Springfield, USA - An Atlas
School: Mary O. Pottenger School
City/State: Springfield, MA
Grade(s): 4
Format(s): Report: Social studies
Subject(s): English Language Arts, Social Studies, Visual Arts
Project Overview
4th grade students from the Mary O. Pottenger School in Springfield, Massachusetts created this book as a part of a learning expedition on the geography of the United States. U.S. geography is a part of the state standards and district mandated curriculum – the ways in which students explored the United States was a creative extension and deepening of this requirement.
Because almost every state has a town or city called Springfield, students used “Springfield” as a way to examine the geography of the United States.
Students examined the different Springfields across the United States, focusing on local resources and industries. Their research was done in part through standard book and online sources, but the power of this project was in students reaching out for help to individuals across the country for primary source information. Students had direct contact with individuals from Springfields across the country, and learned important skills and courtesies of written communication.
Each student chose a Springfield in another state, and wrote to town officials there. There was great excitement when students received personal letters in return, along with packets of information on the towns, regions and states. In addition to this book, students hosted an exhibition, where they displayed all the materials they received from their correspondence, along with the images they produced for this product.
Each entry in this final product includes a student-drawn, free-hand map of the state in which their Springfield resides, with the major physical features and symbols representing the key products produced in that state. Each student also provides basic information about the state, including climate, recreation, physical features and famous people.
This project was based on Expeditionary Learning School’s school designer Stephen Levy’s original project, done with his students in Lexington, Massachusetts, called “Lexingtons, USA.” While not all schools are situated in a town with a common name such as Lexington or Springfield, there are a many schools that do have the potential to try this project.
How This Project Can Be Useful
- A clever vehicle for learning about the diverse geography of the United States – a project that could be duplicated in some schools (those in or near a town or city with a common town name)
- A reminder of the excitement of having students individually correspond with experts and get materials in response
- Some of the freehand maps are well done - drawing a map freehand forces a student to really pay attention to the shape and other details; though the results are not always perfect, the learning is much greater than in coloring in a photocopied map outline - (Notice the careful map-drawing work in the following examples: Florida, Ohio and Minnesota)
- A creative and effective format to address and deepen content required in state curriculum frameworks and district science requirements
- Highlights a format in which the work of each student can be individually assessed
Common Core State Standards
| Standard | Long Term Learning Target |
|---|---|
| L.4.6 |
|