Our Connecticut River
Our Connecticut River Course DescriptionAs part of their seventh grade Academic Enhancement course, students at the Michael E. Smith Middle School conducted an in depth study of the Connecticut River. Students explored both the science and the history of this exciting part of the Pioneer Valley. In conjunction with a "Teaching American History" grant, students explored primary and secondary source documents, photos, and artifacts to piece together South Hadley's important role in building the nation's first navigable canal. Students learned what it is like to be an archivist and historian, transcribing documents from 1790s-1840s and piecing together clues in order to write their local story. By accruing evidence and making inferences, the students in Ms. Di Silvio's "Our Connecticut River" course pieced this local story and created this website to share their new found knowledge with Ms. Gamache's second grade class at the Mosier Street School in South Hadley. In the process, students experienced many of the challenges and joys of making primary sources accessible to a younger audience. We hope that you enjoy our site!
Supported by Windows on History, a project of the Emerging America program, Hampshire Educational Collaborative, and funded by a Teaching American History grant, U.S. Department of Education.
We would also like to extend special thanks to the South Hadley Historical Society. They were generous with both their time and their resources.
