The purpose of Our Town is to develop
a multidisciplinary curriculum unit that integrates all areas of curriculum.
Our Town is an all-school Engaged Learning unit for kindergarden-8th
grade students. South Pekin Grade School is utilizing technology to improve
local curriculum through Engaged Learning. Our Town is one step in the
process of aligning our curriculum to the new Illinois Learning Standards.
The elementary teachers involved in this project want this to be an in-depth
unit in which students become the experts of their community and communicate
that knowledge to a larger audience. Analyzing and distinguishing the characteristics
of families, neighborhoods, and communities is the main focus of the social
studies curriculum for the Pekin Area Schools. Students will research information
about their community, conduct interviews, work on hands-on project, and
create a web site and video for the town of South Pekin.
