Trends, tips, and resources for teaching local and family history are identified in this state-of-the-art paper. Using the local community as a historical resource can make American history more relevant and meaningful to students and aids in the development of a wide range of skills, including library use skills, writing skills, and skills used in evaluating historical data. A study of a community will yield information abouts its social history, economic history, family history, architecture and public art, and folklores and cultural journalism. Suggestions about how to retrieve a community's history and teaching activities and techniques for using the information are provided in each chapter. Many of the suggestions describe projects and activities that teachers currently use in their own classes. A final chapter contains a list of local history resources, including books, photographs, and materials on how to use local sources. (JR)