By Ariel Cornett, Ph.D. (Georgia Southern University)
Download PDF – Spring 2026, Article 2
Rural spaces and people are far from monolithic (Moore & Yoho, 2023). Rural places come in all shapes and sizes (Grant et al., 2024), varying not only in geography, but also in culture, history, economy, civics, and government. In the United States (U.S.), rural communities can include farming towns in Kansas, beach destinations in Florida, mountain getaways in Tennessee, and desert oases in Nevada. Thus, it can be challenging to define what “rurality” truly is (and isn’t), as well as what rural education should (and should not) entail (e.g., Crain, 2023; Dunstan et al., 2021; Hawley et al., 2016; Koziol et al., 2015; Thier et al., 2021).
Schools in rural areas may serve impoverished and sparsely populated regions, while others may operate in economically thriving and growing communities that have harnessed the potential of ecotourism, agritourism, culinary tourism, and adventure tourism (see the Library of Congress’s Tourism and Travel: A Research Guide). Despite these differences, rural schools often share characteristics, including smaller K-12 student populations, closer connections between schools and communities, and limited access to resources such as specialized personnel, advanced technologies, and transportation due to geographic barriers and economic inequities (Biddle & Azano, 2016).
An awareness and understanding of the diversity that exists both across and within rural places is crucial to addressing the unique needs of rural educational systems. These myriad contexts shape the experiences of students and teachers in distinct ways from urban and suburban settings (Cain & Willis, 2022; Moore & Yoho, 2023). Generalizations and stereotypes of rural spaces and people often overlook the complexities of these communities (Azano & Stewart, 2016; Gallo, 2020; Walker-Gibbs et al., 2018). Flexible, context-specific approaches must be utilized to reflect the realities that each rural community (and each rural person) faces on a daily basis.
Place-Based, Rural Social Studies Experiences
Educational practices should be adaptable and responsive to place-based rural resources (i.e., assets such as people, the built environment, and the physical landscape), as well as to localized challenges, in order to design and implement solutions that truly support rural students, teachers, and communities (Brenner et al., 2021; Crumb et al. 2023). But where can teachers and students go to find these place-based, rural resources and learn about localized challenges? They can begin by exploring their immediate surroundings to identify:
- A local resident who could speak to students and provide an oral history on a topic related to the social studies curriculum;
- A historically significant building (e.g., a courthouse, business, or the home of a historical figure) that students can visit in person or virtually to make past, present, and future content connections; or
- A nearby state or national park with topographic features that students can examine on a map while learning about their local physical landscape.
After investigating their local surroundings, teachers and students can turn to state and national resources such as the Library of Congress. Its digital collections, including photographs, maps, historical newspapers, and Congressional records, offer “unique opportunities for learners of all ages to discover and connect with primary sources through personally meaningful inquiry into state or local history” (Moats, 2021, para. 1).
In this piece, I examine how rural teachers can use primary sources from the Library and place-based educational strategies (Smith, 2007; Sobel, 2005, 2008) to help students explore local, state, and national histories in meaningful ways. The following examples from elementary education (specifically, fourth grade) in two rural places—one in Virginia and one in Georgia—illustrate the diversity of rural spaces and people in the U.S.
Appalachia: A Coal Mining Town in the Mountains of Southwestern Virginia
Appalachia is a rural town nestled in the mountains of Wise County, Virginia. In the early 20th century, the town played a significant role in the region’s economic development due to the booming coal mining industry. Coal camp communities such as Andover, Imboden, and Stonega branch off from the town’s center. The downtown was once lively with department stores, barber and beauty shops, pharmacies, jewelers, grocery stores, and government buildings such as the post office and town hall. Today, the town’s population has declined, and many of those businesses have closed. Several buildings sit vacant and dilapidated; however, recent revitalization efforts include the collective purchase of several downtown properties, with plans to restore these landmarks to both preserve the town’s history and revitalize the local community.
In Virginia, elementary students explore state-specific social studies connections in the fourth grade. Students learn and practice skills such as: (1) analyzing and interpreting information from primary and secondary sources; (2) applying geographic skills to identify and understand geographic features and connections, and (3) developing questions, enhancing curiosity, and engaging in critical thinking and analysis.
For Appalachia, the Library of Congress has a series of Sanborn fire insurance maps from March 1922 that depict both residential and commercial areas of the town (see the Library’s Sanborn Maps Collection). Students could use the Library’s Primary Source Analysis Tool to analyze the Sanborn map of downtown Appalachia, Virginia, from 1922. Teachers could facilitate this analysis using the Library’s Teacher’s Guide to Analyzing Maps:
- Observe: What do you notice first? What on the map looks strange or unfamiliar? What place or places does the map show? What, if any, words do you see? Prompts like these invite students to examine the map closely and identify localized historical connections.
- Students may notice railroad lines and share personal stories about crossing similar tracks to go to different parts of town.
- They may read the name Hotel Houston and express surprise that a hotel once existed in Appalachia, especially if familiar with its location’s current parking lot.
Reflect: Why do you think this map was made? If this map was made today, what would be different? What would be the same? Such questions help to deepen students’ understanding of localized connections and invite comparisons between past and present.- Students might research historic buildings identified on the map that are undergoing restoration.
- They could update building labels to reflect present-day usage, note vacant structures, or identify buildings that no longer exist.
- Students could find additional primary sources to compare what these places looked like in the past versus present-day (e.g., see the historical photograph of Town Hall, Appalachia, Va.).
