Week 1

This week we fleshed out the basic elements of the year. Here's the tentative schedule:

September: Lenape
October: Quakers and Early European Settlers
November: Colonial Philadelphia
December: Revolutionary War
January: Slavery
February: Industrial Revolution
March-April: Neighborhood Study
May-June: Future Neighborhood Project

Colonial Research Project to replace Sea Creature Research
Our research component will coincide with Quakers, European settlers and the Colonial period (mid October-December). The goal is to represent all the socio-economic stations of that time period. Included would be the roles of the following: slaves and indentured servants, farmers, craftsmen, builders, writers, artists, politicians and the landed gentry.

Hallway Presentation
The timeline map will represent Philadelphia and its changing landscape as well as people’s roles and professions throughout time as the city expands. It will hang in the hallway and be updated throughout the year as the study progresses.

Essential Question

After lengthy discussion we have settled on, “Is change good?” as our essential question for the unit. An important aspect of our approach is to look at this question through the eyes of multiple viewpoints as we move throughout the year, from the arrival of Europeans to the gentrification of Manayunk.

Another theme underlying this question is that of values in general and Quaker values in particular. The city was founded as a “Holy Experiment,” a religious venture. How have these and other values informed the changes in the city and how they been changed? A final theme is that of the environment. Beginning with the Lenape, and continuing through Penn’s “Green Countrie Town, ” the industrial revolution, and modern Philadelphia the physical environment and the attitudes towards it have shifted enormously. In our final project all of these themes will come into play as students consider what will make a successful neighborhood.

Neighborhood Study: Manayunk

After considering the history and nature of various Philadelphia neighborhoods, such as Germantown and East Falls, we decided that Manayunk would be an ideal neighborhood for students to study. Primary source documents related to Manayunk will allow students to look into the rich industrial history of the neighborhood and canal. With the essential question in mind, students will interview local residents who have lived through the changes in their neighborhood and attempt to understand if the development of Manayunk during the last few decades has been beneficial to the area. Interviews will give students multiple perspectives on the changes in the area. Food access and gentrification were some of the issues that we thought would be interesting topics for students to investigate.

Spring Culminating Project

Having understood the strengths and challenges of the neighborhood, students will engage in an inter-disciplinary project that asks them to develop a future action plan for the community. Potential areas of focus can include transportation, food access, and environmental restoration, among other things. Students will then present their vision of Manayunk to a larger audience.

Possible Field Trips Related to Philadelphia
Churchville Nature Center (Lenape)
Ned Hector Visit (Revolutionary War)

African-American Museum in Philadelphia (January '10)

Johnson House or Harriet Tubman Reenactment
Fairmount Water Works (with Rosanne)
PWD History of Manayunk Canal Program
Tour Manayunk Neighborhood (x2)
City Hall and Fine Arts Academy (with Sam)
Mural Arts Tour (with Sam)