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4th Grade  Project 4 weeks

Neighborhood Storykeepers: Preserving Our Community’s Past

Sarah Field Danielle Wallace
Sarah Field, Danielle Wallace
Updated
ELA.5.C.1.2
ELA.5.C.1.4
ELA.5.C.1.5
Effective Communication
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
+ 3 more
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The Challenge

In Orlando and communities everywhere, you may lose important knowledge about local people, events, businesses, and traditions when memories remain undocumented or evidence is scattered. These gaps can weaken your understanding of how neighborhood history shapes identity and belonging.

Challenge Question

How might we document meaningful Orlando people, events, and traditions so that families and visitors can understand and remember their community’s stories?

Standards

  • [Florida] ELA.5.C.1.2 - Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical sequence of events and demonstrating an effective use of techniques such as dialogue, description, and transitional words and phrases.
  • [Florida] ELA.5.C.1.4 - Write expository texts about a topic using multiple sources and including an organizational structure, relevant elaboration, and varied transitions.
  • [Florida] ELA.5.C.1.5 - Improve writing by planning, revising, and editing, with guidance and support from adults and feedback from peers.

Competencies

  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.

Learning Partners and Clients

Orlando Main Streets or an Orlando neighborhood association will serve as the learning partner and client. The organization can connect students with local business owners, residents, and community traditions to document through research and interviews. It can also provide feedback and share the completed memory book at meetings, community events, or visitor spaces.

Phase Overview

Phase Key Experiences
Discover
I can act as a public historian during a neighborhood story walk and artifact investigation to identify why meaningful Orlando people, events, and traditions may be forgotten when evidence is not collected or shared clearly.
Examine
I can study photographs, maps, news articles, and other sources to identify important Orlando stories and compare details across sources. I can interview a local resident or business owner identified with help from Orlando Main Streets or a neighborhood association, listen with empathy, and record accurate notes. I can use my evidence to explain why a story matters and draft a logically sequenced narrative with dialogue, description, and transitions.
Engineer
I can develop a student-made memory book for the community center by organizing researched stories, interview evidence, and polished narrative and expository entries, then revising and editing them with peer and adult feedback.
Do
I can place a sample of our memory book in the community center, collect reader feedback about its clarity, accuracy, and meaning, and use the data to determine how effectively it preserves and shares neighborhood stories.
Share
I can share our memory book, learning journey, and what I learned about myself through an interactive story station for families, community center visitors, and representatives from Orlando Main Streets or a neighborhood association.