- Question: What do you wonder about… who? what? where? when? why? how? Students might ask a variety of questions pertaining to the types of businesses, why the town no longer has a particular type of business, or why some building uses have changed over time.
- What is a “moving picture”?
- Why does downtown Appalachia no longer have any grocery stores?
- When did the post office move from the map’s original location to its current building?
After this map analysis, teachers could take students on a walking tour of downtown Appalachia. This immersive experience would allow students to collect their own primary sources (i.e., taking photos, recording videos, drawing maps, writing field notes, etc.) that could be added to the historical record. Local business owners, government officials, and residents might speak with students before, during, or after the walking tour to share their lived experiences and perspectives. These interactions could highlight how the community has evolved over time and residents’ visions for the future. Students could also learn about local partnerships and explore opportunities to get involved with community preservation and revitalization efforts through their schools or with their families.
Ossabaw Island: Coastal Rurality on a Barrier Island in Georgia
Ossabaw Island is the third-largest barrier island located off the coast of Georgia. Ecologically, the island features maritime forests, salt marshes, beaches, and dunes. Wildlife is plentiful, including free-range donkeys, hogs, and sea turtles. Human habitation on Ossabaw Island has spanned from early Indigenous Peoples (i.e., the Guale) to European colonizers (i.e., Spanish, English) to enslaved people and their enslavers, to freedmen and women, and later to wealthy Northerners. In 1978, the island was designated as Georgia’s first heritage preserve and is now managed through a public-private partnership (Cornett et al, 2025).
Ossabaw Island provides curricular connections to both science topics (e.g., ecosystems, conservation) and social studies topics (e.g., Indigenous Peoples, enslavement; Cornett et al., 2024). Additionally, it serves as an example of coastal rurality that students might not consider when learning about mainland rural spaces and peoples.
In Georgia, fourth-grade students study the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War. This includes learning about major battles, campaigns, and events (e.g., Sherman’s March to the Sea), as well as the roles of influential historical figures (e.g., General William T. Sherman).
For Ossabaw Island, the Library of Congress has The Soldiers’ Journal, a historic American newspaper available through the Chronicling America collection. Students could use the Library’s Primary Source Analysis Tool to analyze a page from the February 1, 1865, issue of The Soldiers’ Journal that outlines a record of battles, sieges, skirmishes, etc. from January 1 to December 31 of 1864. Teachers could facilitate this analysis using the Library’s Teacher’s Guide to Analyzing Books and Other Printed Texts.
During analysis, Georgia students might recognize place names such as Augusta, Millen, Waynesboro, and Savannah—towns or cities they may have lived in, driven through, or visited. The teacher could zoom in on the entries for December 9 and December 11, which mention the Ossabaw Sound. Details included on those dates outline communication with the naval fleet in the Ossabaw Sound, as well as with a particular individual, Admiral Dahlgren. Key vocabulary terms on the page include sound, fleet, and admiral. Pairing this newspaper page with an 1862 Civil War map (see the Library’s Civil War Maps collection) provides students with visual and contextual clues to help deduce the meanings of these words through discussion:
- A sound is a body of water, and students may also notice that the Ossabaw Sound connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Ogeechee River.
- A fleet refers to a group of ships sailing together.
- An admiral is a high-ranking official in the navy.
Students may wonder why Civil War soldiers on the mainland would need to communicate with a naval fleet offshore. Strategically, the Ossabaw Sound and Ossabaw Island are located in close proximity to Savannah. Further discussion might also encourage students to ask why Savannah was significant in Sherman’s March to the Sea. Connecting local geographies, histories, economics, civics, and government to state and national narratives can provide relevance for students (Clark, 2008) in an educational landscape with increasingly disconnected instructional and assessment materials (Deringer, 2017; Gruenewald & Smith, 2014).
Teachers could also utilize students’ interests with regard to the island’s relevant social studies topics. For example, a student who enjoys gardening might explore the cultivation of indigo, which grows wild on Ossabaw Island. A teacher could use an indigo tie-dye kit to recreate the experience of dyeing clothing to achieve the desired shade of indigo. This interdisciplinary activity would link to scientific processes as well as historical uses of natural dyes from plants throughout time.
Conclusion
Place-based social studies experiences, rooted in the unique contexts of diverse rural spaces, have the power to foster student engagement, boost academic outcomes, and positively impact local communities (e.g., Clark, 2008; Gruenewald & Smith, 2014; Smith, 2007; Sobel, 2005, 2008). Local knowledge, understandings, and skills should not be overlooked. Validating the lived experiences of rural peoples in rural spaces throughout history allows students to connect their own lives and surroundings with curriculum content in increasingly relevant and meaningful ways.
Exploring rural sources (e.g., maps, photographs, newspapers) and leveraging rural resources (i.e., assets such as people, the built environment, and the physical landscape) grounds students’ learning in place while they are simultaneously making connections to state and national histories. Through planning and implementing these experiences, teachers not only provide opportunities for students to participate in and partner with their local, rural communities, but also to invest in the preservation and sustainability of those communities for future generations.
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Ariel Cornett, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Elementary Social Studies Education in the Department of Elementary and Special Education at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Cornett teaches undergraduate and graduate elementary social studies methods courses. She was born and raised in rural Southwest Virginia and taught elementary students in rural Central Virginia. Her research interests focus on the place-based teaching and learning of social studies in elementary classrooms and communities. She served as one of the Project Education Specialists for the National Council for History Education’s Rural Experience in America: Community Civics through Historical Inquiry TPS project.
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