TEACHER:

Steven Levy, fourth grade
Bowman School
Lexington, Massachusetts

AGES:

Eight to 12

PROJECT:

Research how your town got its name

GOAL:

To learn about local history and geography

Steven Levy's fourth-grade class will never look at a loaf of bread the same way again. "I teach in a relatively wealthy suburban school," Levy says, "and I find that lots of my students take for granted many of the things that surround them." So one day Levy handed his students a box of winter wheat and told them to take it from there.

The kids dug up some agricultural texts and eventually figured out how to thresh, winnow, and grind the wheat to produce a loaf of bread. "By helping them discover the origins of things," says Levy, "I encourage them to appreciate all the work that lurks behind something as simple as a loaf of bread." So when one student asked how the town of Lexington got its name, Levy naturally saw another learning opportunity.

The kids soon discovered that there are 26 other Lexingtons in the United States. After further investigation, Levy's students found that their town was the first and the inspiration for all the others. Further research led them to England and three Laxtons, any of which may have been the original source of the name Lexington.

Levy realizes there may have been easier ways to find the answer. "But that's not the point," he says. "We learned so much history and geography as a result of our research. It became clear to the class that our history was linked to events and historical figures from all over the country."

MATERIALS
• Road maps
• Geographic dictionaries
• Atlases

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Collect road maps, geographic dictionaries and atlases to help locate other cities across the country with the same--or a similar--name as yours. The contact Levy and his students made with these towns helped them make the most of their simple quest.

2. Write letters to the mayor of each town you identify. The letters should describe, briefly, who you are and what you want. Also consider asking some of the following questions: When was your town founded? How did it get its name? What kind of work do people do in your town? Have any interesting historical events taken place there? Are any noteworthy or famous people from your town? These last two questions need to be adapted if you're writing to big cities. You could ask instead about the most important historical events and the most interesting people. Invite the person you've contacted to pass your letter along to someone else if he or she doesn't feel equipped to help.

3. If you suspect your town's name has a foreign origin, try writing to the appropriate consulate in Washington, D.C., and asking if officials there know of any towns with identical or similar names.

4. Lots of towns have names of American Indian origin. If that's true of yours, find out which tribes lived in your area. If the tribe has living members, write the chief to learn more about early local inhabitants. Your reference librarian should be able to help you track down the appropriate address.

5. Don't be discouraged if some letters aren't answered. When writing to a person like the mayor or postmaster doesn't yield a response, try contacting an organization, such as a local historical society or the chamber of commerce.

6. When you're satisfied that the investigation is complete, put what you've learned into a form that allows you to share it with others. Setting up an exhibit at a local museum or historical society is one possibility. More modest ways of communicating with your fellow townspeople include writing a letter to the local newspaper or compiling a one- or two-page report that can be photocopied and distributed at the local library.