my first choice but hey, I’m a teacher and I can do whatever it takes to get the job done. My focus was the history of our town, the people that were here in 1858 and how it had changed over time.

By focusing on 1858, (our town was 66 years old), the railroad had just arrived and natural migration of the town’s center had changed twice. It also gave us names and lives to explore and to search for.

I started the unit in mid-September and the students were very interested. A big break came when we were able to arrange an impromptu field trip to the first settled area of town and the two oldest cemeteries. This happened through the generosity of the bus driver who didn’t charge us to drop us off on his way home and a helping hand from my dad-who became an assistant tour guide at 6:45 that morning when my other chaperone couldn’t make it.

Never take for granted the gifts that are given to you! Having my dad along added a depth of knowledge that I couldn’t have provided these children. He showed us trees that probably survived the 1938 hurricane, a tree hit by lightening, where the old road had been (he had driven a car down it), where buildings most likely were located based on the lay of the land, the remnants of old stone walls, and what type of saw the boards on a barn we passed were sawed by. I should mention here that my dad has never lived in Burke.

[Photo at left: Discovering the natural wonders of “Our Town”—students observe a tree hit by lightning.]

It was on this trip that the most amazing turn of events happened. As we explored our cemetery, I pointed out a broken gravestone and told the kids that it had been there for a while. They were upset to think that it hadn’t been fixed. We decided to write and question the selectboard and cemetery sexton. I scribed and the kids wrote the letter. It was a big production and was officially signed by all eleven students with full names and most in cursive. In early November we received a hand-delivered reply. The selectboard thanks the students for their concern and told them that in the spring they would be getting it fixed and would like the class to come and help. The students glowed. They would be helping to restore a piece of history.

This almost overshadowed our ending projects and culminating event. The unit ended with students choosing a topic of life and doing a project (most chose a poster) and showing how this aspect of life had changed over time. Then we invited our grandparents to come and share their stories with us. Our final class celebration was an old-fashioned “Kitchen Junket” (a party held at someone’s house with food and music).

I think this unit met my goal of students making a connection and feeling that they are an important part of their town and I can see that they understand change over time.