Project Title: Journey Through Historic Hudson, Massachusetts

Primary/early elementary grade students, ages 6 - 8, from Mulready Elementary School in Hudson, Massachusetts, combine social studies with technology skills as they learn about their own town. The students conducted research, personal interviews, and visits to some historical locations in their community. They learned how the past history of the town affected the current town. They studied the buildings and geography of Hudson. Students recorded what they learned through digital photographs, video, and written notes. Using the outlines and graphic organizers provided by their teachers, they created a tour of Hudson, MA in Google Earth. As a culminating activity, the students and their teachers visited the historical locations they learned about.

We are part of "Google Historical Voyages and Events," a site dedicated to showcasing teacher and student projects related to history. Students, ages 6 - 8, have cataloged historic sites in their community including the First Methodist Church, Curley home, Hudson Power and Light Building, the Goodale House, and the former train station. Download their Google Earth KML to see their final project.

Journey Through Historic Hudson, Massachusetts

Background:

Hudson, MA, is a community of about 18,000 people, located west of Boston, MA. Hudson's downtown area recently experienced a renovation with a number of improvements as part of the initiative. The town is comprised of people from different ethnic backgrounds, bringing a breadth of culture to the community. Students' prior knowledge of their community is varied. One aspect of the unit is to have students interview "community experts" who live in Hudson in order to gather information and do their research. The list of "experts" includes Selectmen, the owner of a local farm, the co-founder of the Hudson Food Pantry, school personnel who emigrated to the U.S. from Portugal, and other individuals whose families have lived in the community for more than two generations.

Final Product:

Students in Grade 3 work collaboratively and summarize their research and interviews. They will post their findings in a Google Earth "tour," which can be viewed online. Students work in groups to create placemarkers in Google Earth and include images, video, and text about their historical sites. They use video taped interviews with community experts to augment the information. Google Earth will show where each site is located within Hudson, MA.

Procedure:
Lesson Plan:

m1. Students in 3^rd grade have already undertaken the study of a number of skill and content specific information that will serve as a foundation for this unit

m2. Classroom teachers are responsible for teaching the students about Hudson's past.

m3. Students learn how to conduct interviews of the community "experts."

m4. Students learn how to video tape the interviews of the community "experts."

m5. Students are assigned groups and research specific locations in Hudson

m6. Students learn how to use Fact Sheets to gather information: interviews conducted, books used, images
used, and websites accessed for information. All Fact Sheets require students to list information they are
using.

m7. Teachers introduce Google Earth Pro and Google Search Engine to students.

m8. Students learn to add placemarkers, images, video, and text. Students learn to cite sources and create
citations.

m9. Students access and post to the class wiki to define roles and access tutorial information on how to create their piece of the Google Earth
tour. Students learn how to perform their specific roles for the class project:

• • • historian

    • videographer

    • editor

10. Students create collective placemarkers for Google Earth that include video, images, text, and citations

11. Students are challenged to write about Historic Hudson, MA, by creating a brochure for the Hudson Chamber of Commerce.

12. As an extension of the project, students will add a community service learning aspect to their project by sharing what they have learned
with other elementary students in Hudson who also study the same unit. They will do this via video conferencing or in person. The
students will also provide their Google Earth tour to the Hudson Historical Society, the town, and the library for possible posting on their
websites.

Google Tools Used: Search Engine, Maps, and Docs

m1. Students did research using the Google Search Engine

m2. Lesson plan and lesson documents were uploaded to Google Docs. Documents:

• • have searchable text

  • can be accessed online by other teachers and students

  • can be downloaded and printed

  • can be emailed to others

m3. Students summarized their findings in a collaborative, class project using Google Earth:

• Students insert placemarkers in Google Earth, for the town of Hudson, MA

• Placemarker "pins" indicate where each historic site the students researched can be located on the map

• Students insert images, videos, and text

• As visitors click on each placemarker, the placemaker windows open, and the students' finished projects can be viewed

Lesson Plan and Other Documents:

1. Lesson Plan

2. Learning Standards

3. Journey Rubric

4. Website NoteFact Sheet

5. Class Wiki used to define roles and access tutorial information

Culminating Activities:

1. As a culminating activity, the students and their teachers visited the historical locations they learned about.

2. As an extension of the project, students will add a community service learning aspect to their project.

School Webpage on "Google Historical Voyages And Events"

The students' project is summarized on a webpage which is found by clicking on the project title from the "History Of Your Community" page of the "Google Historical Voyages and Events homepage."