Local History

Each  child at The New School was given a replica of an old postcard of a Syracuse scene. Postcards showed parks, downtown scenes, and places of interest such as Oakwood Cemetery. Using VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies) children were asked to look at the picture and describe what was happening, and what made them say that? Then with their families they went to find the same location and were asked to take a digital photograph showing the exact same perspective of the location. Children were asked to record what had changed, and what had remained the same. At school, each child presented their findings and marked the location of their postcard on a map of the city. It didn’t take long before we noticed that over 80% of the postcards were located downtown. Children surmised this was because downtown was where all the “activities were.” Where things were happening! To further explore how things in Syracuse have changed over time, children working in groups have generated a list of interview questions, which they will ask of senor citizen residents at The Nottingham. We will start to tape record our interviews in late April. In the process children will learn the value of oral history and primary sources.