All humans are natural investigators, yet traditional schooling tends to untrain our natural instincts for fully examining our own questions. Local investigations engage students’ natural investigatory instincts while developing their knowledge of core academic content by demonstrating true connections between academic subjects and the world around them.

1. LET
STUDENTS
LEAD
13 local investigations to drive
democratic and global learning

2. Engage students’ natural investigatory
instincts while developing their
knowledge of core academic through
local investigations.
We are all natural
investigators.

3. Simple questions
can become great
local investigations.
Here are 13 examples.

4. 1 Where is my family from?
Guide oral history projects based on
student interviews of family members
to create timelines of major events in
their family histories.

5. 2 What kind of plant is this?
Explore the genealogy
of plants common to
the local community.

6. 3 How are businesses started?
Investigate resources provided by
your local chamber of commerce and
research or visit local businesses to
learn more about their reach.

7. 4 Where does our tap water come from?
Visit a local water utility or treatment
plant to learn more about your
community’s water sources and what’s
being done to protect them.

8. 5 What kind of bird is that?
Research local animal species and
their migrations to the region, and
explore other places where these
species are found.

9. 6 Why don’t we throw trash on
the ground?
Investigate local environmental
policies and relate them to
global issues.

10. 7 Where did you get that shirt?
Investigate the geographic and
resource origins of students’ clothing.

11. 8 Why do we celebrate Mardi Gras, clam
chowder, flowers, blues music, etc.?
Explore regional traditions (e.g., cuisine,
festivals, music) for global origins,
connections or meanings.

12. Why do you talk like that?
Investigate regional dialects
to reveal their unique origins.
9

13. Who built that?
Consider local architecture and
whether it reflects other places
in the world.
10

14. Why is that building or street named
after a person?
Investigate local landmarks
and places.
11

15. 12 Where do you live compared to
where I live?
Map neighborhoods or local
communities, using Google Earth or
other online mapping tools, to identify
community assets and landmarks.

16. 13 What does a mayor do? How are
laws made?
Facilitate virtual or in-person
discussions about policy and decision-
making processes with representatives
from your local government.

17. GET THE GUIDEBOOK!
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