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Summary and Objective
Town meetings are one of the purest examples of democracy in our country. By viewing primary documents from town meetings of colonial Deerfield and exploring issues considered at present-day town meetings, students will learn about the history of democracy in America and the responsibilities of the people in a democracy.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Discuss the history of town meetings in New England, starting with the Mayflower Compact up to town meetings in their town today. Use town meetings to demonstrate the meaning of democracy.
Step 2.
Break the students into groups, assigning each group one of the town meeting documents from colonial Deerfield. Each group should report back to the class on the issues that were considered by the town at each of those town meetings. Who could vote? Are there any common issues throughout the years?
Step 3.
Give each of the groups the warrant of a town meeting of their town from the recent past. Again each group should report back to the class on the issues that were considered and how they were decided. Compare and contrast issues of today with issues in colonial Deerfield. Discuss the factors that might have influenced the decisions made. Who can vote now? (If your town does not hold town meetings, do a search on Google for "town meeting warrant".)
Step 4.
Consider the warrant for an upcoming town meeting. What issues is the town considering? What factors will influence the decisions made? Conduct interviews with various adults in the community to find out their views of the issues. Get information from parents, seniors, town officials on the Select Board, Finance Committee, and the School Board. Report back to the class.
Step 5.
Follow Up Activity 1: Hold a mock town meeting in the classroom. Students can serve in the role of moderator, Finance Committee, and Select Board, while other students will be the community members adding to the debate of the issues. Hold votes on the issues.
Step 6.
Follow Up Activity 2: If possible, attend the actual town meeting with your parents to see how the town decides on the issues debated in the classroom. Compare the results of the town and the classroom votes. Why might they have been different?
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