Benjamin A. Gorman
This unit is designed to be used with eighth grade social studies classes, but could be used with any students in the Fair Haven community of New Haven. It should serve as an introduction activity early in the school year for students and is aimed at low/middle achievers to get them located in place geography and make them aware of the history of their community.
Three topics are presented that illustrate historical development and change: the role of oystering, the influx of immigrants, and industrial growth. Each has informational background for the teacher and slices of the past, through the related fictional stories, will provide the needed sense of change over time. The stories show that stress and change are common in any community. Fair Haven may become more than a place in which to live, work and recreate; it may become a community with a past. A series of mapping activities will illustrate Fair Haven’s street geography and its place relationship with the area around it.
For many of our students, there is no human connection with the history of their present community and the visual past does not always exist for them to view. This unit can serve as one stepping stone in the study of the Western Hemisphere; after learning their way around their community, the scope of study can be expanded accordingly.
(Recommended for Western Hemisphere, Social Studies, grade 8, and Connecticut History, grade 6)
Key Words
History General Fair Haven Connecticut Geography American New Communities
