This year the students listened to stories by their peers-who told of secret and favorite places in their neighborhoods-and by grandmothers, parents, and neighborhood association presidents, including Willie Patterson of Crest Street and City Councilwoman Brenda Burnette of Walltown. On field trips to each of the neighborhoods, students worked in groups of five, taking turns in the roles of photographer, writer, artist, audio recorder, artifact collector, and map reader.

Using their field notes and photographs, students began reflecting upon their experiences through visual and writing activities. Students chose photographs and focused on creative descriptions and narratives prompted by the images or wrote about guest speakers' stories and people they met on field trips. Students also thought about answers to such questions as, What makes a community a good place to live? How have communities changed over time?

Students, families, teachers, and community members gathered at the end of the project to celebrate their neighborhoods with a potluck dinner, a narrated slide show, and a presentation of the Neighborhoods Project book showcasing the studentıs stories and photographs.

Two single-grade classrooms and two double-grade classrooms participated in the Neighborhoods Project this year. Classroom teachers Renae Dickerson, Yvonne Green, Robin Franklin, Billie Grogan, Meg Goodhand, and Lynette Damon worked closely with visual arts educator Rosey Truong from CDS to lead the project.