Q & A from Newby 3rd Graders

Elementary school students ask direct, yet sophisticated, questions about history. They have the enormous advantage of not having decades of academic overlay restricting their inquisitiveness. At Newby Memorial Elementary School, in Mooresville, IN, third-grade students are first exposed to local and state history as part of their curricular requirements, although it is during fourth grade that state education requires Indiana history to be specifically taught. You have already, I hope, seen and enjoyed the original artwork from Newby third graders under the direction of Mrs. Nora Carroll, which was previously featured in an earlier blog post. We have a digitized handout exploring typical local history questions from Newby third graders. You will learn as much from the questions as the answers. These are bright kids, interested in learning more about their hometowns and communities.

Newby Elementary School First Graders (1955)

(click photo to enlarge)

 

Newby Elementary School under construction (April, 1936)

(Photo courtesy of the Mooresville High School Alumni Association)