Main Street in the Curriculum: A Fifteen Town Louisiana Case-Study

This paper proposes different strategies for teaching social studies in an integrated manner using Main Street as a laboratory. The paper consists of two parts. Part one is devoted to a discussion of the empirical study; the second part focuses on strategies for integrating Main Street into the K through 12 setting. Although data are presented from fifteen smalltown parish Main Streets, Abbeville and Columbia are discussed in detail around Francaviglia's time, space, and image elements. The suggested strategies for integrating Main Street into the curriculum are rooted in K through 12 teacher experiences from three Louisiana Geography Education Alliance (LaGEA) Summer Institutes held in 2001, 2002, and 2003.