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Summary and Objective
Students will understand that there are different levels of government, and that local government controls many things that impact their everyday lives. Students will examine primary source documents from the 1760s to 1880s to deduce some of the responsibilities of local government. They will then compare these responsibilities to current practices by investigating their town's form of government.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Activate students' prior knowledge of services provided by the town they live in. Discuss what they know about the police department, road crew, public schools, etc.
Step 2.
Review and discuss the primary source document "Deerfield Town Meeting". Through interactive discussion, guide the students in creating a list of responsibilities and services the town provided to its citizens during the 1760s. Create a graphic organizer to help guide their note taking. Begin to focus their attention on the involvement of the local government in establishing and running public schools.
Step 3.
Small groups use "Regulations For the Government of the Schools in the Town of Deerfield" (online or printed version) to explore some of the specific responsibilities the town had in providing public education. Students continue adding to their list of responsibilities and services the town provided to its citizens, indicating the information from this source as being from 1817.
Step 4.
Small groups use "Pages from the Annual Report of the Treasurer, Selectmen, and School Committee to the Inhabitants of the Town of Deerfield" (online or printed version) to continue the exploration of responsibilities of the town. Students continue adding to their list of responsibilities and services the town provided to its citizens, indicating the information from this source as being from 1888.
Step 5.
Investigate the website and/or local newspaper of the town where the students reside to discover major committees, boards, and services of the local government. Students continue adding to their list of responsibilities and services the town provides its citizens, indicating the information from this source as being current.
Step 6.
Invite a guest speaker from the community to talk with the class about current town government and the responsibilities of the local government. This guest speaker could be the school principal, a selectman, mayor, town manager, etc. During the discussion, students continue adding to their list of responsibilities and services the town provides its citizens, indicating the information from this source as being current.
Step 7.
Finally, students work in small groups to create a poster showing what their town does for its citizens. The poster should include public education, maintenance of town roads, law enforcement, etc. Display the posters in the school or in the town hall.
Step 8.
As an extension, members of the class could take on roles of local town officials to solve contemporary issues facing their town.
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